longest day

Summer solstice, I laugh in your face.

June 21st may have the most light but June 26th was definitely the longest day of the year.

Si and I got up at 3:30 to go get the girls from EFY. I was really tired and grateful she was with me because we took turns driving and sleeping.

When we got there the girls were so excited and it was so fun to hear them chatter about their week and how GREAT it was!!

Our first order of business was to find a laundry mat and get some clean clothes so Em and Jen could repack.
After some driving around and some asking we found one and brought in the clothes. We had to have a little lesson on laundry. Emma was unfamiliar with what a dry sheet was, Jenna couldn't figure out how to put the coins in, there was much revelry with the laundry basket on wheels and we saw a cute bat hanging on the wall outside.

All during laundry time they had EFY stories to tell.

When we were done we went to Natural Bridge, VA and went on a cave tour. And they told stories.




It was cold, and cool, and had watery ponds and great formations. Of course they turned the lights off and we enjoyed the darkest dark.

After that we found "Foamhenge" and hiked up to see it. Very funny. The girls told some more stories!

Then we went to the mall, and to Sonic. and just a few more stories.

Then we found the girls camp and helped them get settled. It was fun for me to see the reaction of the other campers to an all girl venturing crew! I guess they get it all the time but this was the first time I was there to see the shock and awe, and the chivilrous nature of the other scouters (guess it doens't hurt that they are a pretty cute crew to boot)

Then Alexis, Sierra and I drove home. It was a long drive.

at 11:30 pm we were back and I was ready for bed. (and Alexis was ready go tell stories to her mom :) )

whew! what a day.

I was tired of driving but so happy to spend the day with these cute girls and their giggles. We laughed a lot. I am so glad they got to go to EFY, such a testimony builder!

Now the venturers are off for a week of caving and canoeing and white water rafting...and I have a day to get ready for girls camp!

Cub camp and a birthday

Today our boy turned 8. He has been such a joy to our family. He is funny and smart and kind. He is interested in lots of things that the girls aren't and adds such a depth to our lives. Happy Birthday Boy!

This week was cub scout day camp! He LOVED LOVED LOVED it. Today was family day and we got to go and see the reptile show, and have pizza and admire all their hard work.

The highlight of the day was the cub wash. Every day the firetruck came and hosed the boys off. Lu happily joined in :)

Little cubs are so adorable. I am excited about many years of scouting to come!

Cooling off at the end of the day with a Popsicle.

little reader

Fun Day

My friend Anna sent me this photo this morning from 5th grade fun day. So cute! I sure miss having my Hannah girl home. She's having a great visit in Ohio but the house is much more quiet without her here.

(Hannah is the shorty on the right.)

Zucchini Jam

My friend Janet sent me some zucchini recipes. I can't wait to try them out. Lu and I got busy and made jam right away!!

Before

After!!!

more swim fun

Went to lessons this morning. Lu is doing really well. I am excited to bring the other kids next week and see how they fair.

fearless

MVA

spent another couple fun filled hours here. Still need to go one more time to "prove" I am Sierra's mother. Arh!

zucchini

Continuing with our all things zucchini menu last night I made lovely zucchini pancakes and served them with crisp fresh zucchini rounds. They were delish!

In the middle of cooking we had huge storm, which blew out the power for hours, so I had to finish up on the grill by candle light. Kind of fun.

Unfortunately this morning our TV won't turn on and I am wondering if the storm got it :(

lessons

We signed the littles up for lessons this summer. Lu is taking swimming and tennis. Here she is at her first tennis lesson, she is the one in front with the blue skirt and top. She thought it was very fun and actually hit the ball. During this exercise they are practicing dribbling the ball.

She also liked swimming a lot.

E and H missed their first week. H is in Ohio visiting with Nana and Abba and I hear she is having a very fun time. She went with Nana to yoga, and walking class. They went to the movies and a Dragon's game and shopping. It's fun to be spoiled on a one on one basis sometimes.

E is at cub scout day camp. He had a great time yesterday, although he wasn't too successful at archery. He is hoping to do better tomorrow and today is bb gun day and he is expecting that to go well.

They are both signed up for tennis/swim team/golf. They will start next week. Should be great.

I heard from J yesterday. She said EFY was fun, the session is kind of small only 140 kids. SVU is pretty. I wonder if she'll add it to her list of colleges after this week?
Next week is high adventure week for her.
Followed by a week in Tejas.
Then trek.
She also has a nanny job for the summer, which is very flexible. She has worked a few weeks before school got out and will have 6 or so weeks after her running around...unless she goes to Belgium, then 5 weeks. Papa and Grandma invited her and Emma to come visit in Aug. They need to come up with $300 each so we shall see.


Ah, summer fun! Love it!!! Love it!!!

secret ingredient: zucchini

Big B requested I "do something" with all the zucchinis we are harvesting. So far we've gotten 10 big ones.

So tonight "Iron Chef MD" secret ingredient: zucchini.

