Mr. Turtle on his way to the pond but roads and paths aren't the safest for turtles now a days...

So Dean and Kaela helped him along...

We always point the turtles in the direction they are headed....if you don't, they simply double back.  Quite stubborn little critters.

Blueberries!

What do you do when you have an abundance of lovely blueberries?

You make blueberry jam of course!

 I've put up several jars to give as gifts...with plenty to keep for ourselves.  

And the taste?

Yum!

Father's Day!

This past weekend was Dean's weekend.   

On Saturday, we did a little dad shopping and had an unexpected dinner out at a new place.  We were so happy to have found this place....

On Sunday, Dean took Kaela golfing....

and had a little surprise when he got home....

Matt was in rare form....he is starting to realize how much he is going to miss our crazy family.

For this month's cheesecake of the month, I made a Praline cheesecake. 

It was very pretty...

 I didn't taste it (yuck) but Dean said it was one of the best I've made.

Over all, a simple but fun weekend........we love you honey!

blooms...

I love it when the flowers in our yard start blooming.....the little angel garden self sowed this year.

the glads did too....we had actually pulled them up but must have dropped the bulbs because they are EVERYWHERE!

“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in--what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” -Victor Hugo, Les Mis'erables

A day in NOLA

We decided to go into NOLA for a little day trip.    We hadn't been in quite a while and wanted to see the new Mayan exhibit (sadly, it was a little ho-hum.)

I made a frog bean bag to drop at the Aquarium....haven't done one in a long time...we dropped it in the frog exhibit...

I don't think the Gar was supposed to catch the Spoonbill!

I love the seahorse exhibit

this guy was in a tank full of brooding males.  They were ALL hiding so getting a photo was difficult.  Just look how big his belly is!  

Love these guys...

As always, the turtles steal my heart....this is a juvenile.  There is a big chunk of shell missing from the back of his shell so he may be here permanently.

They had another turtle tub toy in the gift shop so I added it to my collection.

a few photos of the family that WEREN'T blurry!

After the aquarium, we headed to the River walk's grand re-opening and then on to Superior for an early dinner. It was a great day, full of smiles!

catching up

I couldn't get my photos loaded to the computer the last few weeks and then we had a flu virus go through the household.  Nothing like kicking off summer with a flu bug.  
I am slowly getting back on my feet and am ready to share what we've been up to.

I made a couple baby towels for shower gifts.

and an apron for a friend....

Curly Girl finished her driver's ed course...

Memorial Day, we just hung out with the family....Gunter helped Dean cook the burgers..um...  So,  Dean had to help Gunter help Dean.  weird.  okay, moving on.

and put the sugar on the cake for me...

he even poured Dean a couple of beers....hmmmm.  He was awfully chipper after this photo was taken and Dean said he never GOT any beer....

Gunter denied drinking any beer but we all know he's a liar.  Remember THIS?

Dear Dad,

I miss you.  I miss our talks. I miss the twinkle in your eyes and the way the corners crinkle up when you laugh.  I miss calling you about hummingbirds.   I miss the way you twirl your finger when talking.  I miss you telling jokes and waggling your eyebrows if it is a slightly dirty one.
I miss you telling me about a new dessert you created.  I miss you telling me to "go look in the mirror and say your daddy loves you."   I miss sending you photos of the kids and telling you to check out my blog so you can see the flowers in the yard...

Amazing how quickly one year can pass.   I love you.