Half Birthday/Father's Day

Our summer fun continues....

 

Our baby turned 18 months old on Friday!  I don't normally give her whole apples to snack on, but she spotted her sister's and made it her own snack. 

 

I guess it was the big trip to Colorado, but Father's Day totally escaped me this year until the date for sending cards and having them arrive on time had passed.  As it turned out, my dad and mom came down for the weekend, so we got to celebrate together at the farm. 

 (Rachel insisted that she needed a coat with her swimsuit.)

Here's my dad with his granddaughters.

 

 Nathan even got to do a little fishing.  He hasn't caught any fish on his paperclip hook yet this year, but he did see some bullheads swimming around!

Visit Jan for more on Breckenridge!

Jan Melius has a great post on Breckenridge today if you are interested in some more fabulous Melius Cousins fun in Colorado!
Breckenridge Fun
She's an amazing photographer, so its worth a stop even if you'd prefer to see mountains and not Melius faces. :)

Melius Cousins Reunion 2013

Can it already be a week ago that we rolled into Denver ready for a fun-filled week in Breckenridge? 

Our vacation to the Melius Cousins Reunion was AWESOME.  So much fun, beautiful weather and scenery. 

We all stayed in a home in the mountains, so the 12 of us spent much of our time admiring the mountains all around us. 

There was adequate golf for David, shopping for me and plenty of food, drinks, conversation, and laughs for both of us. 

On Thursday, we went on a REAL hike in the mountains.  We drove until we came upon this avalanche.  Much of our trail was covered in knee-deep snow, which was difficult at times, but added to the experience.  How many times can you walk in snow in June? 

 (I did wonder if we would get to in South Dakota this year, but thankfully that didn't happen!)

 

It's always hard to leave, but we are glad to be back at the elevation our red blood cells are used to!  On our hike, we reached 2 miles above sea level.  We prairie dwellers were huffing and puffing at the slightest amount of exercise.  We were all ready to experience an oxygen bar, but we couldn't find one that was open.  Maybe next time. :)

 

Our children were happy to see us again on Saturday. . . I think.  They had a pretty good week at VBS, grandma and grandpa's house, and with their babysitters.

Yesterday, David and I spent our 12th anniversary at my family reunion.  We caught the tail end of that one, but still managed to see most everyone.

We are blessed beyond measure with our family and friends.

Summer 2013 . . . so far, so good!

 

 

"Momotony"

You know I love articles like this.  In fact, I posted a similiar article on how the domestic can be the monastic last year.  Here is one by Glennon Melton:  On Momotony and Sacred Work.  Enjoy.

Got Diapers?

For the past several years, I have avoided hanging baskets because they never stay alive for long, even if I water them twice a day.

I decided to try a Pinterest trick this summer. 

I lined the bottom of the basket with diapers and put the dirt on top of that.  The absorbing crystals in diapers are supposedly the same thing professional florists/gardeners use in their hanging baskets and it helps them to retain water.

So far, my flowers are doing well, but that could also be because we have had rain almost every day for the past two weeks!

I'll let you know how they look mid-July!