summing up summer

Summer is quickly slipping away.  I spent today filling out forms for school.  It has been a wonderful summer.  We have done so many fun things!  And for that reason, I am behind on the blog. 
Here are a few of our summer highlights...
Mars Cousins Camp was a treat!  We spent a few days at Hocking Hills.  Almost all of the Mars kids were there (Ben is on a mission in Connecticut, so he wasn't there).  With all the spouses and children, there were about 45 of us!  I enjoyed running on the trails with David, Emily, Janis, Dan, Tevita, Sarah and Joe.  Hocking Hills has some amazing terrain!  To see lots more Cousins Camp photos, click here.

We've been to the beach.  Okay... not the real beach.  But the sand by the reservoir was lovely.  And there were seagulls.

The girls have had lots of quality cousin time this summer!

We have taken lots of pictures.

Alli is a budding photographer too.

She takes some very interesting pictures.
I have kept up my marathon training all summer... my long run this week will be 20 miles.  Four weeks to go until the marathon!  Almost there!
Summer has been good, but we are all excited for school to start... and more adventures to come.  Alli will be in 1st grade!  Ruby has another year of preschool.  June will still be my sidekick at home.
Hooray for changing seasons!  Hooray for exciting things to come!

Escape Artist

On my way to my brother's house today, June was throwing a fit.  Screaming angrily.  I am pretty good at tuning out crying... but then Ruby tattled, "June is not buckled!" 
I know I buckled June into her car seat.
I glanced into the rear view mirror... and there she was, sitting in her seat, slouching over, unrestrained!
I freaked out silently in my heart.  I was on a ramp from one highway to another.  No place to pull over.  Luckily, the next exit was ours.  I stopped and examined June's seat.  She had somehow pushed the button to unlatch the lower buckle, then slipped the chest buckle over her head (it was still latched)!
I tightened all the straps and double checked the buckles...

... and I am still freaking out a little bit.

pickles for breakfast and other fun things

The move to Ohio has turned me back into a country mouse... a little bit.
I have the urge to plant things.  Make a garden.  Harvest stuff.  While our yard is still in progress, I am blessed to have family and friends nearby who are not only excellent gardeners, but generous as well.  Two weeks ago we picked blackberries* at a friend's berry patch and I canned one jar of jam.  One excellent, beautiful jar.

This week I got a bunch of cucumbers from my sister-in-law.  So I decided to make pickles.

I love the green pickles in the antique blue jars!
Canning has always intimidated me a little.  But now that I actually have tried it, it is not so bad.  (Special thanks to Sarah for answering my many, many questions as I went along!)
Alli and Ruby couldn't wait to taste the homemade pickles.  They popped open a jar this morning... for breakfast.  The girls had pickles for breakfast.  I had granola.  I also had zucchini bread.  So did the girls... only they had theirs with pickles on top.  Alli insisted that it was delicious.  So I tried it.  Honestly, it was alright.  The flavor of the pickle was loudest.  Very salty with sweet undertones from the zucchini bread.

If there are any chefs reading this, you may want to experiment with those ingredients together.  Maybe call your creation the "Alli Special" or something like that.

*So I mentioned the blackberries earlier.  A funny thing happened at the berry patch.  When we arrived, June was asleep.  June has a talent for sleeping anywhere and through (almost) anything.  So I put her in a wagon on top of a thick quilt and I pulled her back to the berry patch and parked her under a shady berry bush.  We picked berries for a while... maybe an hour or so.  We filled our bucket.  Then Alli and Ruby wanted to walk back to get a look at the apple orchard.  So I set the bucket in the wagon next to June, and we walked to the orchard about 100 feet away.  We checked out the apples... so tempting, but not ripe.  And when we came back to June, she was awake, lying in the wagon, luxuriously munching on berries in the shade.  Her face and tiny fingers were crimson with berry juice.  Life is good for the Little One.

post edit-
After 24 hours, we have been through 1 pint jar of pickles!  These are not going to last long!

Kids vs. Pinata

Check out these fierce warriors...

... doing battle with a pinata.

Oh no!  The pinata got Joe!


Attack!


Parties are always exciting at Grandma and Grandpa Ohio's house.

relatively quiet

It was a quiet day at our house.  No wrestling matches between Ruby and Lucas.  No hollering from June to protect her precious babies from cousin Lily.  Quiet. 
Relatively quiet.

We miss you Lucas and Lily... enjoy New York! 

ps- We don't mind life being relatively loud... because of relatives, of course.

The cousins are in town...

Things have been busy here.  And the blog has been neglected a little.  Cousins are in town for a visit... we are glad to be a stop  on the Epic Road Trip of 2010 (more on this later).
We are having fun (except for when we aren't).  And we are keeping our cool (except for when sparks fly).  We are sharing (if it's convenient).  Naps optional.
Summer is treating us well,  our girls look sun-kissed and golden-haired despite the ample sunscreen.  I am doing lots of really dirty laundry... it's a summer thing.

Check out the pictures I took yesterday.
Life is busy, but good.  Summer is sizzling by so quickly.

PS- June is suddenly very good at saying "MINE!"  Maybe it's because Lily is only two months older and she really loves June's stuff.

Ruby is FOUR!

Holy smokes!  How the time flies!  Ruby is four! 

We celebrated with a rainbow-themed birthday party.  All the kids made their own rainbow trail mix (Skittles, Fruit Loops, pretzels, rainbow Goldfish, rainbow mini-marshmallows, etc).  Grandma Utah painted faces... always a big hit.  Aunt Betsy led a game of sharks and minnows.  It was a hot, hot afternoon, and the rainbow cake was refreshing with layers of cake and sherbet (thanks for the inspiration Heather!).  Aunt Jen flew in from Colorado.  It was a real treat to have aunts and cousins and grandparents and lots of friends at the party.
She was glowing with delight... at least that is what it looks like in this picture.

Happy Birthday Ruby!  We love you!