Lily's Third Birthday Party: Preparations

Lily's 3rd Birthday Party could quite easily be called "Balloonapalooza!" Since Lily is a big balloon fan, Emily thought this would be a good theme for her party. And she was right! Donna and Emily came up with all sorts of fun balloon games for the kids to play. Her friends Mary Hudson, Luke, Rya and Wesley all came to join in the fun.

But before the fun could happen, preparations had to be made. And for that, we owe Nana, Papa, Gran and Jonathan a huge THANK YOU!!! We couldn't have gotten it all done without each of you (particularly your lungs!) helping, and we sincerely appreciate it.

Fireworks!

Family Photos

Nana and Papa Come to Town!!!

Random Lily Cuteness

The Expressions of Gator

USS Maroofinus

What does summer boredom and power tools get you?

That's right! A mobile, aerial-fireworks command, complete with level guidance systems designed to keep from lighting the neighbor's (and ma-) roofs on fire, and beautiful patriotic colors. Who doesn't love the summer time!?!

Just Goofing Off in the Backyard

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

The year of the garden is in full swing. We've already got so many squash and zucchini that we have given away two bags of them and still can't find ways to eat it all. But here we have one of the tastier summer treats, a strawberry rhubarb pie. The strawberries are from the store, but the rhubarb is from the back yard. It turned out to be quite a tasty little dish, though most of that is probably attributable to the pastry chef pictured below :)





Unfortunately, there is no picture after baking because a not-to-be-named almost-3-year-old stuck her finger in the pie as it was cooling....didn't affect the taste though!

Peter Cottontail

I was out in the Avatar-like foliage of the squash patch this morning picking zucchini when I noticed something out of the ordinary....a white cotton ball....hmmm.....

A zoom in reveals that the cotton ball appears to be attached to the furriest baby watermelon I've ever seen!

And closer still I find out why we haven't had quite as many squash and zucchini as we did originally! This little fella is so brave that I was within 18 inches of him, left to get the camera, came back, got within 18 inches of him again, and he stood his ground. Apparently our little squash patch is quite the smorgasbord!