Two-Berry Pie

Alright, Amanda.  Here it is.  In all it's yummy goodness.
Our strawberries were quickly ripening and getting soft.  We froze a bunch, ate a bunch, and still had some left.
Time for strawberry pie.
Kayla made the crust, mostly by herself, from a recipe given to her from her Uncle Mike last Christmas.  It's a recipe his grandmother used.  Let me say- easy and delicious.
We kind of used a recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book but had to tweak it.  I didn't have quite enough berries for the glaze so I substituted blueberries.
That's where I get the "two-berry pie."  ( I don't know why that makes me laugh but it does.)
It was really, really good.
I wish I could share a piece with ya!

Summer

Summer!

 Freshly picked strawberries

 Mint sun tea

These hummingbirds!  

They keep me so distracted.  I think there are only two who visit but I love to watch them.

It seems like they are always around.

This Week

Doesn't she have a good spot?
Kayla and Jack have been taking a drawing class this week with a sweet lady from church.  They've spent time at the VA Tech Botanical Gardens each morning.  I think I've learned a little, too!

While the older kids were sketching, Sam and Lucy and I found other things to get into each day.  We went to Carol Lee's for donuts with Hokie sprinkles then hit the library.

We went back to the Duck Pond near where we used to live.  Sam rode his bike around the pond over and over.  There's something about being able to ride without worrying about cars- he loved it.  And I loved watching him.

Lucy scooted around on her bike some but was mostly interested in the geese and ducks.  A few times they got a little too close for my comfort although she didn't seem to mind.

This morning after drawing and going for a ride on the Huckleberry Trail, we went to pick snap peas.  They are sooo good!
Now, we're headed outside to enjoy some more of this beautiful afternoon!

Linking Up to Read Aloud Thursdays

I have not read all of Mem Fox's picture books but the ones I have read, I really like.  So do my kids.  This week we've gotten into several:

The little monkeys in this book are named Cheeky and Chee.  That's enough for us right there.  Sammy laughs at this one every time and Lucy loves to say Cheeky and Chee.  This is a short, simple, rhyming story about the monkeys' adventures.

I read this book to Lucy over and over when she was a baby and we still read it now.  All the babies in the book might be from different parts of the world, but they all have ten little fingers and ten little toes.  Sweet, sweet book.

I think this is one of my all time favorites.  The little boy on the cover lives next to an "old people's home" and knows all the residents.  He hears his parents talking about "memories" and asks them the question, "What is a memory?"  He makes it his mission to find memories for his closest "old" friend who has lost hers.  I get a lump in my throat every time.  Sammy always asks me to read this one again.  A treasure.

Linking up with Read Aloud Thursdays!   

From "Window Poems"

"How sheltering and clear

the window seems, the dry fireheat

inside, and outside the gray

downpour.  As the man works

the weather moves

upon his mind, its dreariness

a kind of comfort."

from Window Poems by Wendell Berry, #6

I have really enjoyed reading this and other poems from Window Poems.  The thing about W.B. is that you get a strong sense of who he is in his poetry, his fiction, and his essays.  They all fit so well together. 

(And check out podso's window post today- also a nice fit!) 

It is cool and rainy here.  I like these sorts of days, usually.  Right now I am ready for a break.  Most of us here today are starting to get on each others' nerves, and I mean that in the nicest way!  So, we have scattered for quiet times and naps and will hopefully regroup in an hour or so.  We did make some cookies- that always brightens things a bit.

We made smores in the fire pit last night.  These two were waiting- wonder what they were talking about...

Some Summer in the Backyard

Is it just me?
Is anyone else so glad it's summer??
My heart is a little lighter.  I am a little more relaxed, enjoying the freedom from school right now, the time to get a few things done, and a chance to enjoy being outside.
There are lots of things growing in the yard this year.  I'd really like to buy out the local nurseries!

While we were in Ohio, our green beans came up.  When we left, there wasn't anything above ground.  A few days later, voila!

This is the first year the hydrangea bloomed.  In the past couple of years, deer have eaten the blooms.  Don't know why they have left it alone this year.  I love walking by this one!

Impatiens are one of my favorite flowers but we have very little shade in our back yard.  I put a few in pots and set them around the yard in the shadiest spots.  (like in that first picture)

Another favorite thing:  these hummingbirds that are coming around.  It seems like there are only two but we see them more and more.

Ohio Trip

We've been gone the past few days, visiting these cuties- cousins from Ohio.
I think the kids all had a great time playing, staying up late, and eating yummy food.
There was something about all the kids sneaking out with Granny and Grandpa early one morning for donuts...
We went to the pool and to a hands-on science museum that kept everyone's interest for most of the day.

Lucy really enjoyed "Baby Joel," who isn't really a baby anymore but to Lucy, anyone smaller than her is a baby.  He's a sweet little guy.

The big event was Brian's sister's graduation.  She got a degree in counseling- yes- while being wife and mom of three!

It was fun to see her walk across that stage and to see her girls watch mom graduate.  

Yay, Sarah!