Happy Pioneer Day Utah!

Pops didn't miss his once in a year chance to post the Utah colors a-top of the old ship's mast on the barn today! It's Pioneer Day, after all. 

We celebrated just like those courageous souls who labored into the valley of the Salt Lake. 

Panera take-out and scriptures on horse back. Giddy-up!

AG Birthday Kick-Off

Tradition!...Tradition!

It just isn't Abizella's birthday without a trip to the American Girl Doll store. I am just loving it for as long as I can! This year we were lucky enough to have Cousin Boo in town, just like our first trip. 

Abz is a pro at the store now. She knows she needs her doll there and she knows she needs her hands free, so she came up with an awesome solution. A doll carrier of her own design. A black strap that her little passenger can dangle from her armpits in absolute comfort and style.

There was a lot of time for exploring and playing. The ladies went from display to display re-arranging them to look exactly as they are found in their catalog, which they had memorized the night before at their sleep-over.

And BRUNCH! Mmmmmmm!

Oh how we adore the AG cake.
Well, actually Boo loves the cake and Abz loves the ice cream, so they made the trade!
I like it all!

Another day in paradise!

Thank-you for joining us Andie, Boo, Tiny and Jaws!
You made Abizella's day a day she will talk about all year!

Seagulls

The boys took me on a date down at the beach, they know my favorite place. 

We were gliding back and forth on the swings and Superkid marveled, "They make it look so easy!" I followed his gaze to the seagulls soaring over us, suspended in one place from the gusts coming off of the ocean. He observed the shape of their wings and tried to replicate their angles with his ankles and provided sound effects with his buzzing lips. He tested his own flight as he cut through the air on the swings. I love how this kid's mind works.

The other two boys joined in the fun too. They took many trips racing down the seawall throwing themselves, arms spread, into the air landing in the sand below, often chasing a nearby seagull until it lifted into flight. 

Then Superkid perched himself on the highest peak of the seawall and watched the world below and kept an eye on the skies above. He tells me he nearly got pulled into the skies when a seagull swooped 4 feet above his head, trying to lift him away. 

A perfectly pleasant evening to be the mom of these little ornithologists.

The Blueberry Nights of July

Ahhhh... those blueberry nights of summer! I love that balmy wet evening air and the plump juicy berries. We have enjoyed a couple of them so far. I can honestly never get enough. 

Never enough summer nights or enough blueberries!

I'm not the only one who can't wait to get to the bushes!

In our excitement to get out early and often this year, to make up for last year's disappointment, we may have picked a few *barely* blue-blueberries. Right Tad?

We brought back some friends for another round of fun and another bountiful haul. 

The way this family clears a pan of blueberry buckle, it is imperative to stock up!

I have built myself an enthusiastic picking crew over the years, and the pay is good too. 

JJ's soft serve ice cream!

And you never know what you will find along the way. 

We spotted this peacock lazily strolling through the neighborhood on our way home.

Tonight's Miracle

"Dea-ah Heavenly Fath-ah, the weason I am praying is because I hurt my fing-ah. 

Please heal it for me so that I will feel bett-ah."

After the prayer... "Do you think He will answer my prayer in  the middle of the night? 

I hope not because I want to see it."

Date Night

When this girl gets her mind set on something, there is no detering her. She decided on Saturday that Monday was going to be Daddy Daughter Date night and they were going for a bike ride all over town. She put it on the calendar. Then she spent every waking hour for the ensuing days circling the driveway on her bicycle. She even had Pops pull out Queen's song, "Bicycle" and sang and sang her guts out. Then today, in preparation of the big date, she composed a journal entry complete with a route map and itinerary of the big event. So tonight, after Pops got home from visiting with a client, the two saddled up and peddled down the driveway. Pops confirmed my hunch as he peddled past. 

He hadn't been on a bike in probably 10 years.

After they left, Tadpole came up to me and asked, "Mom, how do I ask a special girl on a date?" I said, "You simply ask her to join you in some fun activity." I asked who he was interested in taking out on a date. He said, "You!" He is planning a picnic in the park. I can't wait!

Tasty Teddy Bears

Our friend Sandy gave us a Sesame Street Cookie Cook Book about 6 years ago. It has been #1 on the Tidepool Toad reading charts all of this time. It is unbeatable. We used to cook from it pretty regularly, but in recent times it is more of a fun story book. 

Little Chief was in charge of providing an activity for the family and I suggested pulling out the cook book and making some bears together. LC couldn't believe this was actually happening, and it was a super huge hit with everyone.

Especially this little guy, who didn't know that those cookies in the book could really exist. 

We may be in trouble!

Play Date!

Abizella asked if she could go get Lauren, our next door neighbor, to come and play. Little Chief ran up to me, clasped his hands together and sweetly pled, "Pleeeeeeease, Mommy, can I go get a kid to play with too?" No problem. Our next door neighbors happen to have a kid for each of our kids to play with. And believe it or, not, one on the way for Little Jaws as well. Where else in New England are there two houses side-by-side with 5 kids, all the same age in each? Crazy. 

So Abizella and Little Chief went over and hauled back the party!

Flower Shop

This yard is like the Garden of Eden. 

