State Fair!

Yesterday the five of us (Me, Joe, Lily, Grammy, and G-Pa) got to enjoy the Bagor State Fair! Despite the heat we had a great time. We got to see a "Wild About Monkeys" show, a whole barn of cows, and "Old McDonalds" petting zoo (which all of these pictures are from). Lily was excited about the animals, but a little nervous initially about touching them (she did eventually pet a chick, cow, and sheep). We also got to take in the Disc-Connected K-9 show (Apparently world famous frisbee dogs)- and that was really fun- our favorite part of the fair! Those dogs are pretty incredible (Lily just loves dogs so we knew this would be a hit with her too and it was)! And to round it all off we indulged in homemade lemonaid and fried dough. Fun times!

This Time It's Raspberries!

Even though strawberry picking with Lily was a challenge I just can't resist berries (and they are so cheap to pick your own here)! So with my mom and dad (otherwise known as Grammy and G-Pa) who are up for a visit we decided to try raspberries this time! Thankfully this little adventure was far more fun! Lily had a great time wandering up and down the paths, putting rocks in her bucket, and eating just about every berry she could get her hands on (I kid you not I bet she ate a whole pint)! It took me a while to really pick any (as Lily would eat them as soon as I picked them- check out her little red face in the picture)- but with four of us it went quickly. Joe is planning to make some jam (although we have canned before this would be the first attempt at jam) and my mom and I are planning to make a raspberry swirl cheesecake tonight (if it turns out I'll post the recipe)! And I'm already looking forward to berries in my cereal in the morning! Yum Yum

Are You Afraid of Monkeys?

The "Monkey" Pool

The "Simple" Pool

So, while we were in Bar Harbor on the project Joe agreed that we could get a pool for Lily. If you know me you know that I spent way too much time looking online for just the right (fun) pool! I found this "Monkey" pool that I thought she would love- it has a sprinkler on it and a banana slide- fun right? Well, I ordered it, waited for it to arrive, set it all up and just waited for the squeals of joy from my little water bug. And there were squeals- well more like shreaks-of terror! Yes, she was totally terrified of the monkey head- wouldn't go anywhere near the pool. After three attempts over two days we gave up, returned the fun pool and purchased a simple baby pool. And she loves it. Maybe simple is better.

I Love A Bargain!

During most of my Target trips I try to stroll by the kids clothes and see if anything is on clearance. I've gotten some great deals that way and the other day was no exception. I picked up the above little things for Lily for next summer- all at 50% to 75% off. Total I paid $12 for 4 shirts and two pairs of shorts! With gas prices it might not be worth a seperate trip, but if you find yourself in a Target and you have a little one now might be a good time to hit up the clearance racks! I just love a bargain!

How Sweet!

Joe went out to run some errands today and he came back with a dozen roses! He knows that I love flowers. I'm a lucky girl!

Lily's 1st Car!

Lily got her 1st car yesterday! It was a birthday present from her Nonnie and Grampy (it just took us a little bit to get it and put it together)! Right now she is much more interested in getting in and out of it (and opening the door) than actually "driving" it!

Cousins!

(Lily & Brenna at the beach in Rangely- getting a little muddy!)

(Playing Chess?)

(They both loved this little rocking chair!)

Lily just loved playing with her Cousins Brenna (who's only 3 weeks older) while at camp! It was hard to get a good picture of the two of them since they were always on the move- but this gives you an idea!

Grapes!

So recently I re-discovered a wonderful little treat- frozen grapes! Just buy some grapes (red or green)- stick them in the freezer for a day (or two or many more)- and I think that they are wonderful! Joe's not as excited about them- but I think they are a great, quick, healthy summer treat -not to mention really soothing if you are sick(which I was last week) or pregnant (which I am not)! Enjoy!

Camp Top 10

(Lily splashing in the lake with her Nonnie)

10 Thing I Discovered at Camp:


1. My nephew Jeremy can do an incredible Loon call- and the loons respond- so cool!


2. A mom of a one year old can finish an entire book (not about parenting)!


3. That I love to cook when someone else is doing the dishes and cleaning up my mess- thanks to Mom and Dad Cousins and Marianne for doing all the camp dishes!


4. That even the coldest lakes in Maine aren't so bad as long as you keep moving!


5. That as much as Lily loves playing in the sand- just add a little water and I think she enjoys playing in the mud even more!


6. From the outlook at the top of Bald Mountain I discovered that Maine is more mountainous than I knew- incredibly beautiful!


7. That I'm not bad luck in fishing after all- I caught my first brook trout!


8. That chess is hard. Joe taught me to play, but I'm just plain bad at it!



9. That little girls (namely mine) love other little girls (namely her cousins Brenna and Maggie). Adorable!



10. And finally I discovered that, like many things (but not all) camp is just as much fun (maybe more) with a little one! How great it is to watch her discover things!

Camp!

