Peach and Blackberry Picking

I don't love humid days, but I love farmers and their orchards.  Look at the beautiful box of peaches we were able to pick today.  Yes, today.  I feel somewhat caught up now on my blog posting.  Who doesn't enjoy a freshly picked peach from the tree?

And these blackberries were so juicy.  I ate a ton.  I mean, Baby #4 did.  But I don't feel so bad.

Because this little Butterball outdoes my eating binges any day.  He would eat the berries faster than I could gather them.  And ate 2 whole peaches while we were there.

Chrysa was having a rough day.  She was thirsty and dumb me forgot to bring any water.  And she kept saying she wanted to go home and lie down because she was tired and didn't want, "sweaty hair." She must be my daughter.  I didn't like sweaty hair as a kid either.  I guess I still don't.  But it doesn't bother me when we're doing fun things like this.  What does get to me is her whining.  I guess I was doomed to have a whiny girl for a daughter since I was one myself.

It was a hot day.  But it actually rained a bit on us.  My initial instinct was to get back to the car quick.  But I was so sweaty that the cool rain actually felt good.  And since I was already so wet, I figured, we'd just keep on picking for a while.  Picking and eating.  And the rain was short anyways.  It ended just as quickly as it had come.

I think our entire day's meals consisted of nothing but fruit.  Watermelon for breakfast.  With some blender pancakes.  Peaches and blackberries.  They ate these in the car and then had more when we got home.

And this boy still wanted more food.

But I could swallow those cheeks whole.  I guess I'll love them while they last because I'm pretty sure he'll have a lengthening growth spurt soon enough and I'll miss them.

Office Pool Party/BBQ

We've been to the pool a total of maybe 3 times this summer.  I love the pool.  My reason for not going more often: Pregnancy.  So I am always happy when Alex gets to come along because I don't have to stress about keeping my eye on three kiddos with the possibility of having to jump into the pool with a huge fat belly to rescue anyone.  I'm impressed with how fearless Orion has gotten.  We keep the floaties on just as a precaution but he really doesn't need them.  He's already diving head first into the water as you can clearly see in these videos.

 I ate this pie.  And yes, it was delicious.

Look at these water acrobats.

This guy really wanted to just get me soaked.

 

And this darling girl of mine was perfectly content just floating around in the jacuzzi.  

This little dude was afraid of the water for a while.  But he got over it quick.  With Daddy around, who wouldn't.  He's got a fun Daddy.

Hinckley began dancing around to the music but, of course, as soon as I pull out the camera, he stops.  Still, he's such a cute butterball to watch.

Yoga and A Future Break Dancer

8 months pregnant here with Baby #4.  I must say, this position actually felt great on my pelvis.  It really relieves a lot of pressure I get in my pelvic bowl at this particular time during pregnancy.  Not so good on the heartburn though.  But I can't stay like this for too long.  Just thought it'd be fun to take some pictures of little baby boy and I practicing some yoga while we're still bonded together this way.

Orion's not a big fan of doing a lot of yoga, but lately, he's been wanting to practice headstands more and more because of a breakdancing video he saw and some Jackie Chan moves he's trying to mimic by jumping off walls.  So I told him that if he wants to learn how to spin on his head like a breakdancer and climb walls like a monkey, he has to start by trying to do some basic headstands and somersaults and stuff.

Pretty good, don't you think?  So proud of my boy for giving this some effort.  I really want to get this boy into some gymnastics soon.

Garden

A neighbor helped us to get in touch with a guy from a church around the corner of the complex we're staying at.  Not an LDS church.  But they were nice enough to offer us a free plot of dirt to plant a garden in.  I was sad I didn't get to do a garden back in Pleasant Grove, so I was super grateful for this little plot of land.  Haven't kept up much on the weeding.  I've just not had the energy for it.  But I planted and thinned and whatever we can't take with us, I've told them they can donate to their church.

Leave each place a little greener than when we got there, right?  I'm really hoping I can harvest some of these summer squash but whatever we don't, I'm sure they'll be happy to have some fresh organic produce to donate to anyone in need.

Some yummy beets.

Swiss chard and lettuces.

4th of July Barbeque

I didn't get many pictures of the day and then my camera died.  But here are some pics of the family eating.  And I wasn't really wanting to buy festive outfits but I did want to be festive.  We didn't have much red, so we dressed up in blue.  Close enough, right?

Not sure what this little guy was up to.  

My baby has gotten so big.  He looks so old here.  But I think he's incredibly handsome.  

This guy too.  It takes a real man to eat all his veggies.  But we barbequed some yummy salmon kabobs too.  

I think all the kids from the office were playing red light green light before we got to do fireworks, but I'm not sure Chrysa got the concept.  

On a previous night, we went to a fireworks show at a park and a friend gave Chrysa some glow-in-the-dark sticks to make into rings, bracelets, headbands, etc.  So here's Princess Glow Sticks.  On our way out, Chrysalis saw a vendor wearing tons of these glow-in-the-dark accessories and surrounded by lightsabers and fiber optic stars.  She saw the girl and turned to me to say, "Mommy, she looks beautiful!!!" I guess all those colorful lights were quite fascinating.  Silly girl.

Some of our Favorite Treats

Just because I rarely give my kids sugary sweets like candy and other store-bought goodies, doesn't mean I don't make them sweet treats.  These spicy cayenne chocolate balls made with dates, nuts and coconut are a great bite size treat they devour.  

