mom, i'm 5 now remember?!

as i'm snapping these pics, i'm reminding little e to be careful. to watch out. that she shouldn't be doing this with flip flops. to hold on tight. to let me know if she needs help.

her response?  mom...i'm 5 now remember?! i know, i know...but please be careful my precious little brave one.

thankful tuesday, 8/30

• heavy library book bags
• discovering old toys
• exploring the tiger mother
• delicious take-out burgers & a beer on a friday night
• ella's gymnastic performances on the lawn
• saturday morning coffee & tomato picking with melissa
• finishing our first novel with ella (heidi)
• a stormy weekend
• safety
• peach & tomato harvest
• bennett's out of the blue i love yous
• walks to the little store for a treat
• a familiar face in a nervous moment
• reading old blog posts
• praying and preparing for fall schedules
• sweet apologies after fierce meltdowns
• purging, dumping and donating
• sticking close to home
• flashlights & candles
• after dinner water gun wars
• holding onto summer
• bunk bed snuggles

home with irene

an inside look at our hurricane irene weekend. a special shout out to all those that still don't have power and are struggling with home damage...we are praying for you!

made some masquerade masks

in the kitchen
between friday & saturday we picked 20lbs+ each of peaches and tomatoes! so the weekend included some time in the kitchen - peeling, chopping, preparing and tasting. i can also proudly report that i have mastered having salsa for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack!

lots of reading & playing

 

a few clothespin mermaids were made

 a little walk & some puddle splashing

 some friendly competition

relying on these supplies

 

thankfully we only lost power for a day - so we were able to have more fun than stress unlike many of our dear friends & family :(  a memorable weekend all the same and i'm thankful i got to spend it with my 3 favorite people.

not francesco

our little guy made quite the mess with our beads the other day...and blamed it on poor francesco.  thousands of beads...everywhere!

just peachy

we did our part to help the local fruit farmers harvest their peaches before hurricane irene knocks them all down. how sad to think that so many will be lost with the weekend's weather :( there won't be any going to waster over here...cobbler & salsa are on the agenda for the rainy weekend!

cabin bliss

it's hard not to feel like summer is winding down...sigh. i'm committed to making these remaining august days go slow...really, really slow. this past weekend we had the perfect way to kick off slowing down...a night with the paynes in their special cabin. cabin bliss!

though e&b don't yet appreciate "relaxing" vs. "playing really really loud with their sweet cousin"...we got to chill out, play and explore. my favorite was our beatrix potter story time in the fort that wes & justin surprised the kids with. fort bliss!

hardwick fair

i've been going to the hardwick fair since i was 2 years old. an old time country fair complete with wagon rides, chain saw competitions, games, antique tractors, cattle shows and where you enter your art project, canned goods, baked goods, garden produce or dozen of eggs to win yourself the coveted blue ribbon. no amusement rides, flashy displays or other craziness. just pure country. 

i love it there. and love that i get to share it with my family.  ella and i are already talking about what projects we'll enter next year...and look forward to bringing home a blue ribbon of our own!

thankful tuesday, 8/23

• realizing that these 2 are looking more and more alike...sweet brother and sister
• arrival of our newest nephew - welcome baby nathan!
• wes' homemade salsa
• beautiful nights for a run
• birthday bouquets at the farm
• party prep with my main squeeze
• the good ol' hardwick fair
• celebrating logan & rylee's birthdays
• happy kids
• car naps
• gorgeous hydrangeas
• slowing down time
• a visit to the cabin with the paynes
• forts in the woods
• memorable story times
• jumping in the pool with all my clothes on...and kiddo surprised giggles
• family bbq at the greenfields with good friends
• face painting galore
• ice tea snow cones
• perfect beach days
• that everything always tastes better at the beach (even stale crackers)
• peach season
• being challenged 
• humility
• tree seedling helicopter fun in the yard
• sweatshirts in the morning

birthday bouquets at the farm

we celebrated ella's birthday at the farm - with flowers! a really special day to prepare for and to enjoy with sweet friends.

some of the party prep

the barn all ready for the birthday girl and her friends

decorating vases and picking their bouquets in the flower patch

wouldn't be a party at the farm without a hayride with farmer cynthia

  anya's face painted flowers

 enjoying some yummy treats

 
and a few treats for the animal friends

 

 exploring the hay & corn mazes

 a beautiful and special day for our beautiful and special 5 year old...

linking up here and here!