Wordless Wednesday..."Dry"

Enjoying the beauty in the ashes,

Generosity

Paul watered the gardens last night.

The hottest and driest summer in a really long time, and I decide to plant a garden.

I'm just really hoping that my zucchini patch 

will hang in there. 

Look what Josh brought in to show me last night!

Our very first tomato...on Josh's tomato plant.

I've heard others say that kids will try vegetables they've never tried before if they are the ones to grow them.

I had my doubts...but in this case it was totally true.

Josh not only tried his tomato, but he said that it was really good!

Really?!

Hmmmm...

One for me.

One for you.

See it?

Hmmmm...

One for me.

One for you.

One for me.

One for you.

 Oh.

Hi Mom.

Charlie really likes marshmallows.

A lot.

See, Mommy?

Watch me share.

One for me.

 One for Charlie.

 One for me.

 And one for Charlie.

Oops.

Hey, Matthew.

You better slow down.

Marshmallows might make Charlie puke.

Oh.

I didn't think of that.

Enjoying the generosity of a four-year-old,

Summertime Blues...and Greens...and Light Reds

Oh, sweet corn!

We have been driving by John Young's vegetable stand every chance we get to see if he will be opening soon. 

We've been a little worried that maybe his corn won't be as pretty and plentiful this year as it has been in the past.  It has been so hot and dry here this summer.

No worries!

John Young opened up at noon on the Fourth of July!

And, as usual, his corn is beautiful and delicious!

The first corn of the season!

We are hoping that this is William's last summer of cutting his corn off the cob!

His orthodontist appointment in three weeks should tell us how much more time he has left with braces.

Corn Plates.

These are the plates that we used when I was a kid.

Rob and Brandy are preparing for their garage sale in just a few weeks, so when Carrie and I were up last weekend, they asked us if we would like to inherit these.

YES!

I absolutely LOVE these plates!

Not only are they so practical, they are a great piece of my summertime childhood memories.

(Thank you Uncle Robbie and Aunt Brandy!)

And when Matthew saw them?

He said, and I quote, 

"These corn plates are stinkin' rockin' awesome!"

That' right.

They are.

 The Fourth of July is one of our favorite holidays.

We usually have a cookout, a treasure hunt, 

and fireworks.

This year, with the extreme heat and dryness (our grass is a strange shade of yellowy-brown)...and with getting Carrie all ready for camp...we decided to postpone our Fourth of July.

Maybe after it rains a bit...

 so that we can set off some fireworks...

without setting our yard on fire.

So...instead of our usual festivities, we settled down after our sweet corn and grilled hamburger lunch and watched the hot dog eating contest (a tradition), and William made some blue milk.

I don't know why he decided to put food coloring in milk, but it was actually very pretty.

He also made green and light red (pink) milk 

for Josh and Matty.

 Summertime is such a great time for creating new traditions and digging up old ones.

Enjoying the good old summertime,

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Charlie is such a tease.

She brings her ball to you, but she grabs it up as soon as you reach for it.

She pushes the ball up against your leg, but she runs and dodges as soon as you try to get it from her.

And sometimes, she is just too slow for my fast feet...

Ball?!

And away she goes!

Playing ball is one of her favorite things.

Another one of her favorite things is hanging 

out with her people.

Josh feels the same way about her.

Play?!

 What's this?

Carrie preparing for a party?

 William too?

Josh?

 And Matthew?

 A bone cake can only mean one thing...

 It's Charlie's Second Birthday!

Someone isn't being very cooperative!

 "Would you just look what they've done to me?

I'm so ashamed."

All right...you don't have to wear the princess party hat.

A dog bakery just went in down by the Menards.

Can you believe it?

A dog bakery!

They even take orders for dog birthday cakes!

We'll have to remember that for next year.

 This one is made of peanut butter.

Smack!  Smack!

Smack!

Smmmmmaaack!

William claims that Charlie's birthday bone 

smelled pretty good, but I thought that people 

shouldn't eat doggie treats.

Right Uncle Robbie?

Mmmmm...Cocoa Krispie Treats!

We also watched Kirk Cameron's movie "Monumental."

Amazing documentary!

The little boys weren't too thrilled with the birthday movie choice, but Josh stuck with the whole thing and even asked questions.

Enjoying the furry member of our family...and birthday treats,