Anna's Favorite Fruit

Blueberries and grapefruit are tied for Anna's favorite fruit. Grapefruit is always the first choice for breakfast, while blueberries are the preferred bedtime snack. So, when Emily asked us to go blueberry picking, we jumped at the chance to go with our berry-picking friends.

Everyone with kids knows how fruit picking goes...one in the mouth, one in the bucket. OR five in the mouth, one in the bucket. OR all in the mouth, none in the bucket. Needless to say, Anna ate her weight in blueberries.

After massive thunderstorms last night, the blueberry bushes were drenched, so we were sprinkled with water drops every time we picked a berry.

Anna's bucket rarely had more berries than in this photo. By the time we left, it was empty. This is why:

Every time I turned around, this is what I saw.

Emily and I ate about two berries each. You'd think I was eating mine, though...I walked away with just 2.5 pounds of berries, while Emily managed to pick 5 pounds!

After we finished picking, Emily's mom generously paid for my blueberries (I managed to leave the house without my wallet) while Anna and Harper begged to have their turns with the cameras. It's becoming a regular thing. Harper was adorable, setting up her shots with very specific ideas in mind. Anna captured a few cute ones, as usual:

Picnic

This week has been no picnic, overall. The blissed-out feelings of the weekend faded away with hormones, house issues, and personal conflicts. Fortunately, Anna and I enjoyed a real picnic lunch on Monday afternoon, the first in our back yard. It was just the two of us, and it was so much fun. In 20 years, I believe her smiles are what I will remember most from this week.

Check out her silly smiles I captured while we nibbled orzo and identified shapes in the clouds...

I can't stop looking at this one.

Butterflies

I finally captured one of the beautiful butterflies we see fluttering around our yard daily. It was taken through our dining room windows, which aren't too clean, but you can still see its beauty, nonetheless.

Happiness

Last night screamed happiness - a quintessential summer evening spent with great friends in our own back yard. It was the reason we moved to this place. Water balloons for the girls, beer for the big kids, hot dogs over the new bonfire, s'mores, catching (and releasing) fireflies, flying a kite, and staying up WAY past bedtime to see the stars. I feel so lucky.

More photos taken by Anna...

**Check out Emily's blog soon...I'm sure she'll have some amazing photos of the evening (I know her firefly-catching shots turned out better than mine)!

Today's Run

Brightly colored butterflies as running partners, riding the breeze next to me

Wildflowers and cattails

Horses and alpacas lazing in the fields

Gravel roads with just five cars meandering by

A hawk screeching as it descends from its perch

Silos and red barns on the horizon

Magical archways created by wise old trees shading my running path

Chirping birds and chattering chipmunks in the trees

Wild turkeys pecking at the ground

Perfectly peaceful and relaxing and beautiful

Domestic Goddess

Anna's mood was a little bit sour yesterday evening...until we discovered the UPS man delivered her new swimming goggles. AND, simultaneously, she discovered her old vacuum, the one we bought for her when she was still intrigued by the machine, but soon after shunned it, because all vacuums were lumped together as too loud and scary. So, this is what she did for the last half hour before bedtime:

Grocery shopping and cleaning (with her babies) is taking up a lot of her time lately.

I was enjoying some white sangria and wood-fired pizza with Emily later that night, but I was informed that the goggles stayed on through bath time. I was surprised to find her without them on this morning when she woke, thankfully.

**As a side note, these photos are horribly grainy...I just realized I hadn't reset my ISO from some previous shots. Oops.

The Beach

I wish, wish, wish more of our summer days could be like today. We met Emily, Harper, Crosby, and Emily's sister and friends at Walnut Lake in Bloomfield Hills for a full day of swimming, splashing, and floating in the water. We left the lake only to swing or grab sandwiches, chips, slushies, and popsicles.

I so enjoyed the time relaxing with our dear friends and with Anna. Anna repeatedly and excitedly shared how much fun she was having at the beach. We need a beach down the street so we can hit it more often - it really is one of my favorite places to be, and I'm pretty sure it's one of Anna's too.

Tired of getting her picture taken? Entirely possible!

Anna looks so much older to me in this photo. A glimpse of the little lady to come.

One of the biggest popsicles EVER!

The popsicles (and little hands) didn't have a chance in the heat.

This little peanut (the real life Crosby) is growing so quickly!

A rare picture of Anna and Harper standing together.

Going to the Grocery Store

Given the near 100 degree temps today, I think Anna is appropriately dressed for a trip to the grocery store.

A Little Before and After

I've finally pulled together a few photos of the house to do a little Before and After post. Keep in mind, the house is pretty bare right now. We haven't unpacked pictures or decorations yet.

Anna's room before...

Anna's room after.

Master bedroom before (taken from the door looking into the room).

Master bedroom after (the windows in the above picture are to the left in this photo).

Foyer before (after the carpet had been ripped up).

Foyer after (I wish the picture could show the detail of the runner on the stairs...it has so much texture and color and is one of my favorite things in the house).

The family room and fireplace before...

The family room and new fireplace with reclaimed wood barn beam mantle (another favorite piece in the house) after. Notice the college chair in the corner...this room only has a coffee table and a big coloring playhouse for furniture at the moment, but Anna loves the playspace!

Another view of the family room and old fireplace. We never could figure out what was supposed to go in that big white square.

Another view of the fireplace.

The desk area in the kitchen before (the door to the right is the mud room).

The desk area after (the dustbuster adds a nice touch).

The kitchen before...

The kitchen after (we added the bar to the island).