Blueberries

Last Sunday we went blueberry picking. Boo & I set out in the van as Sweet Pea was away at Nana's and the boys were with Daddy. We ended up having to turn around and go back home b/c Mommy forgot her bucket. Whoops. We were surprised that Daddy & the boys weren't home yet but grabbed the bucket and headed out again. When we arrived at the Blueberry farm we got out of the van to see Daddy pulling up right behind us! Yay! We all got to pick blueberries together and have some family time too.

The bushes were LOADED with huge berries. As the sign said, it was "Good Pick'in".

Bugs snacked on some berries & played with his bucket.

E-boy did the low branches. Saved Mommy & Daddy's backs!

Studying a berry


Oh So Good!
He ate WAY more than he picked. LOL!

The Crew

They all did a fantastic job. Especially the big kid.

Is That What I Think It Is?

As we were finishing up a lady screamed and came running over to tell us there was a snake in the blueberry bush. He was sitting up high but minding his own business. She wanted some of the men there to kill it but no one wanted to hurt it. He wasn't hurting anyone and seemed quite content to calmly & quietly 'hang out' while chaos went on around him. Lol!

Weighing & Adding

And the grand total is..............

28 pounds!!!!!!!

The owner said we set a record!

Fruit of Our Labor

Here is all that we picked. Well, what we picked & didn't eat. *grin*

Look At Those!

The berries were BIG! Here is a picture to show you some of them.

Comparison

This pic really shows how big they are. Almost as big as the quarter!

Ready To Go

These berries are ready for the freezer. I picked through & washed them and then bagged them up. Most of the bags I used were little sandwich freezer bags that I then put in a larger freezer bag for extra protection. I like freezing them in smaller sizes as it is much easier to retrieve them for baking this way. I found one sandwich bag held a little over 3 cups.

We had a great time and we're thrilled with all the blueberries we now have for the winter!

Fun Mondays!

Our local arts center was offering free art classes for the month of July. I found out about it in May and signed the girls up immediately! This place is AWESOME! The classes were every Monday for 3 hours. Sweet Pea only went to two classes, (there were 4 total), because of us being stuck in PA one week while our van underwent repairs & then she left early for Nana's. Boo went to three classes and wished there were more. There IS going to be an art show sometime this month. The children will have their work on display. I'm really looking forward to it!

The Arts Center

After we dropped the girls off we went over to Grannie's. Bugs dived right into the train box!

Choo choo! All aboard!

My brother & Blu

Silly boy

Sweet Pea's Class

Sweet Pea's Drawing

Sweet Pea's Painting ~ Can you guess what she loves? *wink*

Boo's Self Portrait

When we arrived home we found that Rose Marie's rosebush had bloomed. I was almost crying as we had thought the bush had died over the winter. How happy I was to see it's not gone after all.

Christmas in July

Recently while searching in my closet for something I found some presents I had hidden. I have been searching for these since Christmas Eve! I gave them to the children and we had a little bit of Christmas in July!

Boo with her new cross-stitch kit, scarf & computer games.

E-boy with his new computer games. He was excited to get Christmas presents in the summer!

VBS

We are on our 4th day of VBS. It's supposed to be a scorcher tonight. Ah! Here are some pics I took the first 2 days. My buddy R. has left for vacation . I missed her last night especially when it was time to sing. We are dancing buddies.

Preparing to Leave Slavery

Moses talking to the Israelites.

HELP!

Pharaoh's Soldiers are Coming!

YEAH!

Moses obeys God & strikes the Red Sea with his rod parting it so they can cross.

GULP

The Israelites make it safely across but Pharaoh's army is swallowed up by the sea.

Snack Time
A Good Ol' Cup of Dirt

(Worm was extree)

What to do? What to do?

Passing the time playing while we wait for the bell.

Object Lesson

The missus parted the "Red Sea" with her finger. It was pretty cool.

Craft Time ~ Making Bandannas

E-boy made his mama one. Wasn't that sweet?

