Berry Pickin' Cousins

This summer my sister's house in Alexandria, VA was a mere 5-hour drive from our place in Jacksonville, NC.  In the hottest part of July her air conditioning broke which forced her to flee to the cool confines of our ultra-air conditioned apartment.  Lucky me!   One morning during her visit we loaded the van with our kids and headed out to the blueberry farm.  

This picture is yet another of my favorites.   Grace is so stinking pleased with her bucket of blueberries.  

Berries are so YUMMY AND BEAUTIFUL too!  

I adore this picture of Lucy or Lulu as Grace calls her.  I love the serene expression on her face and I can't get over that hat!  The navy blue ribbon with white polka dots is just right for picking blueberries. Don't you agree?

All this talk of blueberries is making me hungry!  You have got to try the DIVINE blueberry crumb bars we made in honor of our blueberry picking excursion.  I am certain that BLACKBERRY crumb bars would be equally tempting.  Let me know if you try!  Find the recipe HERE

Big 5!

I can hardly believe my baby is 5!  We celebrated BIG this year--I went all out on a puppy and kitty birthday bash.   As always I had lots of fun dreaming up a grand party scheme and then nearly killed myself trying to meet the deadline.  In some ways it was a good distraction since Mike is currently away on a 4-month job assignment in North Carolina.  But then again I nearly bit off more than I could chew given my busy schedule as a temporarily single mom.

Anyway, Grace was a pet shop owner for the day!  As each of her friends came to the party, they started at the pet adoption station.  Each child chose and named a pet.  Then they were able to buy pet supplies at Grace's Pet Shop.  Grace rang up her customers at the register and bagged their goods in her signature pet shop bags.

Next came the puppy obedience school and kitty care.  I taught them doggy tricks and showed them how to lick melted ice cream from a cat food bowl.  Too funny!  Also, they looked adorable in their kitty and puppy ears that I have been crafting over the past few weeks.  I love that Sam and his BFF, Grant got in on the fun.  Check out those two brown-eyed puppy dog boys!

Needless to say, I am pooped, but satisfied that Grace had such a fun 5th birthday party.  I have a feeling that we will be playing pet shop for weeks.  Thank goodness Daddy sent  G a new cash register as a gift. Special thanks to my buddy Shauna and her daughter, Madison for their help at the party.  Thanks to my big kids for their help too!

Happy Birthday, Grace!  

Sometimes You WIN, Sometimes You LOSE

Yep, I have to brag.  Yesterday Mike, Sam, and I participated in the Sweetheart Run on Naval Base Kitsap. My little Sammy, age 8, took first place in his age division (age 8-12 year) with a mile time of 6 minutes and 50 seconds.    He was 2nd place overall.  Only a 17-year old  boy could beat him.    

I took 2nd place in my category with a 5k time of 22 minutes and 32 seconds.  This is a personal record for me!!!!  PLUS, Mike and I took third place in the pairs division meaning that we had the third fastest combined time as a couple.  The prize was a tin of Dove chocolates.  Sweet!    

Now that brings me to the other part of my story....the Pinewood Derby Race.  Things didn't turn out so well for this race.  Sam was very excited to compete; he designed and constructed the car with very little help from his dad. Good ole' number 41 was a good looking car indeed, but not so fast.  I don't think it won a single heat! Just look at the picture below.  His car is the red one on the far right in last place.

  By the end of the night, the red racer was in 20th place.  Sam didn't let that get him down though.  He said, "well, at least I wasn't last."  I didn't have the heart to tell him that he was quite possibly the lowest man on the totem pole! I felt so bad I cried, but I felt much better after he competed in the Sweetheart Run.  'Cause you know, sometimes you WIN!

Snow Day, HOORAY!

Sam has been earnestly been watching the weather on I-Touch for days. Thank goodness, it finally snowed! School was cancelled today and the kids made good use of their snow gear.    

Don't you love this chubby little snow angel?  

Many people ask, "what do you do about your (very steep) driveway when it snows?  To which I reply, "it makes an AWESOME sledding hill!"

I love looking out the window and seeing this--my 4 kiddies playing together in perfect harmony.  HOORAY FOR SNOW DAYS!  

Sugar Plum Fairy

Once again the Hatch Piano Studio managed to put on a great show for their Christmas piano recital on December 16, 2011.  This time Sam and his piano teacher, Camdon, wore tutus and danced and twirled around the stage for the finale. Sam is such a ham; he'll do anything for a laugh! 

 Oh, and he played some nice Christmas songs on the piano too.  

Sam and I played a lovely duet together for the recital.  Well, it really wasn't that lovely or together at all, but still fun!  It's definitely a learning experience to say the least.  

Pickin'

Few things delight Grace more than picking berries.  The entire month of September she was out in the berry patch with her berry-lovin' dog.  Gunner is a polite dog that knows not to mess with Grace's berry bucket.  He simply eats the berries off the vine!  

Last month we drank berry smoothies, ate berry pie, topped ice cream with berries, and ate them just plain.  We even have some stored in the freezer.  I have to say that wild blackberries are one of my favorite things about living in the Pacific Northwest.  Picking berries with 4-year old Grace is one of my sweetest memories too.

Cub Camp

Sam attended Cub Scout Day camp for the first time this year. Boy, oh boy was he excited!!! I too attended 3 days of the camp as a den guide.  I really enjoyed watching Sam in action as a cub scout. This year's theme was "Cubs at Sea" and all of the activities were centered on a pirate theme.  

Archery

BB Guns

Our den was named the "Plankers"

 Cooking 

Live Pirate Entertainment

First Aid 

Songs and Cheers

Obstascle Courses

Capture the Flag