{berries}

Last Friday we headed out to Blake's Farm for some good old fashioned strawberry picking. One of my most favorite things to do in the summer.



Because we had such a "warm" winter, the berries were a few weeks early this year. I was afraid when I heard this that they would be mostly gone. They weren't. But if we had waited a few more days, the pickings would have been MUCH slimmer.

And yes, Paige is wearing yet ANOTHER strawberry shirt. Just like last year. They had these cute outfits at Costco this year, in her size, so you can bet I picked that up as soon as I saw it....about three months ago. I knew we would make it out to the patch again.



Is there anything better than a just picked, ripe and juicy strawberry?





Since it was so sunny and warm this year - last year was much cooler - we could only endure picking about half the amount of berries that we did last year. No real intervention needed for my Mom this year....





On the way out, we passed by the raspberry bushes. I had to get out and get me some of those. I was a little nervous picking raspberries because everyone always talks about getting stung by bees. I didn't see one. And can I just say, this time, it was I who needed the intervention. I love raspberries.



Summer sure is DELICIOUS!

{boom}

We have had a warm summer - and that means that we have had a lot of storms. Thunder, lightning, dark clouds, big rain and big winds. And, as long as no one gets hurt, i love to watch it all go down.

And so does Emily.

We were hanging out on the front porch watching this storm roll in.

I swear, Emily was into it....







I love overcast light. It makes my girl look so pretty!

And we went running inside right after this photo....big huge sideways rain!

{ice cream for dinner}

Am I not the coolest Mom ever? I was hot and tired from a LONG weekend of running around. My solution: no cooking, just scooping. My kids LOVED it.

(I ate leftovers)





And, hey, there were bananas in there. So, it was TOTALLY healthy.

{summer photoshoot}

I will have you know...I paid $2 for these pictures.

I wanted to practice catchlights. Emily was not in the mood. Paige wasn't either. So, I threw some money at them. They complied. Quite well don't you think?







Paige is trying to be silly....she's just being cute.



Emily has gotten silly down pat!





Emily took this one. She didn't pay ME a dollar.



And my favorite. Those BIG teeth kill me. Pretty soon she'll be growing into those.



I still haven't mastered the whole catchlight thing, but I did get some sweet pictures.

{oopsie}

i guess i am a bit behind on blogging...this was from almost a week ago...



Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband. And even though it's gone now...i loved the beard.

{let's go Tigers!}

My sister, Amanda, blew into town this weekend. We did have some plans to go up north on Saturday, but they got canceled and we were left with nothing to do on a Saturday night. So what does one do in the fine city of Detroit on a Saturday night? Uh, DUH! You go to a BASEBALL GAME!!

I think we got the last five tickets.

And, yes, we took Paige.

I get a lump in my throat whenever I see this view from Comerica Park. I love Michigan, I love Detroit and I truly believe that those of us who feel that way will live to see it be all beautiful once again.



Anyway - there was ice cream. In a Tigers helmet. And all over Emily. Of course.





Paige did really well for her very first baseball game. I am not going to lie, she did get a little squirmy, but we kept her busy with clapping, cheering and kicking the mean lady who was sitting in front of Amanda. She would have sat with Amanda the whole time, but I think my sister was tired of all the dirty looks she was getting, so Paige sat with me.





Then the sun went down, we lost the game - BY ONE RUN - and we watched a wedding on home plate.



Then we saw the coolest fireworks. Paige giggled the WHOLE TIME. It was the cutest thing.



We arrived home at 12am, with two WIDE AWAKE kids. They were sleeping at 12:05am.

{beach day}

As per our tradition, we took the kids to the beach - MetroBeach - on their very first day of summer vacation. The weather was PERFECT. Sunny, slightly breezy, not too cold, not too hot. AWESOME.

The kids buried themselves in the sand.





Then after a quick shower to get the sand out, and a picnic lunch, we took off for the squirt zone. Emily loves the squirt zone. She could spend the whole day there.



Paige only likes the squirt zone. She doesn't like getting soaked. She much prefers sunbathing.



We heart summer!

{barbaric customs}

So, as most of you know by now, my Emily has pierced ears.

We did it on the last day of school. When she got off the bus, I gave her the choice of going to a movie, or getting her ears pierced. Without skipping a beat, she picked ear piercing.

I made sure I prepared her for what was to come. She was not swayed, so I knew she must really have wanted it.

Here she is pre-piercing:



And, now all grown up, with "bling"ed ears....



It shocked me at how many choices they had. When I got my ears pierced, we had about 3 choices...now, it's more like 30. Emily picked flowers with a different colored gem for each petal...so very Emily. She only teared up a bit after it was all over...but a sucker cured that. She was a brave girl. I was so proud.

She is very much looking forward to changing out her earrings in six weeks. And, of course, now Paige wants her ears pierced....I think she'll have to wait a bit!

{last day 2010}

Emily on her 1st day of 1st grade and on her last day of 1st grade. Not too much change.

Emily's last day of school was on Wednesday. And just like her Mother used to be when she was her age, she was a little sad. I could not be more proud. I love having a bookish little girl. In fact, we are still doing school work over the summer - not much, just some handwriting practice and a little bit of math - and she is more than willing to do it. She has been getting it done first thing in the morning. Of course, this is only the beginning of summer...but I am hopeful!



She did really well this year. She is reading on a third grade level. Being the reader that I am, I could not be more proud! And if you don't count some unexplained grades in subtraction, she did quite well in math. She loved her teacher, and rose to the high expectations that were set for her. She is VERY excited about second grade. Wait a minute, did I just say that I have a second grader? My Emily? My baby is growing up. My baby is not a baby anymore. My baby is turning out to be more wonderful than I could have ever expected. I am a lucky Mom.

{curls}

It's been a bit humid here in the past week. Humid + Paige's Hair = CURLS.



She normally has lots of curls, but the humidity make them BIG.











It would be a shame to put pony tails in her hair today.

{huba loo}

Monday, after dinner again. This time, instead of a walk, we went on a bike ride. Yeah, I didn't bring my camera...thought getting home alive was a good plan.



So we got out the old hula hoop - or as Emily says - Huba Loo. She really doesn't say that anymore, but it was such a cute thing from her babyhood, I have kept it around. It not embarrassing to her...yet.









I showed her my amazing hula hoop skills, and I would have pictures, but my battery died.

That's my story, and I am sticking to it. :)

BTW: Today is the last day of school for Emily - I will have pictures later this week...

{puzzles}

We are BIG into puzzles around here.



Emily has been doing puzzles FOREVER. And now, Paige is totally addicted.



Must be something in the water.