Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Black Raspberry Pickin'

The black raspberries (not to be confused with regular blackberries) are ripe, so we decided to go pick some for ourselves at our favorite place.

After we had walked for quite a ways away from the van, we had to go back and get the jug of water. Ryan and I went back to get it. I took some pictures of him along the way.

The boys had a pet turtle. His name was "Rocky", but he got away yesterday. They enjoyed him for almost a week. Much to the dismay of the boys (but very fortunate for Rocky!), he made his break last night. Bless his little turtle heart, he had been trying all week to get away.

I like the way the trees "frame" this field.

At the creek.......VERY slippery!

Look behind Justin (who is bending over).. You can see "Rocky" trying to get away. He was almost successful when he got under a large rock, but Michael was able to get him out. Poor thing, he almost succeeded.
I love these flowers... so do the butterflies & bees. There were so many of the butterflies on the plant, I could not count them all!

Further downstream ... catching tadpoles
This is what is on the hill above where they were catching tadpoles. As I am sure I have mentioned before, the entire roadway is an old railroad bed. This is the overgrown trussle. I saw a vibrantly colored hummingbird getting nectar from the orange flowers, but it flew away before I could snap a picture.
The wading turned into swimming.


There was a total of six cups of raspberries. I made a giant cobbler... Click here to see the recipe


Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Happy Anniversary Michael

Dear Michael,

"When God made you, He was thinking about me"
Thank you for 14 years of pure happiness!

Family Gathering

Disclaimer to family: If I posted a picture with you in it, and you do not like it, I apologize in advance. Don't kill me!

Saturday, the 6th, we had a family gathering at one of the more local state parks. Ma-maw loves to have her entire family around her on her birthday, and we love to oblige her! There is always lots of food and fellowship.



Ma-maw with most of her great grandchildren (there are 2 missing)

Two girls (who are seriously outnumbered!)... sweet little Megan (with her mommy Susanne) and....
Janae who is holding her own well with all the boys!
This picture below is "the one" picture that is hideous (for obvious reasons!!!!). According to Aunt Carolyn, Randy makes this face for the camera at least once a year. :-P

Rook games are usually played.....
And the kids play too....






We moms and aunts took the kids for a hike... here they are waiting for us on the bridge ahead









Ryan with his beloved monkeys (he informed me he wants 15)









Friday, June 5, 2009

Fishing

It's the season for fishing. Michael and Justin went with cousins David & Jared a few days ago. They had a great time and caught some nice bass. I like these pictures. I had gotten the boys ready for bed, but they were just too excited to go because their Daddy was cleaning fish!