Blackberries

For the last two years we have gone blackberry picking at the same orchard about half an hour away. Jack really enjoys it--so much so that last year he said he wanted to have his birthday party there.

2006

2007

This year they didn't have the little wooden train that he had liked to play on in years past, but it didn't bother Jack because of the new addition: a ride to the bushes in a little horse-drawn cart.

Jack picked about a quart on his own. He even remembered what color to pick.

Jay had the day off, so he went, too.

A little taste testing

This evening for dessert we had blackberry cobbler!

Bliss

Today I spent almost two hours getting a pedicure, manicure, and eyebrow wax. (Thanks, ladies!)

And instead of cooking supper we went out.

And as soon as I click "Publish Post," I'm heading to the couch to watch my Wednesday night obsession, Carrier.

Life is good.

What a Time for the Printer to Break!

Ami has just finished posting all of the Back to School Blast entries over at Homeschool Share. And my printer is broken. That's not good.

What is good is all the great new stuff there--and I even won a prize! So check it out, but don't tell me about all the stuff you printed off, or I'll be jealous!

The Flat Knight in Philly

Sir Bluey, the Flat Knight, recently visited my friend Phylinda in Philadelphia. This is me and Phylinda at the Grand Canyon the summer after high school. So you know we look just the same now.

The flat night met Joan of Arc or Jeanne d'Arc (whichever you prefer--she's the gold one on the gold horse).
Then, he posed for a picture with Rocky by the famous steps he runs up (the art museum).

Later in the day he was inspired by Cirque du Soleil with Collin, Phylinda, and Collin's dad Jim. This was just the beginning of his Philadelphia adventure.

After that, he went up the steps to see the art museum and take in a view of the city.

He visited the Azalea garden in full bloom.
Then it was on to Lemon Hill (an old mansion in the park), where he found himself behind bars and then made an excursion through some ice

After the ice he made his way to the boat houses. There he saw the boats they use to scull the river. (The boathouses are in the pic with the river.) Then he checked out the waterworks and decided to go to China town.

After Chinatown, he stood under my umbrella and saw Independence Hall.
Then it was time for lunch at Reading Terminal Market where he tried the famous Philly breakfast food Scrapple (think more questionable sausage shaped into a loaf).
On his way across town he caught another glimpse of Independence Hall...
...and then had some tasty gelato!

The flat knight also visited Vitality, where he tried Pilates on the Cadillac and Wunda Chair.
Then he visited his friend, Penny the cat.
Thanks for hosting him, Phylinda! Next stop: California!

Happy 4th of July!

We went out of town to celebrate the 4th with my family. We brought a few fireworks, but we realized we were going to want more, so we loaded the kids in the wagon and headed for the nearest stand.

They sold my sister this box of poppers for $4! The kids did about 30 boxes before supper.

After they were done throwing them, they took turns rolling over them to get any they might have missed.

The kids also helped Grandpa shuck corn.

My dad's birthday is Monday, so we went ahead and celebrated while we were all there. There was not much of the cake left by this morning!

The kids loved watching the smoke bombs!

This was Jack's first time to try sparklers, and probably his last until he seeks therapy. He got burned by a spark and refused to get anywhere near them the rest of the night.

Jack loves to sit on Jay's shoulders!

Someone put on an amazing show. It went on forever and they had some really big stuff.

And of course I was especially glad to be able to celebrate this 4th of July with my favorite veteran!

Summer Reading

Our book lists on the sidebar have been woefully neglected lately, so I thought I would take a moment to post about our summer reading (like I told someone I was going to do just as soon as that Amazon order came in...about a month ago).

Jack's basket of summer books has some new ones and some old favorites. This is where we usually find a read aloud when neither of us has anything specific in mind. So far we have:

It's Summer!
Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic
Fireflies in the Night
Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag
Skip Through the Seasons
Froggy Learns to Swim
Beach Day
Somewhere in the Ocean
The Big Wide-Mouthed Frog
Bug Safari
Wee Sing and Learn Bugs
This is the Sunflower
The Tiny Seed
Jack's Garden
Commotion in the Ocean

Without looking at the sidebar right now, I can't even remember what I have listed in my book pile, but I'm sure it's out of date. I just finished a pretty good mystery, They Did It With Love, by Kate Morgenroth.

And today, while Jack was doing this...

...I was starting this. I'll let you know how it turns out!

National Ice Cream Month

Just in case you didn't know, July is National Ice Cream Month. Rejoice! Today we took a tour of the Braum's Family Farm. If you are not from Oklahoma, let me clue you in: people here love Braum's. They are only located within 300 miles of their farm in Tuttle, OK, so obviously we didn't have them in Omaha. One day my friend Rachel thought it would be really funny to call me from a Braum's drive-thru while she was ordering Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate. The joke was on her, though, because they were out. Also, when I was in elementary school, I had a Braum's t-shirt featuring Ernest P. Worrell. Yes, really. Anyway, Braum's = good stuff.

The Braum's farm is in Tuttle, home of OU's own Man of Steel, Jason White. When I was looking at the map, it didn't look too far, but believe me, it is in the middle of nowhere, mostly because the farm takes up about 10,000 acres. The view from my window on the way in:

We watched a little movie about Braum's and had some ice cream bars.

Then we rode the bus out to the factory.

We weren't supposed to take pictures of the machinery, so most of my tour shots look like this:

The farm

On the way back to the welcome center Jack and Nicholas sat on their own. Jack said the bus was his favorite part.

Now you have 30 days left in which to celebrate. I am looking forward to trying one of the eight new flavors--if I can ever find it. Homeschool Share also has a free ice cream unit and lapbook! So get started now!!