And they've come to love these coco-nutties thanks to their Aunt April who forwarded the recipe from wherever she got it.  I keep these in the freezer at all times to curb the sweet tooth when it comes around.

Another Day, Another Lunch

Another silly face.

I'm Addicted to This:

Grinding 3-4 grains into a flour with my Vitamix and some carrots and apples to make a yummy bundt bread.

Made with flax seeds to replace eggs, this bread comes out super moist and yummy and it's so easy to make.  Super healthy too.  Baby #4 loves it too.

Mother's Day Punching Bag

This poor balloon, that came with some beautiful flowers that Alex gave me for Mother's Day, quickly became a punching bag for the kids and somehow lasted until about late June.  It really was a sweet gift.  And I'm happy it kept my three munchkins so entertained while it lasted.  After it had completely deflated, the kids would cry and fight over this crazy piece of plastic.  Who would think a balloon could keep three kids so happy?  But eventually, it had to go.  Thanks Honey.  It really was quite thoughtful.

He's At That Age

You know.  The one where you can't sit still for more than 10 seconds?  It's an adventure every Sunday trying to keep this boy entertained while at least one of us tries to get something out of sacrament meeting.  Here we're in the foyer doing some coloring.  But this keeps him happy for all of maybe 3 minutes.  The rest of the time he just wants to go outside and sits by the glass doors gazing or pointing and gesturing that that's where he would like to go.

Cherry Picking

This is the only picture I have of us Cherry picking in Lancaster, PA.  It was a fun day.  We went with a group of wives from the company who also have some kids.  But this kid's bag never got full.  Kind of nice I suppose since you don't weigh or pay for the cherries you eat while you're there.  But this boy's tummy had to have had at least 2 lbs. of cherries in it when we left.

New Hampshire Trip

I hardly get to visit this family and I wish I lived closer to them.  This is my cousin Ursula and we have so much in common I just wish we lived closer because we share so many of the same passions it would be nice to have someone around who really understands why I do things the way I do.  Preparing nutritious foods that taste good is one.  Just look at some of the fun things we make.  Pizza.  

Millet puddings.

And she's got 4 kids but here are my three with her youngest and only daughter Leah.  Hinckley would not pose for a photo.  Oh well.  At least he's in the background.

Leah hangin' out with the dandelions.

Hinckley discovers the chickens on the farm and we all discover the love to eat grass.  Interesting.

Here's Hinckley doing some more exploring.  This is a bunny cage.  But Hinckley thought it was a slide.

And this random photo is a picture of snowdrop flowers that my sweet Chrysa picked for me one day and said, "Here Mommy, these are for your wedding."  I just laughed.  I couldn't throw them out without first capturing them in a photo.

We visited with the Morrisons for almost three weeks and so our days were so exciting and busy that these two kept passing out all over.  Here Hinckley fell asleep standing next to the couch.

Not to worry.  He eventually ended up in this position while eating fruit in his sleep.  It was the funniest thing to watch.

These sweet girlie cousins happened to have the same exact dress and so we matched them up to go to church.  Aren't they the sweetest?  I had two matching flowers that I usually put in Chrysa's pigtails, so on this day we shared one with Leah and then they really had matching outfits.

Just snapping some photos after church.

And these two second cousins are the same age.  About a month apart.  They really look like siblings though.  I think they do at least.

Hinckley not being very cooperative for photos.

My Chrysa picking more flowers for "my wedding."  Maybe she means hers.  Not sure.

Someone found a baby bird that had fallen out of a nest that day.  So Orion was thrilled to be holding a little bird.

Ursula's third son Leighton couldn't stop following Hinckley around and taking care of him wherever he went.  He sure was a help.  He was always wanting to strap him into his car seat and feed him and play with him and give him baths.  There's wasn't a thing he didn't want to help with.  No joke.  He's a good big brother to his sister I'm sure.  And I think Ursula needs to have another baby for him to take care of.  

Me and my gorgeous cousin.  I'll bet you'd never guess this girl was 37.  She looks 17.  More proof that eating right keeps you young.  And this girl is such a huge inspiration to me for all that she does to feed her family right and naturally.

And here's Tom pulling the kids around on his four-wheeler all over their land.  They have lots of land out there.  It sure is a fun ride.

I'm certain he didn't realize I was taking this photo when I did.  But I'm sure he loved snuggling on the couch with all these little hooligans.

Ursula had an extra pair of pajamas that someone had given her for Leah that she gifted to Chrys.  So matching at prayer and scripture study time was a must for these two girls.  I just want to devour these two sweeties.  

After two weeks, we contemplated leaving, but somehow we managed to talk my hubby into taking a break from sales and flying out to spend one more week with us.  This is what he flew in.  Pretty small plane.

But I think he had fun taking a break.

It was very much needed for all these boys to climb a tree.  From left to right: Leighton, Tom, Orion, Logan, Alex and Luke.

Luke and Hinckley.

And then we went boating one day.  Kids loved it.  Me, well, let's just say I would enjoy this a lot more if I wasn't so pregnant.  But I did love just feeling the breeze as we boated across the lake.  The motor of the boat made me sleepy.

They have a farm with animals, a tourist pancake and ice-cream house, and a little old playground where the kids loved to swing on these strange-looking exercise swings.  I must say, I rather enjoyed them too.  So they played here a lot while we did other things around the place and I taught some classes on oils at their ice cream place.

Overall, we had a lot of fun taking a break and hanging out with cousins every day.  It was a much needed trip.  And I'm so grateful that Alex could join us for a bit too.  Usually it's so difficult for him to take a break from the summer sales thing.