Strawberry Season.........
I love when the strawberries are in season. It's so strange here though because everything is about a month later than I'm used to: the azaleas, dog woods, cherry blossoms, and now the strawberries in late June! We're just a little slow here in New England. The kids had a great time eating and picking. I say eating first because I think we did more of that than actual picking. Isaac was really into it. In fact, he almost got left. The rest of us finished, weighed and paid, and loaded in the car, and then realized we were one short on the head count....Isaac was still picking.

Then we came home and did a little of this. My kids eat a TON of strawberry jam, so hopefully we made enough to get us by for a little while.

We took Emma to the airport last Thursday to go to Utah. Grandma got her all checked in and dropped off at BYU yesterday for her swim camp this week. I talked to her on the phone last night, she's having the time of her life: loves her counselor, roomate, all the activites, etc. I'm trying my hardest to keep life here at home fun this week to ease Sarah's pain of not going.

Adam is in NC this week teaching a course. On Wednesday he is going to visit his brother, Eli, who is serving a mission there, and comes home next week. It's been 4 years since Adam's seen him (since before Japan) and now w/Adam going to Iraq, it wouldn't be till next year that they'd see eachother, so Eli's mission president was very nice about Adam visiting.

For those of you that haven't heard, Adam's going to Iraq on Aug. 11 for about 7 months. The reality of it is starting to sink in and I'm getting a little nervous. I wish I could say we were having a great summer vacationing and playing, but I feel like every spare second is being filled w/trying to get projects done and things ready for him to leave. Last week I got a lesson on the riding lawn mower. It is a tight fit backing it up a ramp and back into the shed though....it may spend this winter outside the shed w/a tarp over it.

2 posts in one day,
I know, I need to calm down already....but these little birds are so cute I just have to post a few pics! We have a tick problem here, and the best tick control available (I've tried pest control, didn't work) is just getting guinea fowl. They're not 100%, but pretty dang close. There are high numbers of lyme disease in this part of the country, and the ticks that usually carry lyme disease are about the size of a pin head. I pull 2-3 ticks off my kids a week lately, so something needed to be done.
These are our new pets........Lucy & Lilly, Jack & Jill, Freddy& Flip, Diego & Dora, & Pebbles & Bam Bam. 10 in all, the kids each got 2. They're free ranging, they only have to be fed a little because they mostly eat bugs and ticks. They roost in the trees, you just have hope they don't pick the tree above your car to roost in, cause that's where their poop falls. They're also very good watch dogs....but we've already got one of those.

I was the cool mom this morning, starting the summer w/such a fun activity. Hope their not disappointed that every day this summer's not going to be this fun....

For all my vegetarian friends......
Luke was eating a rib, then Jake came along and wanted some, so he shared. Mmm, mmm, good. Don't ask why Jake is wearing a furry dog costume.....
Emma turned ELEVEN last Thursday. She had a great morning opening presents, but was a little bummed she had to go to school. Adam and I took her to dinner though....that's our new rule, only the birthday child gets to go to dinner w/parents, it's WAY too insane w/everyone! She's leaving tomorrow for Utah to go to a swim camp at BYU and then spend a week w/Adam's parents. It's her year for a friend party as well, so I have that to look forward to when she gets back!

Last Friday and Saturday the girls had a swim meet. They both swam hard. Poor little Sarah, ended up having to swim butterfly 3 times! (she's still real new at it) Coach had her swim a 200 IM, 100 IM, and 50 butterfly. Every time she swam it I had flashbacks of 1991 regionals when my coach threw me in 100 butterfly and I had barely learned to swim that stroke the week before. She figured even if I came in dead last, which I did, I'll still pull in points for the team. Painful. It was a good experience for Sarah though, and with just a little more technique and stregnth, she'll get it.

The last school project!!!!!!!! Sarah had one more that was due Monday, a vehicle for her egg in the 3rd grade egg drop. (they drop their eggs off of the roof, 2 stories) I told her I was done w/projects though and wouldn't help her last weekend. I had spent the entire week prior helping Emma w/ her year end project. This is what she came up with all by herself, with Emma's help. Adam thinks I get too involved with the kids' school projects and says he hated kids in school that got that much parental help with their over-the-top craft projects. My new theory is that at least by helping Sarah she is in a way doing her own work, albeit a couple of years later. I thought they did a good job. Her parachute opened up and everything. We won't say though whether her egg survived....

It's not a tat, it's real!!
Jacob got caterpillars and a butterfly cage for his birthday a few weeks ago. What a fun surprise this morning. The boys wanted to take them out and let them fly around their room, but I told them no, we didn't want them to fly away before the girls saw them. Isaac informed me that they were Jakies present, not mine. He had a point, so I said, "fine, whatever Jakie wants to do".

Sometimes it's just those little simple things that make me happy! Finally a crib for Luke!! Luke's been sleeping in a porta-crib ever since we packed out leaving Japan 13 months ago!!! When we got here, the movers had lost his crib parts, and his crib had been discontinued and I couldn't replace them. He seemed happy enough in the porta crib, but when he ripped a huge hole in the side of it last month, I decided I wasn't ready for him to move to a real bed, and so it was time! I found one on craigslist, but then of course had I to order a missing part for it, and then it sat for a month needing to be assembled, but last night was the night, YEAH!!!!! Luke wasn't too sure at first about it, but apparently it was comfortable enough because he slept through a 80lb Doberman barking in his room this morning! I didn't realized Duchess was asleep on his floor when I put him to bed last night, and this morning when I heard Duch barking and I kept thinking, "dang-it Emma, let your dog outside!" .....she was really locked in Lukes room though and it didn't even wake him!

No one likes to be left out..... While in the dug out on crowd control during the boys T-ball game Sat, Luke snuck out onto the field w/the team. Hey, his shirt was the same color! After I pulled off he cried the rest of the game....and no little whimper cry. I finally got him distracted picking flowers for his daddy, but then fell apart when I wouldn't let him out on the field to give them to his daddy. He's definitely approaching TWO!

Notice Isaac's long sleeves in the pic....that was 3 days ago!!! Yesterday it was 97 degrees!! Hello no AC. This New England weather is nuts. One extreme or the other. This really is hotter than normal though....at least that's what they say. So to try to beat the heat, we went to Walmart and I bought the boys a little wading pool. It blew off the top of the car twice on the way home, I wasn't entirely sure we it was going to make it. But it was worth it, the boys told me at least a dozen times that I was the nicest mommy in the world.

Last week the girls had "career day" at school. Emma's an olympic swimmer and Sarah a teacher. Adam visited the 5th grade to inform them about being a lawyer. My little daddy's girl was thrilled.

Piano Recital was Sunday afternoon. I have a few students and then I trade my girls w/a friend from church for her two as well, totally 4. Plenty for now. The recital turned out nice. Emma will actually admit to "liking piano a little bit", I don't expect it to last, but I'll take it for now!

Sarah still won't admit it!

Summer Haircut... Jake's haircut got a lot shorter this past week than normal. I was just finishing it up w/the clippers on top, & the attachment FELL OFF and he got shaved right down the middle! Oops. So the rest had to be buzzed short to match. It's still a little shorter in that one spot, but I just couldn't completely shave the whole thing. His daddy's getting a summer haircut this week to match. If you ask him if he likes his haircut, his answer is, "NO, I HATE IT!" I had to bribe him to let me take this picture.