Life's a Bowl of Cherries (July 13)

Look what we found at the grocery store tonight - YUMMO! Marty and Max and I ate them all for dessert. They were delish! There are few things better than fresh cherries. I loves me some summer fruit!

He's Back! (July 12)

Max is finally home from his whirlwind summer vacation tour with the grandparents. He spent 3 weeks in Texas (and one weekend in Arizona) with my parents and then got to spend a week camping with Marty's parents and his sister and her family at Table Rock Lake. They went to Silver Dollar City and White Water, too. I barely recognized my grown up boy when we picked him up on Sunday! My little travelin' man.

Rooftop Bar (July 11)

Technically this picture can count for the 7/11 photo because it had just turned 7/11. This was the remarkably clear shot taken from the roof top bar of Hamburger Mary's after many cocktails celebrating my bro-in-law's 30th birthday. I stayed out until 3:30 AM! I haven't deliberately done that in many, many years! Probably since Luke turned 25. Man, it was fun - but I'm glad Luke only turns 30 ONCE!

Luke Turns 30 (July 10)

This is Luke. This is Luke turning 30. This is Luke turning 30 while we all had many cocktails on the roof of a downtown bar in Kansas City. Luke is old now. Yes, Luke is old.

Self Portrait? (July 9)

This is a totally random out of focus picture of yours truly that is also not very flattering, but for some reason, I kind of like it. Maybe it is my weird smirk or the cool low light, but it kinda grew on me. I think I am laughing at something Marty said. Or I'm acting like a kid again while the kids are all at the grandparents' houses. Or, it's really just me. I am random and sometimes out of focus.

Cuppa Joe (July 8)

Doesn't this just make you want to have a cup of coffee?

Waterfall in the Parking Lot (July 7)

I'm thinking I need to start working on building an ark! We've had so much rain in the last couple of days, I'm surprised we haven't floated off. Walking to the car after the second or third major rain shower today, I looked to the east side our our parking lot to see this waterfall coming from the lot above ours. It would be pretty if it was actually supposed to be there. It has carried a bunch of the smaller stones you see in the foreground across our parking lot as the water runs to the storm drain on the other side. When is this rain going to end?!

All Alone! (July 6)

We're kidless this week!! Wa-hoo! Max is at the farm with Marty's folks, the girls are on their way to Texas with my folks - we're all alone! For a whole week! I am using a lot of exclamation points because this is a big deal! Last night we went out for margaritas at our favorite local Mexican place. Tonight we went for sushi and capped that off with frozen custard - and I didn't even have to share mine with ANYONE! I slept in a little bit this morning and I didn't trip over anyone's shoes just inside the door when I got home this evening because - GASP - everything is all put away. I left my office at 5 p.m. and pulled into the driveway at 5:10 instead of 5:45 p.m. I had time to catch up on my blog. Wow. This is amazing. The only thing is...it is awful quiet around here!

Fireworks Farm Style (July 5)

I actually didn't have any pictures from the 5th - I was too distracted by not having any kids around today! But it wouldn't be the 4th of July without some evidence of fireworks, so here is the fireworks setting on the new Nikon. I didn't use a tripod - probably would have gotten a more clear shot - but this isn't too bad for holding it myself on such a slow setting. Pretty cool!

Ella's Birthday Party (July 4)

We celebrated Ella's 4th birthday three days early this year since she was going to be in Texas on her real birthday. I can't believe that she is already four. That doesn't seem possible. She will go to Kindergarten next year! Where has this time gone? It just seems like we found out Ella was coming last year. She is such a bright light in our lives and I thank my lucky stars every day that she's part of our fabulous five! Happy Birthday, little big girl! Enjoy your special day.

My In-Laws (July 3)

I am one of the luckiest people when it comes to in-laws. My husband's parents are the best people you could ever meet. They are honest, kind, generous and have great senses of humor. They are my second set of parents and have become good friends with my folks in the last 13 1/2 years of our marriage - they even drove out to Texas this past February to visit them! They resurrected their traditional 4th of July fish fry this year with a great turn out (despite the rain) and probably the best fried fish I have ever had! I don't know what I would do without them - and if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have Marty! Love you guys!

Rhubarb PIe (July 2)

Marty's mom is the best pie maker EVER! For the Fourth of July fish fry, she made two fresh rhubarb pies from scratch. Here they are hot out of the oven. I wish this picture had scratch and sniff because these babies smelled sooooo good. Sadly, they didn't make it to the party. We ate one pie on Friday night and the other on Saturday before the party! They were awesome!

All Packed (July 1)

This is all of Ella Grace's gear. She's all packed to go to Texas this weekend with my parents for 3 WEEKS! I took a picture of her stuff because this is her first big length of time away from us and her first trip to Camp Grandma - it's a big deal! I hope she has fun and doesn't get too homesick (yeah right!) I am going to miss her!!!

Chamber Chicks (and Don) (June 30)

I work with a pretty amazing group of people. We spent 4 hours in the car together, all day long in a conference room and then tacked on a couple more on the rooftop at Harpo's when we got back. Not too many groups can say that they would be able to stand that much time together, but we are different than most! Here's the whole crew of Chamber Chicks. That's Don, our boss, in the pink (er, raspberry) shirt! I guess working with a bunch of women has worn off on him.

Flea Dip (June 29)

Okay, so it really isn't flea dip, but that's what Natalie and I called it. We had to give her one last treatment for the creepy crawlies tonight to make sure they stay far, far away. We never want to go through that again. I'm so thankful that Natalie was such a good sport about it and didn't put up too much of a fuss. Poor kid. Not the best way to spend your summer vacation.

Dusk (June 28)

After we got home from our last softball game of the season, we ate a quick dinner and rushed around trying to get the last few things done for the day before baths and bedtime for the kiddos. I realized I hadn't retrieved the mail yet and came outside to this sight. Wow. It took my breath away and I hustled back inside for the camera. I am reminded when I see a sky like this that sometimes it just doesn't matter if the dishes are done or the clothes are folded and put away or the kids in bed exactly on time when you can stop and share a moment just looking at something so lovely.

These Boots Are Made for Walkin' (June 27)

I love these boots. My mom gave them to Natalie when she was a little, little girl and now they belong to Ella Grace - who LOVES them. She would wear them to bed if I let her. Sometimes she wears just her pink boots and nothing else. She complains when she has to take them off to take a bath. She wears them with dresses, shorts, pants and skirts. I will be so very sad when they don't fit her anymore which will probably happen this summer at the rate she's growing. I have a feeling that these are going to have to be kept for future generations - just because they are so much fun and we've gotten such joy out of them. Maybe I'll have granddaughters who will love to wear them as much as my girls have.

FIrst Harvest (June 26)

The jalapenos are arriving! Marty planted some of these in the front yard in a newly created herb and pepper garden area. The plants seemed to love the new spot and went nuts, already producing these three beauties with many more on the way. These were quickly eaten in a great recipe from the Foodnetwork magazine Jalapeno Cornmeal Pancakes.

Happy Hour (June 25)

25 ounces of Schlafly summer seasonal on a Friday evening outside on the patio with good friends. Nuff said!

Backyard Beauty (June 24)

After a brutal day during a brutal week, I needed some respite and retired to the backyard with a cold beer in hand for a stroll. I usually end up back in Marty's shade garden checking out the latest floral arrivals. The hydrangea that Marty planted roughly 3 years ago finally bloomed and it was so beautiful! I think we had even forgotten what color it was until it made its appearance. Unfortunately, I didn't have my big camera on me and I was too lazy (and tired) to run inside for it, so I snapped this with the phone. Still beautiful, even at 2.5 megapixels!