Eastern Lushness

We have had some hot and dry temperatures in Montana lately, and things are brown and crunchy.  I have to water the garden, greenhouse and some flowers at least every other night.  We gave up on watering the lawn after Tyler's party was over.  Looking back at these New Hampshire photos, it is such a contrast between here and there.  
Jess and I picked blackberries just down from mom and dad's and then made blackberry jam.  My jars survived the airplane flight with only a little leakage, hopefully Jess didn't end up with a few new "purple" shirts from her jam.

What a trendy hat Mom!

Too nice to eat inside....

One rainy morning these guys burned paper and made "toast."

Hiking across the road from mom and dad's.  He always finds "treasures" in the woods.

Ugh--belly shot.  I'm sure I will appreciate these in 20 years, but now I just think I look yucky.  At least Tyler has a charming smile.

A Birthday Party

Tyler had 6 of his friends over this weekend to help celebrate his 3rd birthday.  Needless to say, he was wound up all day.

Grandma Rita made him a beautiful "Cars" quilt.  We all loved it!  And Tyler HAD TO sleep with it that night.

The pinata was kind of hard to break open, but they eventually got it.

The title of this photo is "Ketchup-face"

He ignored all his friends for a while and played with his new toys.

Inside we decorated cupcakes, which proved to be as messy as you'd think.

Happy Birthday Punkin!!

The present-opening was a hit also....Although everyone commented on how slowly he unwraps presents.  We had snivelly scraps of wrapping paper all over the yard after he was done.

Maine-ly fun

Tyler and I enjoyed Kennebunkport beach in Maine

We found crabs, which were VERY cute!

I got to show off my pedicure.  First one I've gotten in about 10 years :)  The nail color was "hot and spicy."

The sun and sand and water were so beautiful

Lots of tide pools to explore

A clam!!

What a great day it was, we were blessed to be able to drive there for an afternoon

Family Photos

"Grammy with the Cat" and Tyler

Aunt Marie and I pick some Four-o'clock seeds.

Matthew, Greg, Great Grammy, Tyler

Everyone is smiling because their bellies are full of good food and cake

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Hot and Sticky in Bethlehem

walking around Illick's Mill and Monacacy Park--trying to cool off

   

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Jessica took lots of garden photos in downtown Bethlehem.  It was hard not to photograph everything; all the gardens and architecture were gorgeous.

Moravian Village, downtown

Eating down at Musikfest--a Belgian waffle with whipped cream, strawberries, and peanut butter ice cream.  Good thing I had helpers to assist in eating it.

One of the music acts we watched--a Russian group playing gypsy music

Meeting Cousins

On our vacation, Tyler got to meet his 2nd cousins, Matthew and Greg!  How lucky for Tyler to have a couple of "cool kids" to hang out with.

They all loved playing cars and trucks and legos.  

For our family get-together, it had cooled off enough to play frisbee outside with Jonah.

Everyone needs to take a break now and then...

Hammin' it up for the camera.

To Be Honest....

To be honest, I didn't want to come to work today.  Tyler and I had our morning struggles getting him dressed and out the door on time.  We do this daily.  I thought it would become routine, but 2 years later, it hasn't.  It put me in a bad mood and I carried that with me to the office.

To be honest, I haven't been feeling all that lively with this pregnancy.  I would rather lie in bed in the evenings than water and weed or go for walks.  I am much more uncomfortable.

To be honest, I wish my husband took more, and better photos of me.

To be honest, I worry about our little house, and how adding an infant in to the mix is going to make everyone seem like they are standing on each other.

To be honest I am really looking forward to staying home and not coming in to work.  But I am also worried that I will struggle with depression during the short days, and long winter.

To be honest my garden is not what I had hoped for this year.  I am still missing something to make my squash not fall off the vines. 

  

And honestly, if I could take kids on hikes and get paid for it (like I did last week), I would probably not be as cranky today as I am.

It's Fair Time!

Once again, I volunteered with the County Fair.  This means I had to go over to Helena a few times to help with the indoor entries.  It also means I have a good excuse to enter in flowers and veggies to try and win ribbons.

Tyler won a blue ribbon for his "boot scootin' " flower arrangement. (Dad helped him assemble it)

My rhubarb won blue for its deep maroon color, and Tyler got a red ribbon

His "Nature's Treasures" wildflower pot.  Picked from out back behind our house!



My lettuce.  Believe me when I say it was fluffy and full of body!  It was definitely wilted 5 days after being picked.

  Then after we checked out our ribbons and winnings ($23 for Tyler, and $24 for me!) we hit the carnival.  Bummer that they won't let pregnant women on rides--I sure would have liked to get on these germy things and go round and round.


The Farmer drives the train



Talk about a happy boy!

Unfortunately, he started to feel sick towards the end of the night.  We had to leave the rodeo early due to his fever.  Must have been fast-acting germs.