Blackberry Strawberry Blueberry pie ...

Before ...

After ...

The inside ...

This new recipe is wonderful. It was a bit more runny than I wanted or expected but that could probably be attributed to me putting too many cups of fruit and not increasing the tapioca in it. Oh well, here is to making another one and enjoying it once again!

Jack is in second grade ...

Jack had a great first day of second grade! He liked his teacher and took to heart our encouragement to make new students to heart by spending the day with James (a new student from Coos Bay). There are times that your child can make you proud, and today was such a day. Here is looking forward to a good year at a new school with two teachers and LOTS of new friends. He has also started flag football. Two thoughts ... much more intricate than soccer (there are actually plays and positions to learn!), and he is over the moon that his dad is helping to coach and will be there at every practice and game!

Backpacking ...

I have not yet shared my thoughts and photos of my backpacking trip this summer in Colorado. This is what I am going to share with you right now, and you will have to come back for more at a later date ...

Just found ...

The only thing missing ... Kyle!

I look at this picture, and these are my thoughts ....

1. people think Molly looks like the spiting image of me, but all I see is Kyle in this picture

2. people think Jack looks just like Kyle, but all I see is me in this picture

3. i guess it really is in the eye of the beholder!

4. i love to look at pictures like these and think about the personalities that one can not get a sense of from the picture. however since I live with these two kids, I can look at this picture and it makes me smile that much more because I have the cherished privilege of knowing their voices, their moods, their joys, their tears, the way they love each other, the way they are growing up, the things they love, the food they hate to eat! so while I LOVE to take pictures to capture a moment, I think that it is the living that I love more. the picture just gives us a way to a memory and make one smile all the more.

(by the way, this picture was taken on mother's day after church by kyle!)

Today...

I am carless, so what is a girl to do .... spend time in the kitchen.

There is the smell of a blackberry, blueberry, strawberry pie baking in the oven - a new recipe, of course! (pictures to follow!)

There is the smell of a flank steak in yummy spices marinating and waiting to be grilled on a beautiful summer evening!

There is the smell of blackberries boiling on the stove for a first try at canning blackberry jam!

There is the wonderful sounds of two kids happily playing together all over the house on a much needed day at the house.

Want to come over tonight? You are welcome to come...

Last year's school work...

So today I finally got around to cleaning out the craft area, and I found some of the kids' school work from last year. I guess it is appropriate that I post their work from last year since we are starting a new year a week from today!

Molly wrote this at the end of the year ... "My favorite part in kindergarten is being special person." Molly learned to write phonetically last year, which is a treat to read how they think words are written. Nice handwriting ... don't you think!

This time Molly wrote ... "I went to Dickey Joe's over the weekend and got a hamburger and a cone dipped in a bowl."

Molly wrote ... "On the weekend I got a slushie."

My kids have never really LOVED to color or draw, so imagine my surprise when Jack brought home his art spiral and I laid my eyes on his drawings. Enjoy ...

"Cat in the Hat"

"A gopher and a tennis ball"

"A pigeon"

All of Jack's drawings were based off of books that they had read together in class. They are in reverse order of when they were drawn. I have hope that he might come to LOVE to draw in the years ahead and that his talent is just going to be harbored deep inside of him until he comes across that amazing art teacher that awakens it inside of him and he thinks of himself as an artist! One can dream, can't they!!

Molly, the no way am I rock climbing climber ...

Molly was excited about rocking climbing the night before, but her FEAR gripped her and would not even allow her to get hooked up. She did put the harness on with many tears, and I made her document the attitude with the picture above for future torture! I love the look I captured, because it gives one a true idea of her mood. After we took the harness off, the last three pictures is what happened next. Molly may not have wanted to climb with the harness, but she was all about free climbing! We could not get her to STOP! She had just a smile on her face and really got the idea of how to do it. It was wonderful to watch her go. I want to point out on the last picture the calf muscle that is shining through - she gets that from her father. I think that she gets the free climbing joy from her uncle Jason! Watch out mountains - there is a future climber coming your way!