Summer Birthdays

Mel's Dad and Grandmother "Meme" always celebrate their birthdays together, so the family got together to eat cake and be merry.

Happy Birthday Dad and Meme!!

But Brian and I got a gift that night as well! Mel's Grandfather Papa isn't happy unless he's working on a project. Pair that with his love of carving and finding diamonds-in-the-rough at second hand stores and voila... a rocking horse with personal touches from Papa (hand carved seat and ears; small added details, and a fresh paint job) which he gave to us to hang onto until we can find a use for it. We love it - but luckily my cousin is pregnant and due in a few days, so her new baby-to-be can fulfill their itch for the next great-grandchild.

Staycation

Since our friends Mike, Laura and their 3 kids decided to make the drive to Maine rather than meeting us somewhere in the middle of here and Illinois, we were able to enjoy our time with them right here in and around the place we lovingly call home.

We had a blast and their 3 kids kept us busy - but now that they've left, our house seems way too quiet... will you guys come back soon??? We miss you!! (Ok, so maybe we sleep a little better with only two of us in the bed... but it was so cute to wake up to this every morning ;) )Fun at the playground...



Bella really enjoyed taking walks, so we checked out the neighborhood.
We got the families together for a BBQ, and since Stacy's unconditional love of Heinz (and her refusal to eat other brands of ketchup) is well known, Mike and Brian decided it was time to test her taste buds with a little trick...

(she didn't notice the switcheroo - but was a great sport about it. At least now she knows she doesn't have to travel with Heinz when leaving home!)
We had to do a "Lobstah dinnah" since they were in Maine (thanks again for the lobsters M&L!!).
Bella helped keep my cherry tomato harvest in check, eating them right off the vine!
Shopping for Maine souvenirs at Land's End:

Mike really wanted to check out candlepin bowling (apparently a sport that's survived only in New England) so we took half the gang to check it out:
Brian showed us how it's done:
then the rest of us gave it a shotGianna was particularly enthusiastic about her candlepin bowling experience (and she had good reason to be - she and Bella both had skills!):


Gotta work on those math skills early - Brian puts the girls to work keeping score.

Then a walk across the street to one of our favorite spots to indulge: Gelato Fiasco!!
We made a trip to Popham Beach - a state park (that I absolutely adore) with a few miles of beautiful sandy coastline.
Sorry guys... the water's cold, even in August!
We'll skip the photos of Brian burnt to a crisp. Suffice it to say we spent the whole day at the beach swimming, playing in the sand, chasing "pelicans" (seagulls), and hunting for shells. (And Brian learned a painful lesson about what happens when you don't use any sunscreen.)

We got some books for bedtime stories at the library. A book about a talking dog called Martha Blah Blah, which was a BIG hit (the dog can talk after eating alphabet soup, of course!), kept the girls saying "blah blah" then heartily laughing all week.
A visit downtown to farmer's market on the mall, and lunch at Wild Oats rounded out one of our afternoons.

We had an absolute blast in the short week we had together, and can't wait until our next adventure - thanks so much for making the loooooong drive guys!! Definitely the best "Staycation" we've had :).

Garden Visitors

What do cardinals and tomatoes have in common? A few days ago I would have said "nothing." But the past few mornings I've noticed our bright red cardinal hanging around my tomato plants. I just assumed it like to perch there, but day after day I've spotted him in the garden. So after a quick google search, it looks like cardinals might eat tomato worms! I've given my tomato plants a quick once over for these bugs, but never see anything (although I don't really know what I'm looking for) so a hearty THANK YOU to our cardinal neighbor for hunting down these bugs before they eat up our tomatoes!
This guy was just hanging out too... eat all the creepy crawlies you want, friends!!

a sour recipe

I was so excited to see cherries - Yes CHERRIES! - at farmer's market last weekend. I wasn't deterred when this bearded cherry-growing farmer said these were sour cherries, since he said these are the only cherries he'll eat.

How sour could they really be...
.....REALLY sour as it turns out! So I scoured the internet and found this easy little recipe.

And voila! Not as pretty as the inspiration.... but oh-so-delicious!

Living Room Deconstruction

We've picked a color for the walls but there's a lot to be done before we can pull out the paint brushes. We've been busy sanding down the irregularities and bad patches on the walls. On the agenda for this weekend - puttying all those nicks, dings, craters, and sanded spots.

Food Fest (otherwise known as camping)

In keeping with our annual camping focus - the seemingly endless campfire food possibilities - most of our photos from the camping weekend ended up revolving around food :).

Surprise birthday cake for Sue!
(this photo makes the cakes look small.... don't be fooled, they were full size. Moderation does not exist while camping!)

Joe makes breakfast for the group in the morning
Brian and Mel were in charge of lunch. We had a troublesome bag of coals, which we discovered weren't staying hot only when lunch wasn't ready on time... but after another round of hot coals and plenty of cook time, lunch was finally served!

And it was good! (chicken in a homemade BBQ sauce with veggie rice)
The brave ones ventured into the water...
... the rest of us relaxed!
Evenings are for sitting around the campfire.
Pinky out... the dignified way to eat a s'more (or maybe seven) Another dessert that night - cherry cobbler, cooked on coals in the firepit
Here's the rest of the gang....laying low, so we didn't attract anymore impromptu performers to our campsite. What are we talking about you ask... The second night at the cabin, "Andy" stumbled onto our campsite ready to play his mandolin and sing bluegrass versions of his favorite songs. Although his enthusiasm was great, his singing was a little shaky (maybe a few too many beers, Andy?). Our last night was much quieter and private.


See, I told you.... 7 out of 9 photos are about food!!

We interupt this European Adventure...

Sooo... we've been pretty slow on the European trip updates so I want to catch up a little on what we've been doing since returning stateside. Our first painting project: the guest room- which has also been a long sloooow project since we're repainting all the trim (originally a dark stain), widening the closet opening to fit new folding doors (the closet had no doors!), and painting the new closet doors and the old beat up baseboard heaters, along with a fresh new color for the walls!

We're still working on it.... we'll post "finished" photos when/if that day comes. (What were we thinking already buying paint for the next room -which will be THE most work of all the rooms in the house - when we're already anxious for this room to be done!??)