Berries!

We took off to Fordyce Farm for some good, ol' fashion berry pickin'. If you haven't been over there, let me say it's a beautiful place to hang out and load up on yummy stuff! They have mostly blueberries and strawberries, but also cucumbers, squash and blackberries. We came out of there with an insane amount of stuff for $7. They are also a homeschooling family and their kids are usually in charge of the farm store and help you check in and out. Take Sunnyview Road out to the country about a mile, they're on the left (it's not the 1st u-pick place, though, it's the one quite a bit farther out. You'll see their sign).

Mmmmmm...Daisies!

Another shnoz full of flowers.

There are so many flowers at this place! The butterflies flock by the dozen. This guy was nearly as big as my hand!

Mommy put this one in sepia because it makes Kai look like our Great Grandma Bonnie. She went to live with Jesus just before everyone found out I was on my way. I'd like to think maybe we met up somewhere in the middle of here and heaven.
NOTE FROM MOM: Notice the completely empty bucket, even though we'd been picking for half an hour. I asked my (blue tinged) children where all the berries went and they would shrug their little shoulders innocently.

Comments, Comments, Where For Art Thou Comments?

Ok, I should have explained this long ago, but better late than never, right? When I post new pictures, some of the old ones slide off and go into the "Archives" (they're just down there in that right hand column, see them? They say the months?) Well, when the "Archives" get full, I'm laminating all the posts and having them bound into a book, along with ALL THE COMMENTS THAT WERE LEFT FOR THE KIDS. I will keep adding to this book as they grow and the "Archives" fill. This book will hold THE memories from my children's childhood. THE documentation of everything. The day we finally kick our children out...I mean the day they majestically soar from the nest, Micah and I will present this book to them with both tears and joy.
Their story has begun and will end with the folks who are reading this right now. It begins with 2 brothers and will continue through the (attempted) adoption of Rayna, then the eventual addition of more siblings and journeys across the globe to pick them up. It will hold the smells of summer and the taste of tears. The elation of victories won and the hardship of lessons learned. It will be held in the chubby fists of my Grandchildren who love to hear the stories and see the pictures of their Mommy or Daddy who used to be small just like them. It will be perused with smiles at family get-togethers. It will invoke chuckles and shakes of the head as Micah and I age and need to remember. All of their hardships, achievements and joys are being documented in this book and it will immortalize YOU for my children and their children after them. Why do I tell you this? BECAUSE YOU NEED TO LEAVE SOME STINKIN' COMMENTS!! (Regular commenters such as Nana and Andee excluded - thank all 2 of you)
Now, your comments don't need to be profound for the kids to know that you took the time to check in on them, and you'll be in their book forever! Just click the "Comments" tab at the bottom of the picture, jot a quick note, and sign your name. Select "Sign in as other". Then, type in the letters you see for the anti-span thingie and click "Login and Publish". Voila! Now, we don't have any comments from some really important people in the kids' lives (I'm looking your direction; Papa & Goga, Uncle Shawn & Auntie Julie, Uncle Chad, Auntie Cynaera, Papa Davis & Gramma Anna, the Clark/Boles household, Great Auntie Ruby & Great Uncle Denny, Uncle Donovan & Aunt Vicky, Grandpa Ed & Family, Grandpa Don & Grandma Cyndi...I won't name any names, though :) I could just scrapbook for my kids, but I put this online because I want their book to hold the thoughts, notes and wishes of the people who are important to them. That's you. Because nobody else will have had the patience or desire to read this incredibly long and ranting post.

Adventures at the Farm

We've just spent the last several days farm-sitting for our friends who were in North Dakota. We had run of the place and full chicken/bunny/goat privileges. Mommy went a little bit nuts. She made a hay playpen in the front room, and brought in bunnies, Harley the Billy Goat and her favorite chicken. It was really fun!

We helped out with all the farm type chores and really enjoyed ourselves.

Malachi and I made sure the baby bunnies had food, water and plenty of escorts around the premises.

I'm sure that they had as much fun as we did!

On Friday the sweltering weather forced us to the coast to play in the cool water. Mommy snapped pictures of us as we saw the waves. Here's Malachi:

My first impression,

...and Rayna...

..."butt" before we knew it, she was having a wonderful time in the water. We stayed all afternoon.

On Saturday there was a big parade downtown. They had some really neat floats and we all got pelted with loads of candy!

It was over 100 degrees out and Rayna made sure I had adequate protection from the hot sun...