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Berry Pickin’ on a Whim

I love spur of the moment ideas and plans, especially when the activity is wholly unexpected. Last weekend my phone buzzed with a text from Debbie inviting us to go berry picking with her and Kurt. We’d only seen Debbie since the wedding and seeing Kurt during hunting season is rare, so we decided to hit the road and meet up with them the next morning.

We tend to joke with Kurt that he always seems to ‘know a place’ whether it be a place to hunt, camp, fish, or pick fruit. This time Kurt’s skills in picking places was spot-on and we were able to gather our baskets and bags with plums and blackberries. I’ll probably have to doubt him a little less in the future because this time was so fruitful.

As much as I love doing things spur of the moment and on a whim, I LOVE a good plan. I mean, I really love a good plan. So, doing these things, these unexpected adventures, is good for me, good for my soul. Besides, by the time we got home and unloaded our goods, I already had a plan to make a Blackberry Buckle.

 

 

 

I ended up making two of them because we had so many blackberries and we’ve even got some leftover for our smoothies!!

In full disclosure, I have to admit that while picking blackberries was fun, Maggie was super grumpy and tired the whole time. Turns out we got home and and discovered that she was running a high fever. Having a sick kid is no fun….but I think we’re on the other side of it. Amen for that!

 

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The Haps

A few nights ago I pulled lots of Maggie’s summer wear from her closet and filed it away thinking that summer was done for. Of course the very next day, and the day following that, were sun-filled and exceptionally warm. No worries, we’re always ready for some nice weather. Yesterday brought us to the zoo to meet up with some friends and this time Maggie actually was more interested in the animals, even to the point that she did NOT want to be put down next to the gorilla or any other animal close to the other side of the glass. I totally get it, but it was strange to have her cling to me since she almost never does it.

Today brought a reunion of sorts because storytime at the library started up again and we saw friends that we’ve missed out on seeing with frequency this summer. My, oh, my how quickly kids grow and change. We’ve become pretty good friends with a few of the other kids/parents at storytime and so we’re glad that the group has started up again after the hiatus. Maggie still likes to stand in the center of the circle and participate from that vantage point and is really interested in saying hello to familiar faces. To say she enjoys it would be an understatement.

My parents have been on a trip for a week or so and the phone has been used way more for direct conversation between them and Maggie. This means that Barry and I have had a glimpse into our future with Maggie rolling around on the bed babbling into the phone as my mom and Dad try to decipher her words. She also likes to ‘text’ while talking on speakerphone to them, it makes me laugh at myself because we wanted to try and keep electronics at a minimum for her. HA. We’ll keep trying. We’ve also Skyped a few times with Barry’s parents n& grandparents….which has been a hoot because Maggie isn’t quite sure what’s happening. We’ll keep doing it and eventually she’ll share all details of her days with them.

Also, Maggie’s hair has has now become very Brillo Padish in the back. I’m on a quest to find something to help make it less so bed head. Just a comb of water used to help, but now that it is a bit longer that just doesn’t seem to cut it. (Pun intended, ha!) We bought soe detalngler, but I’m not sure I love the smell. Any suggestions? We’ll take ’em!

 

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Let the Sharing Begin!

This summer has been jam packed and I’m not entirely sure where all our time has gone. Each week our calendar fills up with various play dates and adventures. This week we went and saw Caspar Babypants twice with two different groups of friends and it was delightful. If you don’t know who he is, check him out! I really enjoy listening to him and he’s local as well! I also like that he does a cover of Nirvana’s Sliver because I loved me some Nirvana back in the day.

Erin, Nicole and Lara all came down with their kids and trying to get a group shot of all of us has become a story in itself. Between all the children and all of us, we typically end up looking like a group of clowns. When I spend time with these girls, I’m never sure what to call them because ‘old friends’ just doesn’t seem to cut it. Nicole is the ‘newest’ friend, but I’ve known who she is since at least middle school.  Plus we aren’t old. Yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although we loved bustin’ some moves to Caspar Babypants’ music, the highlight of the afternoon was by far time spent on Thomas’ quad. I haven’t laughed as hard as I did when Maggie got on to ride and was happy as a clam cruising along without a care in the world. Gavin, Erin’s son, was by far the most daring and attempted to take the quad for a ride up a hill full of roots and trees. Thomas did a great job sharing and I have no doubt that the new favorite toy to play with when we visit Thomas will be the quad.