The Eastern Shore

On Friday we drove out to the Eastern Shore - a string of islands along the eastern coast of Virginia and Maryland.  You have to go across an amazingly long bridge (17 miles) to get there and it feels very remote, but I love it!  We went to a farm and picked blueberries.  It was a small but nice place and blueberries are only 75 cents a pound (instead of 2 - 2.50 a pound around here).  While there we ran into our friends who told us about the farm.  It was nice to visit while we picked.  We then headed back towards the bridge and stopped at Kiptopeke State Park and went to the beach for the afternoon.  It was a small, but nice beach.  The kids had a blast.  I had fun going to the beach without a baby for the first time ever!  We then drove back across the long (and expensive) bridge to find some dinner and then headed home.  It was a really fun day!  The next morning we woke up to backed up kitchen pipes.  I know, all you read about is our plumbing woes.  Mike spent a lot of time troubleshooting and trying everything we could think of (and making a huge nasty mess) he climbed under the house, figured out the problem and then the real work began.  After 3 trips to Lowes and a trip I made to another hardware store and hours later it was fixed!  It was a very nasty job and I was so glad Mike was able to figure it out and fix it so we could avoid another large plumbing bill.  While he did that I cleaned and froze over 10 pounds of blueberries and then ate, baked or stored the remaining 7 pounds for now.  That wasn't easy without a kitchen sink!  We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, blueberry pie for dessert and I made blueberry muffins for breakfast today (and froze some of those for later).

In other news, we also been having fun swimming in our pool, playing with the chickens, working in the garden, canning tomatoes, peach jam, peach syrup (peach jam that doesn't set up makes delicious syrup for waffles!), and peppers.  We've had missionaries and friends over for dinner, been to the dentist and orthodontist, as well as the library!  One day after we'd been to the park we stopped at the grocery store to get a couple of things on our way home.  While herding everyone into the check out line an older gentleman in front of us asked me if those were all my kids.  I smiled and said yes.  He said God bless you.  He told me a little bit about his family.  As he was getting ready to leave with his groceries he took out his wallet and handed me some cash.  I said Oh no sir, I can't take your money.  He said you don't have to, it's for the kids.  Go buy them some ice cream.  I started crying.  I was so shocked.  I'm not sure why he did it, I think he was trying to be nice and helpful.  I asked Mike if we looked homeless or something.  It was very touching.  Most of the attention I get in regards to my family is negative and it's so refreshing to get some positive attention.  Later that afternoon we met Mike at Steak N Shake during happy hour and had half price shakes!  They were delicious and well appreciated!

Picking blueberries!

So I'm actually eating a blueberry and smiling - that's why it's such a weird expression...thanks Mike.

The girls with our friends we ran into

Kiptopeke Beach!  Aren't these fun chairs?

That's Lilah way out there by herself, she is fearless.  She did ask me if there were any boats (you could hear motors) sharks or alligators.  Once I told her no, she was good to go.  Those old boats in the background were set up in a ring around the swimming area, I guess to block the big waves, they were very cool.

Eating ice cream

Later in the afternoon, these guys showed up so we stayed out of the water

My kitchen for most of Saturday

Lilah with her chicken Molly Mae 

Summer!

I feel like our "regular" summer vacation is well underway.  We've been doing lots of "regular" summer stuff:  weeding the garden, picking vegetables in the garden, hacking away at rogue plants that are trying to take over my garden (tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, and watermelon are going crazy) swimming in our pool, water balloon fights, crafts, wii games/dancing, parties, 4th of July fireworks and more!  Our weather has been cooler than usual and a little bit wetter as well, but we are still enjoying it.  My pictures (like my blogging) are random and a bit sparse, so we'll see what I can find to post.

In other news I haven't done any family highlights since school got out, so I think I'll do a family highlight catch up!
Celeste:  Celeste still has a pacifier, despite our efforts to take it away, and she may have it for awhile because I'm tired.  Her favorite thing to eat right now is cottage cheese and apple sauce (yes, together).  She asks for it all day long.  She has it for lunch most days and if she doesn't have it for lunch she demands it for a snack when she gets up from her nap.  I guess there are worse things she could be eating.  Her hair continues to thicken but not lengthen - grrr.  It looks like it has a little bit of curl -we'll see if that stays.  She is talking more and more and is very precise about what she says, she usually says a name at the end of everything - it's not just thank you, it's thank you Lilah, or good night mommy, or see you later daddy.  She enjoys her nursery class and knows everyone's name.  She has started playing pretend more often and has the funniest conversations with her dolls.  She likes to be either a doggy or some other animal.  She loves to go outside and hates her carseat.  She is about the cutest monster you've ever seen.  She is getting more demanding and louder every day!
Lilah:  I think Lilah likes having everyone home from school, she always has someone to play with.  She has never had a problem standing up for herself so she doesn't let her older siblings push her around.  She is turning brown out in the sun and looks more out of place with her darker coloring every day!
Madeline:  Madeline was excited for school to be out but really missed going to school and seeing her teacher every day, but she is adjusting to being at home.  She likes to swim but prefers to be indoors and likes to play on her own (still) inside.  We have found since Madeline switched rooms that she is messy!  I didn't realize it was her causing the mess, but now we know!
Calvin:  Calvin is busy, busy, busy.  He loves to create things.  Most of the things he creates don't work, but we were impressed when he made a bow and some arrows and they work!  He has been shooting everything inside and out.  He is always looking for something to do.
Anna Elise:  Has continued to love to read and reads every evening.  She seems to be enjoying being at home and is a big help to me during the day.  She made a friend at school and misses her horribly.  We are trying to work it out so they can get together and play this summer.
Sally:  Things have shifted at work and I am busy again.  I am having to go into the office one day a week now and it will most likely get busier and be more often in the coming months.  I enjoy my work and I'm trying to not be resentful of the fact that it's taking up more of my time and pulling me away from my family.  Really, it's been a blessing that the past two years things have been slower and I've been able to do more from home and have gone into the office less.  I've been at home more with Celeste, I've been able to do more with my home and spend more time gardening, and making food from scratch, and doing other things - and I'm grateful I got that chance and now it's time to go back to working.
Mike:  Mike has been busy, but around more and we love it.  I'm thankful that although he is busy, he has been able to hire help so that he is around more and he is going to be able to watch the kids while I am in the office.  So far we haven't had to hire a babysitter and that is good!

 Celeste snagged these high heels from the other nursery teacher and wore them around

 a batch of bread and butter pickles

 We went to a pool party and had to wait for the rain and thunder to stop so we could get in and actually swim.  Celeste is soaking wet from the rain and dirty from chocolate frosting.

 the kids are having a good time in the pouring rain

   Calvin went off the high dive - so impressed!

Calvin's bow and lots of arrows made from a hanger, rubber band, tape, pencils, and nerf bullets

Calvin posing in our garden with his sunflower plants.  He planted those seeds at school.  He brought home tiny seedlings that we planted in the garden and they grew!  We are excited to have some sunflowers!