We just got back from Camp today! Not girl scout camp or science camp or anything like that- in fact Mainers call cabins/cottages "Camp." Every summer for a week Joe's family rents a camp on a lake for the whole family to enjoy! Like most things in life we experienced good and bad during our vacation. It was wonderful to be with Joe's family- it's not often enough that we get to be with his brother's and sister's families. Watching Lily interact with her cousins was especially great! Also, the camp/lake/area itself in Rangely was just absolutly beautiful- as you can see from this picture taken during our hike up Bald Mountain. It was also great to be able to relax- read, do puzzles, swim, canoe, fish, hike, and eat (lots of eating- it was vacation after all)! There were really only two downfalls to the week. First, despite the 80/90 degree weather we had the week before it wasn't quite that warm during our week at camp. Combined with the rather cold water of the lake made water sports a bit daunting. Second, when you put 8 adults, 5 children and 1 dog into a camp illness spreads rather quickly. Unfortunately it spread to just about all of us- and we were all down with some flu-like virus at some point. But in the end the good far outweighed the bad- and we have some great memories. Thanks to Mom and Dad Cousins for a great week!

Ducks!

Yesterday we had to pick up some gear in Bar Harbor so we decided to make an afternoon of it. We were so busy on the project that we never found time to visit Echo Lake Beach in Acadia- but yesterday was the perfect afternoon for a visit! If you live in Maine (or are visiting) this is a perfect beach for little ones! Its not too crowded, the water is warm and shallow, and the best part of all for Lily is that there is a whole family of ducks that live there (including 5 ducklings)! For better or worse the ducks were very used to people- which means that they got so close to us that we could have grabbed one (which is why I didn't get better pictures- it took both hands to keep Lily from grabbing one)! Lily was just so excited to see ducks up close (not just in books)- she kept squealing and saying "Duuuc". I've decided that watching Lily see things for the first time is one of the best things ever (especially wild creatures)!

What a Difference a Year Makes!

These pictures are of Lily last year on the 4th of July and this year on the same day! I just can't believe how big she is! We had a great 4th and hope you did too!

Here's The Giggle

For the 4th of July the 3 of us visited Peaks Kenney State Park with our friend Amy and her little girl (her poor husband had to work). We did a little picnic and enjoyed the beach and the lake. Far and away though Lily's favorite part of the day was playing with Amy's dog Echo. Lily just loves dogs, but ours just mainly ignores her (unless she has food). Echo however just loved playing with Lily- and I was able to capture a little bit of it on video (along with her famous little giggle). Enjoy!

Worth The Work!

The picking may have been a lot of work, but it all seemed worth it the other night as we enjoyed fresh, homemade strawberry shortcake. It's my mom's recipe for real shortcake and I've loved it ever since I can remember. I even made a baby shortcake for Lily to enjoy! Thought I would share the recipe in case you might want to enjoy it too! Here it goes:

Shortcake:

Mix 2cups flour, 1/2tsp salt, 4tsp baking powder, and 2TBSP sugar

Cut in 1/3cup shortening

Add 1/2c milk and 1 slightly beaten egg

Form small cakes/mounds (makes around 6-8)

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees

Served best with mashed strawberries (the shortcake sort of soaks up the extra juice)

Strawberry Picking With a One Year Old?

So every summer one of the things that we look forward to is picking berries (We live in a state where we can pretty much pick them all- strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries)! Last year we brough Lily with us- and at only a few months old she slept peacefully in her car seat (in the field) the whole time. Not quite how it went this year. She did great at first- she thought it was fun to put the berries I gave her in the carton (or take them out)- and apparently even little ones know that fresh strawberries right from the field taste so much better that anything you get in the store (since she was eating a lot of them). But after about 10 minutes she was COVERED in strawberry juice and all she wanted to do was run up and down (and on top of) the rows. It wasn't much longer that she found that some of the rows had standing water- that's all she was interested in the rest of the time. So we switched off- one of us picked berries while the other one of us tried to keep Lily away from the water or from stomping on the berries like she was godzilla! One year olds and strawberries- a great combination. One year olds and strawberry picking- not so much! Oh well, it was a great memory. And I've already decided that someday when I open my orchard/berry farm I will provide a childcare room for weary parents!:)

Let's Give This a Try!

So after living in Bar Harbor for 6 weeks and feeling pretty isolated from all of our family and friends that weren't with us (my parents almost disowned us from our lack of communication) I thought that I would give this blogging thing a try! It seems that we have more and more family and friends each year that live far away from us- so whether you are a family member, friend, or supporter of our ministry- I thought this would be a fun way for you to keep updated with our family! With a busy one year old I won't be a daily blogger, but I'll try to post updates, pictures, video, fun stuff, etc... a few times a week! Enjoy!

To get us started here is a fun picture of Lily and Joe at Pebble Beach in Acadia National Park (Which by the way is my favorite spot in the whole park)!