Strawberry Fields Forever

Between rainstorms Saturday, we made a mad splash dash to the strawberry patch. I was beginning to think we wouldn't make it before all the strawberries were gone.

The ground was muddy from all the recent rain, so it was a good thing Anna Claire and Mallory wore their rain boots. There were plenty of strawberries, and we quickly figured out the best rows were the muddiest ~ the rows other people wouldn't dare pick from! The girls did a really great job picking at first and filled almost an entire bucket by themselves before splashing in the mud became more fun!

Our Sweet Strawberry Pie ~

I really wanted a strawberry pie recipe that didn't call for Jell-o, and I found one here. It was super~easy to make and most importantly yummy! I froze plenty of strawberries, so we'll definitely make this pie again!

Where Is Our Summer Going?

It's only June 27th, the Olympics have just begun, we have weeks of scorching heat to go, but I feel like summer, as I know it, is over as I've been easing back into work for a few weeks now. Nevertheless, our laundry room has looked like this every day...swim suits drip-drying...

Anna Claire has green hair. You really can't tell from this picture because it's a little over~exposed, but trust me ~ it's very green...and it's not from chlorine. Did you know it's the copper in the algicide that does it?

Swim lessons continue; just one class left...Anna Claire and Mallory are doing great, but Anna Claire still has a hard time putting her head all the way under. She's only done it once.

Here's Mallory; I think she'll be swimming in a couple more weeks.

 And here's Anna Claire; she'll learn to swim on her own schedule.

Here's how I'm dealing with the stress of getting back to work. I baked the peanut~cola cake from the July issue of Southern Living. So. Good. That missing piece was my lunch yesterday, and while I'm being honest, I also had a slice for breakfast this morning. Shhh.

Mallory wanted me to take a picture of Fluttershy; I take almost as many pictures of toys as I take of the girls' themselves. What's so cute about this, though, isn't the pony; it's Mallory in the background "reading" the Martha Stewart Cookbook. She carries it all over the house with her.

And this is Anna Claire's summer reading...

She writes the words, draws a few pictures, then asks me to read her story...like those are real words and I should know what they say. After asking a few very carefully worded questions, I can usually conjure up a little story close enough to what she imagined.

Perhaps we have a future chef and a future author in the family?

Summer Supper

Is there anything better than your mom showing up at your door with a basket full of fresh vegetables...espically when you don't really have any dinner plans? Our fresh~vegetable feast last night consisted of tomatoe pie {my favorite; girls' wouldn't touch it}, stewed squash, corn on the cob, grape tomatoes {we started with more than four...Mallory needed a little appetizer}, and sliced cucumbers. I was sure to warn Walter as soon as he got home from work that meat was not on the menu. ;-)
Anna Claire and Mallory are usually content to play while I cook. Yesterday they played My Little Pony on the back porch.

Earlier in the day I asked the girls to play for a few minutes while I made them a dentist appointment. Here's what they built...

Summertime is rolling right along... beyond the beach and pool, the girls' got haircuts today, dentist next week, swim lessons start the week after, then they'll have their four~year well check which will include lots of shots {yuck!}. I wonder what else we'll be able to squeeze in?