Saturday, June 26, 2010

the friendliest of farms


On the first official day of summer, Annie and I drove down for a lunch with the fam at Friendly Farms. It's a place we always used to go eat when we were growing up. My grandmother and aunt came, and so did my mom and dad and brother!




The food at Friendly Farms is yummmy, but the best part is going to play outside at the pond afterward! 




look at that cheesy smile!!









When we got to the pond, there was a bald eagle waiting there for us!






Annie had some good one-on-one time with her uncle Thomas! :)

Happy Summer!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

this is how I grew up


playing lawn games on Sunday evenings with my family . . .










playing inside wooden trains at strawberry orchards . . . 


going on tractor rides through farm country . . .


trying to wake up sleeping kittens to get them to cuddle with me . . .


exploring old farms . . .


playing among the animals . . .



waving at baby calves . . .



playing outside with my best friend, Katie . . .



talking to billy goats on troll bridges . . .



sitting inside gazebos and wishing I had one for myself . . .



running through fields under blue skies Little-House-On-the-Prairie style . . .


Just in case anyone was wondering if I'm reliving my childhood through my daughter, I certainly am. And we're having a blast. :)

Saturday, June 5, 2010

lumberjack Brant and [almost] summer days

A few months ago Brant began helping my dad chop firewood in the woods behind my parents house so it would season in time for winter. We just barely got the pictures off my dad's camera, but I thought I'd post these gems from our lumberjack photo shoot!










We are in the midst of a hot, humid, summer-stormy week. The other evening we had a really great thunderstorm. It didn't last too long, but it left behind an awesome rainbow. I couldn't capture the whole thing on my camera, but we could in fact see the complete rainbow from our side porch! If our neighbors ever want to sell their house, I think this would make a good picture for them to show prospective buyers . . . :)




eventually the rainbow faded . . . this is all that was left for a while . .



Meanwhile, here are some pictures taken on hot sunny days:

this is coolest dang flower bud . . .



I am in love with how brilliant blue these flowers are . . . 




every post has to have pictures of my daisies :)




a lone columbine blossom . . . this was my mother's day present from my dad! 




This is my special snapdragon. It's just a single shoot that is randomly growing in the middle of a whole bunch of other flowers, totally separate from the rest of the snapdragons. It's a renegade!!




Lavender in the sun . . . 



I was lying on my back on the patio in the sunshine, and Annie came and stood over me! She thought it was so funny!



This is where Memphis hangs out when we're outside playing on hot days. He digs himself a little hole in the dirt and then curls up in it to stay cool . . . 




Annie's discovered the art of swinging around and around and around on the clothesline pole. Love it!






Bye, everyone!!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

delightful day in my favorite town

I was really hankerin' for a summertime day trip yesterday, so Annie and I met up with my mom and headed down to Frederick, Maryland. We had a little picnic at played at one of the many sections of Baker Park, which is a totally awesome spot. :)



Memphis got to go swimming!!



can you tell she's really into hide-and-seek right now?







Annie loved the ducks



off they go!



I could have spent hours and hours more there, but we had to rush home. Hopefully we'll go again soon!

Right before I took this picture, Memphis was asleep too, and Annie had her arm resting on his head. It was so cute!