Blueberry Picking

Start with a few good pickers...

Wash the harvest...

Whip up a batch of blueberry loveliness... YUM!

Summer fun

What fun to spend our hot days playing together! Now that school is out, we've enjoyed picnics, afternoons at the neighborhood pool, quick dips in our little backyard wading pool, and chalk drawings on the back patio in the early evening. We've finally acclimated to the Houston heat after five years here!

Busy May

The schedule for May was jam-packed this year! Here are photos from recent piano and dance recitals. Brendan and Audrey performed two piano pieces each for the music performance. Brendan is doing so well playing two handed pieces by memory. Audrey is close behind and although she only started lessons a few months ago, she absolutely loves to practice music and play for others.

Concert photos:

Taking a bow:

Audrey also performed in our annual dance recital which turned out better than ever before. She danced beautifully and shined on the stage. We were pleased to have great help this year with costumes, photography, and videography. Thanks to all who assisted with the show!

Audrey is far left on the stage here:

Amazing berries

These are our find of the week! They were so large that we had to take photos before devouring them. I apologize in advance for inevitable salivary gland overproduction caused from viewing these photos. What could be better than huge fresh strawberries at the beginning of summer?

Cargo Bike

I just love biking... good for the body, good for the air. When we lived in Provo I biked everywhere around town instead of driving. I just buckled Brendan into the infant seat and off we'd go to the library or the grocery store or the local bakery. Now I'm not so close to such venues. Although if I did live closer to a grocery store, I would surely consider this purchase:

This beauty sports a bench inside with two seatbelts! Best family bike I've seen yet! Food for thought for you urbanites with growing families. :)

Big B Turns 7

Brendan is thrilled to finally be 7. We celebrated his birthweek with Bakugan (favorite toy of 2009), custom food requests (macaroni & cheese with a giant chocolate chip cookie for dessert), and a homemade volcano eruption. Thanks to grandmas and grandpas for thoughtful gifts; and to Shannon and Mitch for the Bakugan battle pack... it was a hit!

You can see how surprised he was to receive the battle pack from Mitch and Shan:

The larger than life cookie:

It took us a week to construct this volcano out of salt dough and stippled paint. We used good ol' baking soda with colored vinegar for the eruption (we even put little plastic dinosaurs and fake greenery in for fun):



With buddy Taylor:

Happy Birthday to a special boy! We love you.