Carrie, Emmalee and John

Drew and Carrie check on the baby.

Emmalee greets her newest cousin.

Expiration date . . . arrival date

When i came home from vacation i checked the expiration date on the milk. i noticed it was the date my sister was scheduled to be induced. i sent her this picture, asking whether there was a similar stamp on her abdomen. as it turns out, luke arrived on the day he was scheduled. but he waited until 11 pm.

Nicholas

Nick came for a visit today.

Father daughter

daddy and Emmalee spend some time together on vacation.

Blueberry Harvest

I've actually found a berry I can pick! Being red-green colorblind makes it pretty hard for me to pick red raspberries. I have no trouble seeing the blue berries hiding among the green leaves, however.

Another nice thing about blueberries is that there are no thorns. My experience picking berries as a child was, wear flannel shirts and blue jeans to catch the thorns, sweat because you're overdressed for August, and still expect to be pricked a thousand times for a single bucket of berries. Blood and sweat were required sacrifices in order to enjoy the fruit.

My dad had a sort of zen technique of moving through a bramble bush really slowly -- ostensibly without getting pricked. In retrospect, perhaps he had a high tolerance for pain, and thick skin, and didn't notice (or perhaps just didn't admit) to being pricked by thorns.

"Kid Sandwich"

We met Drew and Jaden for a play date today. They decided to make a "kid sandwich" and stacked themselves according to age.

The next "course"

Kid Soup - what else?

"Kid Soup" take two

The heartier version - Now with more kids!

We're on a roll!

They were loving the camera today.

Feet - The Exhibit

From left to right: Jaden, Emmalee, John and Drew. Can you tell they had a great time?

Tree-mendous Farms

John and Emmalee smile for the camera . . . Each in their own way.

Stopping For Fresh Produce

We made a detour on the way home to stop and buy some fresh fruit. Roughly a dollar a pound for plums, peaches, and apricots.

Willow Tree

The big willow tree at Tree-mendous Fruit Farm. Their brochure touts the big tree, saying "bring a picnic lunch and enjoy it under the willow tree".

Sunrise

Blistered digit

Casualty of a cast iron pan at the campfire.

John tends the campfire.