I made zucchini brown betty


zucchini muffins

and fried zuch's over pasta.

It was all yummy!!

Happy Father's Day

our littlest and her daddy.

Emma!!!!

We went to pick up Emma today. Had a great traffic/accident free drive to the airport. Drove home listening to them giggle like they saw each other yesterday. We miss Emma, a lot. These two have been BFF's since Kindergarten and now they are Seniors!!

The first time Em was in MD with us she was a vegetarian. The next time it wasn't crab season.

This time we knew right what we wanted to do....

dismember our own food! Yumm-o

Then we went to the wharf.

The end :)

camp over nighter

What a day.

Friday H flew to Ohio to spend a week with Nana and Abba. We took her to the airport. I thought, well, this will be perfect I will go to the scout store and the LDS bookstore while I am "down there" and get little B's stuff for his birthday. So we left at 7am. Took H down, got her all set and in the air then headed off to the scout store. Found it, in the ghetto, and went in and got all his stuff so he can be an official cub scout. He is very excited. He got a pocket knife too, which he's been waiting for for two years.

Then we went and grabbed some lunch and went to the bookstore where he choose his scriptures and then we headed home. Traffic was horrible as usual. I needed to be back by 4 to get ready for our over nighter, and the time kept creeping by but the traffic did not. Who would have thought one airport drop off and two stores would take 11 hours round trip??

Waiting and fretting and waiting and then I accidentally rear ended someone :( No one was hurt (thanks for asking) and the other car was fine but my bumper got a dent. We also killed a squirrel...not at the moment but earlier in the day.

When we were out of DC I called Rachel and told her I was going to be late, she said no problem and I figured I would just get there when I got there and felt grateful that I had someone to pick up the slack. I have the best counselors in the world, they are always helpful and cheerful and doing what needs to be done.

Then suddenly I heard a scream from the back row "blood is gushing, I can't stop it....all the blood is going to go out of my body...It won't stop." I pulled over and jumped back there. Little b, who was not supposed to be holding his knife at all let alone using it in a moving car had cut his finger. It wasn't as bad as it sounded. We drove over to a Safeway and bought band-aids and neosporin and fixed him up, then called Michelle and asked her to get my junk and Chelsea and J and take them to Rachel's when she took Alexis, which she so nicely did! Thank you.

Then we got there, an hour late, but in one piece, more or less.

And the girls hugged me and said it was okay (they are sooooo sweet)

and we camped and cooked and certified and sat around talking and "slept" in tents and had breakfast and now today I am going back to the airport to pick up Emma! Who we can't wait to see.

youth temple trip

Thursday night we went to the temple. It was a lovely trip. It's always such a treat to be in the temple with our sweet youth and to participate in those saving ordinances.

first harvest

giveaway

I really want to win this super cute rug! Isn't it fun and summery and doesn't the blond dog look like Millie romping with her cousin Zoe?!! Love it.

(FYI: sadly Zo and Mil have never romped together because Z's mamma, my sister Anna, lives just shy of a million miles away in sunny San Diego. So sad, sisters shouldn't live so far apart. While Millie can chase the crabs in the Potomac, Zoe can bark at the CA Sea Lions in the Pacific. Sad. Sad. Sad)

If you want a chance to win one too (or one of their other cute styles) go to "Low Tide, High Style" a fab new blog my stylish friend T told me about.

morning walk

world's worst picture, but world's best daughters :)

end of year teacher gifts

we saw these cute little buckets at the target dollar spot and filled them with candy, then the kids wrote notes of thanks and we added a tag that said "thanks a bucket full for a sweet year"

Popsicle brigade

the festivities

The promotion was very nice. They had a wonderful slide show, cute decorations, awards and singing and a reception after. H was very excited. She received the presidential award for academic excellence. To get this you had to score in the top 10% in the state for MSA and also have a 3.5 gpa or better.

Hannah and Julia, they have been good friends this year.

Hannah and Katie! We have 6 girls in our neighborhood that are going into 6th grade. How fun! Katie lives down the street from us and is such a cute girl.

Hannah and Mr. K.

After the ceremony we had about an hour before anyone else got home from school so Han and I went out for some chips and dip and a little girl time :)

5th Grade Promotion Day

Today is the big day, the end of elementary school. I am excited to go to the ceremony and party and congratulate my Hannah girl on a job well done.

Me and H in Gettysburg a few weeks ago.

H enjoying the water at SeaWorld last year.

Before a dance recital, 6 years old

2 year old Hannah riding her inside bike :)

Baby Hannah, so sweet.

That was fast!

in the garden

Big B picked these lovely flowers in our yard tonight. Sadly about 5 minutes after they came in the house little b knocked them over and now they are not so lovely. Luckily I took a picture of them before the "accident".



He also found this cute little guy enjoying the plants...now he is little b's venus fly trap's dinner, so I guess a plant got to enjoy him in the end.

fun day

had a fun day at the youth beach party. Lots of tubing and eating and swimming and sailing and sunkissed fun.