There is always something in bloom, and I am always dying to get my hands on all those beautiful flowers. Let's just say I didn't have to twist my little assistants wrist to get her out for a little flower picking. 

We decided on two different arrangements. The Summer Bouquet...

And the Birthday Bunch. If you didn't know, the hydrangea is Abizella's birthday flower. We were gifted a hydrangea bush  when she was born and it is always in full bloom on her birthday. It is the one thing I truly miss from the little yellow house.

Abizella had so much fun that when her friend came to play, they did it all over again! 

Hey, Lauren's family needs a little sunshine too!

More Fun For the Fourth!

What a great Holiday weekend! 

It was pretty much spent at one beach or another. 

We decided to try a Cape Cod beach, it took a few tries to find parking, but it was definitely worth the fun!

Abz found a little fishy!

The snacks aboundeth!

Life was good in the shade...

And on the sand!

Digging never gets old!

When we weren't at the beach, the water fun continued in the hot tub, made cool for the sweltering heat.

We even treated ourselves to a movie, Little Chief's first. Despicable Me. A smashing success!

And then for the Grand Finale! Fireworks over the Harbor.

We were happy to share this treat with our cousins!

We were glad our cousins decided to come. 

The fireworks were spectacular, but it was sad to part with the people we love so much! We hope we can see them again soon and often!

4th of July Joy!

We woke up Forth of July Morning to COUSINS! 

It was a dream come true. 

Our awesome cousins from Virginia drove all night long to come and spend the weekend with us. 

We couldn't be happier. That morning the kiddos ran through the house, meeting up with their counterparts. 

LC found his buddy Seth...

Superkid found his fav, Will.

Abizella found her fav, Mia. 

And poor Tadpole searched and searched before he came downstairs and found Brooke and asked, 

"Where is my cousin?" Seriously Brooke! You totally missed one. But that's okay. These ladies kept Tad in the loop.

And he drowned his sorrows in blueberry buckle. Mmmmmm. Blueberry buckle!

It was a sweltering 4th of July. Temperatures in the 90s and super humid too! But not even that could keep us from the best small town parade ever. I say that with great experience in small town parades, but this was truly something. Minutemen, Red Coats, Antique fire trucks, marching bands, clowns, horses, drill teams, 2 bag pipe bands, boats with boy scouts with squirt guns, Masons in tuxedos and full robe and even a marching kazoo band. Something for everyone.

The little ladies and I put together a 4th of July feast while the parents rested from their full night drive. 

They even made this festive flag cake!  Look, 50 stars! Go girls!

After a BBQ that couldn't be beat, we headed to the beach to catch some waves and cool down.

Double trouble here.

It was fabulous to reconnect.

And enjoy a warm summer night together!

God bless the U.S.A.!

Happy Worst Birthday Ever

Today is Pops' birthday. I would have loved to reciprocate and give him the kind of lovely birthday he gave me, the kind of birthday he deserves. 

But instead he got today. 

The first problem is that his birthday is too soon after mine. 

Admittedly,  I am all wrapped up in me and his big day sneaks up on me.

The day started off with a crack of dawn dentist visit for 6 Toads. Jaws came too, but since he is just jaws and no teeth he didn't have to take the hot seat. LC did. This was his first visit. That is, if you count flat out refusal to let anyone near him. Probably too soon after his 3yr.old check-up i.e. the worst day EVER. I didn't push it too hard at the dentist, but enough that Pops got a good dose of humiliation as he overheard LC screaming mean things at the dentist while his own teeth were being cleaned. And there was still plenty of suffering during the 2 hours we spent in the waiting room. These days it is more fun to have your teeth drilled than sit in a waiting room with our children.

So off to work I went. Pops manned the troops all day as usual. He also took everyone to piano lessons.

The bright part of the day was that we didn't make him prepare us dinner. We went to Panera. Surprisingly, nobody complained, everybody ate and we all were relatively  well behaved.

Then home for a boring home made cake and no presents. 

I actually made a ridiculous effort to do some birthday shopping Saturday night. I knew exactly what Brad wanted, Little Chief and Jaws just barely woke from a nap and everybody was well fed. 

What could go wrong? 

Silly me. I should have asked our next door neighbor babysitter to come over for a bit. She actually popped in to invite us over for S'mores as we were heading out. But I was feeling like Super Mom. We parked at the Mall, I put Jaws in the B'jorn, Tadpole and LC in the stroller, and Abizella and Superkid were free range. We walked straight to the Men's department and I started my search. About 30 seconds later I hear Superkid start chanting, "LC's on the loose! LC's on the loose!" Abizella joins in, this makes it even more fun for LC. I pop him back into the stroller and keep searching. Then I hear the chanting again and Abizella offers to get him. Perfect. A chase. I tell Abz not to move, LC will come back. He doesn't. He isn't anywhere to be seen and of course is not answering my calls. I am wondering if we should put out the Amber alert. A lady sees my plight and points under a clothes rack where a snickering LC is hiding. I snag him and lock him down tight (why I hadn't thought of that before now I am not sure). With LC howling like a siren, we turned heel and headed back to the car exactly 10 minutes after we alighted to the Mall. Sorry Pops, no present this year.

But we do all LOVE and ADORE you! I'm sure one day we will look back and miss the madness. 

We all remain devotedly yours!