Back Again

I have to admit, this post has had me pondering for most of the day. A coffee cup and a half deep this morning and I thought I'd be up to the task. Fail. "Don't worry, naptime is just around the corner," I told myself. Fail. And now here it is, 9:27, and I am still fumbling for how to start and what to write. So I think for the sake of getting a blog posted, I will just write. {Because who couldn't use a little more unedited run-on sentences in their life?!} Just stick with me people, there will be pictures!

Anyway, July was busy, busy and HOT! Coupled with the heat was also the fact that we had our longest run without rain in ten years. Seriously, it was hot! So, the boys and I spent most of our time at our local splash park or at Target or Wendy's {where the air conditioning flows like milk and honey!}. And while our summer camping plans were dashed due to fire restrictions and closed state parks, we still managed to find lots of outdoor time and plenty of things to climb. 

Despite the lack of rain, state wide fires, and the raging heat, for some reason Jer still thought fireworks would still be a good choice. As would letting Uncle D help the big boys set off Roman Candles. Ay-yay-yay, I will never understand boys and their love for fire. But that sense of awe  and look of amazement over the "grand finale." Priceless.

And as for those of you with littles, check our this tremendously brilliant idea for protecting tiny fingers from sparkler burns. Poke the sparkler through a large plastic cup and light! My neighbor told me about it and I thought I would pass on the burn-free love.

As for things non-fire related, I will move on to one of the sweetest days of our summer, an afternoon of blackberry and apricot picking. 

 A couple weeks ago, the boys and I met up with our sweet friends, Ben and Zek, and their momma, Sally, and mowed through a friend's backyard, if you can even call an acre of  FREE FRUIT a backyard. Oh the joy! We picked and ate and ate as much as we picked. And fed the kids whatever we had on hand, just so we could keep picking.

I'm not sure how much we ended up with collectively but I managed to make 15 pints of jam with my stash. {Recipe here} And for those of you who have done it, then you know what a labor of love it is. But man, what a thrill when you hear those lids pop! Yes, I am expressing my excitement over canned goods. No, I am not 97. Moving on...

Some people read People. Some people watch reality t.v. I browse Pinterest. Warning: It's more addicting than Trader Joe's White Cheddar Popcorn. I saw a clothespin bag tutorial on there and had to make it. Along with 9,643 other things. Oh, the inspiration. Check it out!

Last, I will leave you with my sweet A.B.Ham, as his brother likes to call him, and his pal, Char, at Music and Movement at our local library. And I promise to be back. Back with updates. Back with the happenings. Back with life. These little men are growing by the day. Until then...

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