Loving our summer

Although it's been waaaaaaaaaaay busy this summer, we're having a good time. Especially when Canada sends us some cooler/dryer weather and we don't feel like we can chew the air. S has spent a lot of time in the great outdoors, and we've also visited a lot of local farms, dairies, museums, and stores. We may sound crunchy, but we visit the farm for yummy blueberries and animals to pet, and we visit the dairies for ice cream! Here's a peek at what we've been up to

The wading pool is getting a lot of use

We hosted our friends and their kids, who only came inside for lunch :)

Mommy puts S to work

Ready for an outing to the tot lot

Garden bounty. Sugar snap peas, sow peas, and arugula

Snuggling in our new carrier

Watching Daddy go to work

Begging for a ride in her wheelbarrow

Striking a pose before heading into the sprinkler

New potatoes!

ModelingMommy's new finished product

Colorado

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the Aurora shooting and their families. I went to the same grad school as the shooter, and this is hitting a bit close to home.

Where does the time go?

Certainly not hunched over a computer doing regular blog posts!

We made homemade play dough

We dressed like a California girl

We went to a fancy dress party with Daddy

We watched Uncle Bruce get his 10th Degree Black Belt

We had breakfast at Grania's

Mommy made some socks

I carried a dandelion to the berry farm

We fed some goats...

...and some sheep

We looked at the pretty lambs

And climbed. A lot

That's what's going on around here. We drove to PA last weekend, where Daddy did some martial arts, and we got to go a banquet! Uncle Bruce got his 10th degree black belt, and we were all there to see it happen. We spent some time with Grania and Maw, then headed back to Massachusetts.

Today we went to Ward's Berry Farm. Mommy likes it because there's a playground, animals, a sandbox, a farm store, and sandwiches and smoothies. Daddy liked being off for the day and enjoying some family time. We saw all the animals (the ponies were gone for the day), then played on the playground and had some lunch. Before we left, we picked up some yummy berries and baked goods. Mommy will be doing a lot of cooking this week!

Catching up

So much going on around here. Father's Day. New dryer. Visiting preschools before the fall. Freelancing. Knitting. Chasing around a 2-year-old. Here's what's new:

Showing off her toddler fashion sense. The pink cowgirl boots really nail it

Checking out Daddy's Father's Day photo book

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Rocking her very first pigtails

Another "what we've been up to" post

This summer is almost as busy as last year, just with stuff going on all.the.time instead of driving between 2 states. Every time I look at the calendar I get tired. This week was no exception.

Insisting on getting buried with her puzzle pieces. I've never seen a kid so happy to be "stuck"

Modeling our Sesame Street visors from her birthgrandma

...and her "princess dress"

The annual Boston Irish Festival was just down the road from us this weekend. The festival kicked off with a concert by Gaelic Storm, one of our favorite bands. We haven't seen them since before S came along, so we were excited to all go as a family.

More than ready to see Gaelic Storm

On her way with Grania and Daddy

S had a wonderful time at the concert. She was full of energy well into the night, and played with every kid in the vicinity. The boy near her had a Gaelic Storm donkey, and she had to have one too. Daddy bought her one, and she hasn't let go of it since. She sleeps with it every night.

We spent parts of Saturday and Sunday roaming the grounds and checking out the rest of the festival. Grania spent some time at the genealogy tent, we listened to more bands, and S spent some time in the kids area.

Waving while riding the train

She was ever so still while getting her arm painted

Lovely finished product

After all that excitement, you'd think it was time to relax at home. Nope, we decided it was time to assemble her oh-so exciting water table she got for her birthday. I think she likes it.

In the meantime, we have been watching our gardens grow.

Potatoes

Beans and peas

Why we are tired

We've been:

Reading at the top of the stairs

Showing off our mad jumping skillz

Trying to nap in a diaper bin. With a hat on our head. While holding a giant wolf.

Checking out our new truck

Playing with Daddy's gauntlets

Watching Daddy dress up like Mike the Knight ;)

Watching Daddy get an award

Playing with swords

Eating other people's food

Enjoying our chair with canopy

Singing Happy Birthday

Going for a walk

Playing in a "sandbox" (otherwise known as a volleyball pit)

It takes a lot out of a girl