Picking Blueberries

We were in Northern Indiana for a wedding this weekend and took advantage of picking at a great little blueberry farm, The Blueberry Ranch. 

 It's so yummy to eat them right off the bush... Happy Summer!

A visit from cousins

 Clayton's cousins Hunter (12) and Zach (10) came from TN to visit us this week.  They all get along great and had fun playing games of Monopoly and Ticket to Ride, wrestling, and trading Matchbox cars. The boys enjoyed the Lego exhibit at the Children's Museum.

 This was the Hot Wheels exhibit.  Since they had been trading lots of Matchbox cars, it was fun to see them BIG!

 We took them to the Indy Zoo and got to see this tiger very close up as he was prowling.

The Three Musketeers... A moment that made me smile was to hear them talking in the backseat as we drove to meet their mom in KY. One of their little conversations went something like this: "So, what do you like to do in your spare time?" And then the answer came of playing Legos, reading books, etc. They sounded like little men back there. We are really thankful for cousins so close in age, and for them to be such good buddies.

Snapshots from vacation

We were in Michigan with my family the last week in June.  We enjoyed playing games late into the night, hiking up the sand dunes, fun times with Grandpa and Grandma, lots of water and sunshine, smores around the campfire, and many beautiful sunsets.

 Jeff and Clay gave us quite the ski show...

 Coming in after an afternoon of boating...all smiles.

  Goofy sibs - someone shouted out that we should hold up our fingers to show our birth order.  I guess Amanda and I missed it. Anyway, I love my family and the fun we have when we're together. Some of my favorite times are when we're all gathered in our semi-circle around the fire, watching the sun go down.

This year, we lit some sky lanterns, which looked beautiful going up over the lake into the night sky. Clay was a good helper with the lighter. :) 

These are the kind of evenings you want to last just a bit longer... one of my favorite spots in the world.  Until next year, Lake Michigan.

My Summer Reading List

 Here are the titles sitting on my shelf this week... Yes, this is an announcement!  I loved our parents' reactions when we told them the news.  We gave them each a note that read, "This coupon good for One New Grandchild... Valid thru January 2013."

It's pretty fun to have a surprise!  :)