Memory Verse Time

Gonna get us some of thet learn'in.

Game Time!

I forgot what the game was called. Something about frozen feet. The kids got in there 2 at a time and had to kick out as many ice cubes as they could. Trouble was we were the last group to play & it was HOT outside so the ice cubes melted quickly. Lol! The kids had fun anyway splashing each other & the game leader. Wendy & I were saying to each other, "Do YOU see any ice cubes? Because I don't." We were comforted by the fact that at least we weren't alone. Hee, hee.

Up Close!

My buddy R. pleaded to take a picture & insisted the subject be me, so here I am in all my glory! Howdy partners!

Kinda Like Rubbing Your Belly, Patting Your Head & Hopping on One Foot

All At the Same Time

When we sing our songs these girls, (there are twins - one in pink, one in purple) are up on the screen singing and doing the hand motions. As you can see the words are also up on the screen. This requires much more coordination than I was blessed with. I started making up my own hand motions. Cracks Wendy up (Pastor's wife) whose group is right behind us during singing time. I probably look like a whacked out wanna-be cheerleader. But it's FUN! Lol!

My Dear Friend Debra

She took care of our precious Bugs in nursery the first 2 nights. Poor lady worked up quite a sweat chasing after this bundle of energy! He just loves her & so do I! She's a wonderful lady & friend. (And she has the sweetest Southern accent!) Thank you, Debra!

MORE PICS COMING SOON!

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea left for Nana's on Friday. Since Grannie & Grandpa were headed up there for the weekend they picked her up. Saved us lots of gas but we were sorry to see her go early. She has been having fun up there. Uncle Bryce came down from Canada and I hear he is spoiling her rotten. LOL! This visit has become a tradition and Sweet Pea looks forward to it every year.

Saying good-bye

One more good-bye

./,

Grandpa & Sweet Pea went to the river to play.

Nana, Grannie, Sweet Pea & Grandpa went up the Tramway & hiked around.

Not sure what they are looking at but it must be pretty serious by their expressions.

Enjoying the View

Wow, isn't that amazing?

Scoping Things Out

GORGEOUS!

Mixed Up

My blogs are going to be mixed up a little as I try to catch up on my blogging between trudging through chores during the daytime and VBS from suppertime until bedtime. So please bear with me. For those of you that know me well you know I'm often all over the place, dare I say scatterbrained?, anyway. Lol!

Christ Comforting Infant by Jean Keaton

This is one of my favorite pictures. I love how she depicts Christ. This picture is special to me because it is how I picture our precious Rose Marie -- in Heaven in the arms of Jesus.

www.keatonprints.com/

Crazy Week & Other Babblings

We have VBS all week so it's going to be an even busier, crazier week than usual. Dave & I are each leaders. I'm kind of bummed b/c we arent' in the same group this year. The "down times" (when we are waiting for the kids to do crafts or eat snack), are dull without him. Usually we joke around and have a good ol' time. Wah. But I did have fun with my group. I have all girls so far. They are ages 9-10. Just happened that way but kind of neat. My Boo is in my group and my favorite kid in my church, (besides my own of course), Rachel is in my group again this year. I'm thrilled! She is such fun to be with and loves Jesus with her whole heart. My favorite thing about her is that she is not afraid to be herself. I admire that in one so young. She's leaving for vacation on Wed. so I'll only get her 2 nights. I'm sad about that. But we'll have fun tonight!

I've invited some others to come and so far 2 have attended. One is Boo's good friend M. Being the good mama I made sure that M. was in our group too. They had a great time together last night. It's good to see Boo finding a best friend.

Sweet Pea is up at Nana's this weekend. My Uncle Bryce is up there too. She is having a ball being spoiled rotten by both of them. This is an annual trip for her and she looks forward to it. Though I miss her it is good for both S.P. and I.

We're going to try to start our Ocean Unit today. I've tried for 2 weeks now to start. Will today be the day? Stay tuned..................................