farewell friends!

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." ---Winnie the Pooh

We recently had to say goodbye to our dear friends, the Robinsons, who have now moved across the state. But, before they left, I had the privilege of capturing their precious family in a Farewell Memphis photo shoot. We had a fun-filled evening with both of our families together and look forward to continuing our forever friendship. . .long distance!

Click here to see more photos from our shoot. Farewell for now! We love you!

patience in fishing

I'm kinda enjoying my "Lakehouse" series of posts. It makes me feel like we are still there! It does amaze me that there is so much, yet so many simple things, to do in the middle of nowhere! For example, my dad had big intentions of teaching Luke and Charlie how to fish. He bought them fishing poles and proceeded to teach them how to cast. It was quite a dangerous undertaking---or could have been if my Dad hadn't been smart enough to not put a real hook on the poles! With all the flying of lines, if there had been a real hook on their poles, we would have been to the ER (where? i don't know) for sure! Chad got into it too--though really he spent his time trying to untangle Charlie's line--what a mess. . .Charlie worked on doing that too--which didn't really help!

The boys, especially Luke, REALLY wanted to catch a fish, but they had to gain control over their poles first. They came close, but it turned out to be a to-be-continued fishing event. Things learned:  fishing requires patience, stillness and one being quiet. Not the easiest things for our little guys at the moment! Hang in there, Lukey--patience is a virtue!

blueberry pickin' or eatin'?

One morning while on our lake trip, Chad took Luke down to the dock for a swim. Charlie decided to go with Grandpa and me to pick some blueberries. I was thrilled he wanted to go with us! See, he's not a big fan of bluberries. Most mornings he reminds me (ever so nicely of course) that he doesn't like blueberries, yet I continue to put them on his breakfast plate. They ARE one of the healthiest foods we can eat, come on! And, most mornings these blueberries sit on his plate until I pop them in his mouth. It's sad that we force feed Charlie blueberries.

Anyway, Charlie was very interested in coming along to pick the blueberries. Great! I figured he'd be quite the helper and not the eater. Boy, was I wrong! We got our boxes and baskets and found our blueberry bushes (on a perfectly overcast day, so it wasn't too hot) and started picking away. Grandpa mentioned that we could eat a few, taste them to make sure they were good. So, Charlie did, and very quickly emptied his blueberry box before I could say, "Holy blueberry eater!" Who knew? There must have been something about these freshly picked bites of deliciousness that Charlie also loved, because he went from being a super picker, to a super eater! My dad and I ended up doing all the work!

Figuring out the box. . .

Hard at work. . .

and hardly working. . .

The 2 Charlies!

And, who was the sign made for??? I'm not calling anyone out. . .Chuckles!

Ahhhhh!! A delicious treat awaits!

It was a fun time in Pickens, SC, the middle of nowhere, on a beautiful hill full of blueberry bushes as far as we could see! Thanks for the treat, Dad!

this, that and pickles!

I promised that I'd have more stories and pics soon (in my last post), but I've not gotten anywhere fast. Just been busy. Summer busy. We've been finding ways to stay entertained and beat the heat. I'm trying to soak up the days of not having to be anywhere early. Not having to get showered and ready first thing before getting the boys up (like I try to do during the school year). Some days it helps though. Like yesterday, when I needed to be up and ready to get the boys dressed and fed and to the grocery store by 8:15, (which turned out to be 8:30) because Miles had a dr. appt. at 9:15 and I had to leave time to drop off the "cold" groceries at the house before the dr. appt. Then after the appt. we rushed home for Miles' nap and to fix lunches and apply sunscreen for our sprinkler park playdate. It's good for us to have some busy days, you know, to keep us on our toes since school starts in 4 weeks. Blah!

Anyway, while on our lake house trip, my mom, who is known as the "One who loves giving babies their first pickle bites" got to do exactly that! It was Miles' turn, and I'll let the pics do the talking. . .

Adorable sour face, Miles!

Hello July!

We've just returned from our annual lake house trip in South Carolina and while I knew it was already July, it's hard to believe it's already almost the middle of July! After being gone a while, it seems there is much to do around the house. You know, like laundry, tidying up, grocery trips, more laundry, and trying to help the boys remember how to entertain themselves--not an easy task, since they spent the past 10 days being entertained by us, grandparents or others and ALWAYS had something to do!!

But back to July! I'm afraid I should have labeled my June header "Summer" instead of June. I don't think a July header is in the works. However, I have tons of pictures and stories to share and might as well fill you in on our 4th before its August 4th!

Ahhhh, the lake in the summer! Such a fun family time! You better believe we had a "F" day on the 4th too!

The 4th was filled with flag cake makin'

and of course flag wavin'

and no July 4th is complete without fireworks!!

My parents lake house community sets off fireworks a boat ride away from their house. For the past few years, we have joined up with friends and had a parade of boats from the entire community come together, tie up to each other and cheer on the fireworks. Last year, I was sick and didn't make the late night boat trip for the show, so this year, Chad stayed back at the house with Miles, while Luke, Charlie and I headed out with Mimi and Grandpa to be a part of the festivities!

We ventured out before it got dark. . .

a sweet couple, my parents, aka Mimi and Grandpa

Can you see all the boat lights??

The boys and I enjoyed the "pop pop booms" and a late night snack too!

Happy late 4th of July to you all! More fun lake trip pics and stories to follow!