"pennsylvania landscape" 12" x 15" fingers on paper

Yes I know I'm biased, but this little finger painting of Cody's is awesome! Do you see the rolling hills and the wind blowing up grass and filling the air? Well I do and the colors are great. Brittany Scott - can you please critique? hahaa.

Erin put together this latest crafty night - thanks, we loved it!

Jess and her sis-in-law Megan figured out how to make these cute barrettes, I'm pretty sure they made one to match each of Kelty's outfits. I lost my patience by four but I think I'll make a potato one to go with the carrot. haha.

justin's killin' it!

Here's a little shout out to Justin - he had a great week last week and was 1st out of all the 1st year reps in our region (about 5 offices) on days ending in Y based on trade at @5.9% for 60 months. Not all buyers may qualify, subject to credit approval. Hey, you take what you can get! But that really is good - I think he was fourteenth out of all the reps in the company. How many reps are there anyway? Good job babe! (I think that is the first time I have ever called Justin babe).

raspberry festival

Today was the Raspberry Fest at Linvilla Orchards so we jumped on the hayride for another go at picking fruit. It was another hot day though not as bad as last time so we spent most of the day under trees watching Dora, eating hot dogs and watermelon, getting Ellie's face painted and dancing with bubbles. We loved it!













Me and kids, Erin and Levi, Michaela, Jessica and Kelty

"my friends are coming!" - ellie

Last week Justins parents and five little sisters came out for a visit. I told Ellie the night before that when she woke up the next morning Calley would be in her bed, she was very excited and when she woke up she turned to Calley and said, "I have Polly Pockets." Then went back to sleep. Poor Calley got to share a room with Cody and Ellie and didn't get much sleep as a result. The rest of the family was split between a hotel room and Jessica's house. Man, I was tired after this trip - I thought maybe we would be able to keep up with Jann since she is sick but nope, she can still go a hundred miles an hour and outdid everyone.

We visited Longwood Gardens, had a yummy Father's Day BBQ at the pool, shopped at the King of Prussia Mall (huge), went on a two day trip to Lancaster and Hershey, shopped some more ($20 Anthro shower curtain! thanks Brit!), ate out a ton and gained 5 lbs, visited historic Philadelphia and Kennett Square (my favorite town), and went on a beautiful mountain bike ride. Luckily the weather was really cool which made it even better.

Amish farmer - Justin's dad Lew was in heaven watching this guy, so was I. I really think I could live like this!

A butterfly garden in Hershey...this was so fun because we have a Fancy Nancy book called, "Fancy Nancy and the Bonjour Butterfly" where Nancy goes to a butterfly garden - so cute.


This is titled, "Cody Chub Face"


Calley and Ellie at Longwood Gardens


I read another blog that says these people don't like their picture to be taken but I asked the mom and she said yes. Those pin curls, and that dress - oh I love! The wholesomeness of these people just oozes out of them - they just seem so peaceful and like they really live providently, as we are told to by our church.


This little drawing Ellie did of herself with a baby in her tummy. She is quite interested in the fact that Ashley has a baby in her tummy.


At the BBQ - these two have a lot of fun together.


Okay, I have three inch heels on but holy cow I don't realize how tall I am sometimes!


The men waiting for the women to get done shopping in Lancaster.


The Hershey factory takes you on a little ride to show you how they make chocolate - it is really cute for kids. Then you go make your own Hershey kiss box. Ellie was a little overwhelmed I think. Jann loves these kinds of things and it was so cute we were in the gift shop and Lew said, "Now let's not get bogged down in this tourist trap." To which Jann responded, "Lewis, I have been living for the day when I could come here!" She then proceeded to buy up all the chocolate in the whole store.


Justin with his mom and sister Courtney


At the Liberty Bell - Ashley, Jaime, Calley, Courtney, Brittany, Me. How did I get so lucky to marry into such an awesome family?! Thank you for coming - we love you!

can't help myself

Well, I thought I could restrain myself and just be happy with letting Cody and Ellie have a boring room...but it was just so boring! And last week I woke up in this half dreaming/half asleep phase at 5:00 am with visions of how I could decorate their room running through my brain. This 5:00 am creative moment is not uncommon for me, I love it when it happens because I'm awake but it's like my more creative sub-conscious is telling me what to do and I can remember it later on - weird. Anyway, so part of my "dream" was that I wanted to find some old figurine lamps and modernize them - it's kind of a new trend I've seen around. So at 8:00 that morning I get up and head over to the Goodwill and holy crap there are two figurine lamps right there, a boy and a girl holding puppies and kittens! It could not have been more perfect. They were an antique gold before and I just spray painted them. Have you read The Secret? If you have then here is a great testimonial to that book, I surely was sending out some lamp vibes to the universe that day.


Pillows and comfortor are from Target, birds from Michaels, and branches from the shores of the Brandywine River (bugs included).




We've been getting some cute things in the mail so I got this board to hold it all.




This is what the lamps looked like when I bought them.


So the lampshade sent me a touch over budget. It's from Anthropologie, with whom I have love/hate relationship. I will probably take it back, there's no way it will fit in our car on the way home, but it was just too perfect so I had to use it for the pictures at least.


I love making these Mobiles! Yesterday I had Jess and Erin over and we made more, they turned out really cute, but my pictures of them are blurry - sad.
Also I should note that the dresser and nightstand were already here, the apartment came furnished.

berry picking

Today we had our first taste of the east coast heat and it was way worse than I imagined. I felt so badly for Justin out there selling all day - who wants to let some salesman in with sweat dripping down his face? Ugh!

A few other girls and I braved the heat and went the the Linvilla Strawberry Fest. There are tons of fun things for kids and I plan to go back often. The farm is entirely "pick your own" so next month will be the raspberry fest - so fun!


Notice the sweat dripping down her nose.


Ellie and I ended up going by ourselves so Jess and I could trade watching the babies (Walker and Cody). We had so much fun together. Everytime she would pick a strawberry she would ask, "Is this a perfect one, Mommy?"




This is why I keep Ellie's hair short, so I can see her cute neck. It's my favorite part of her.


So hot today.






(picture from Jessica Stevenson)


When we got back Cinderella was singing with Barney. Ellie could hardley believe it and as we were leaving she said, "I just want to see Cinderella all day."

ellie's dream come true

Ever since our Disneyland trip last July Ellie always asks me to go to the beach. Well her dream came true - we went with Matt and Jess and Sam and Megan and had a gay ol' time. Jess has all the good pictures so feel free to check some out over at her place.

note to self: do not ride bike through wheat fields

I spent the rest of the morning in a nice bath of water and baking soda to try and get rid of the hives that covered my arms, legs and neck. Oh, and to rinse off the millions of spider webs I rode through. Yuck!