Three Generations

These folks (a group of friends my parents (on the far right) have had for YEARS)...

...produced, well, half of these folks (only a few second generation are missing)....

...which resulted in THIS!!!  Can you believe we got ALL of these kids to stand there, and pose with no one screaming or picking their nose (not that Addie K can find hers...sigh...)?

This was a fun reunion.  We have fond memories of outings and trips together as kids, but we don't get together much anymore.

missing parts

If Adeline can point to her eyes, ears, mouth, belly, toes, fingers, KNEES (grandpa taught her this one day), and "po-po" (aka bottom) and even name most of them, shouldn't she be able to point to her NOSE?!?

Not sure why we can't seem to get this one...I know...it'll come.

My Sizzling Summer Vacation Spectacle...

Kristen over at We are That Family is hosting an ultra cool bloggy carnival today....which conveniently happens to be on my birthday...did I mention that already?  To enter to win a zillion prizes, all you have to do is link to her blog and link to a fun summer vacation post.  So, here are a few recaps of some of the crazy summer fun we've been having.

Thailand

The beach

Head over to Kristen's blog to check out all the fun (or you can click on the nifty button I've been displaying on my sidebar)!

Poolside Tea

It is only fitting that on my birthday (yes, I know, I gave you no warning), I share pictures of one of my favorite activities....going to tea.  As you saw from this post, my mom and I adore this venue of feminine creativity.  These pictures are from a poolside tea a few weeks ago.  My mom bought tickets at the Brethren Relief Auction, and we couldn't wait to get dolled up for the occasion.  We had a beautiful day.  We had four of the twelve tickets.  Here was our group...

clockwise from top left...Janie, mom, me, and Donna.

The whole group by the gazebo. 

me and mom....yeah, I know I went a little crazy with the pearls, but when other than at tea do adults get to play dress-up?

we started with chilled punch in antique peanut butter glasses.

beautiful place setting

two kinds of scones hot from the oven....of course they served the obligatory devonshire cream and lemon curd.

The savories...

...and the sweets!  mmmm...melt in your mouth good, every one.  Do you remember this cake?  Same bakeshop....SOOOO yummy!

This adorable bed sits outside the playhouse that you can see in the next picture.  It is seriously, one of the cutest things I have ever seen!!!  I have a better picture of the playhouse from a previous tea here.  I'll try to dig it up for you.

and here are a few more pictures of the beautiful setting.

Two Book Reviews

I really loved Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers.  It is an excellent sequal to Voice in the Wind.  I reread the ending every day for about a week after I finished the book.  It's Biblical fiction, and is surprisingly good for this genre.  It is somewhat predictable, but I still found myself routing for the inevitable.  The cheesiness factor is low, but it still a leans a little to far on the side of chic lit for me to recommend it to my husband.  Still, one I would recommend to most of you...

Oh. my. goodness....My Sister's Keeper was my first Jodi Picoult novel, and it won't be my last.  Kate is diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.  Her parents use genetics to conceive Anna who is a bone marrow match for Kate.  They plan to only use the cord blood, but after 13 years, Anna has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots to save her sister's life.  She has never questioned this...until now.  This book challenges your thinking about medical ethics and as I've learned is characteristic of Picoult novels, it has a twist.  If you read it, you gotta tell me what you think!

The abc's of me...a meme

I saw this meme on several blogs and thought it was cute, and then Sarah tagged me to complete it.  That was just the kick in the tush I needed....

a. attached or single? very happily attached

b. best friend? Patrick, my mom, and many other girlfriends that are like sisters to me.
c. cake or pie? yes
d. day of choice? any day that Patrick doesn't have to work.
e. essential items? icecream, my laptop, Bible, whatever book I am reading at the moment, my iPhone.... ;o)
f. favorite color(s)? I like most of them.  It depends on what is being colored....I have very different favorites for wall colors than I do for clothing colors.  I tend to like most fall colors though (sage green, burnt orange, red)
g. gummy bears or worms? neither...I got sick on some Skittles as a kid, and now I have an aversion to anything fruity and chewy.
h. hometown? Manheim, PA
i. favorite indulgence? my new iPhone
j. january or july? July (only because it's so dark in January)
k. kids? If you've spent more than 10 seconds reading my blog, you know about my precious baby girl.
l. life isn't complete without? God...He gives everything purpose.
m. marriage date? December 22, 2001
n. number of brothers or sisters? 1 sister
o. oranges or apples? either...I eat an orange almost every day in the winter.  Apples are wonderful in anything baked or with peanut butter as a snack.
p. phobias? vermin of any kind (bugs, rodents, etc) (stole this answer from Sarah...I couldn't agree more)
q. quotes? "I believe in God as I believe the sun rises, not because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."  --CS Lewis
r. reasons to smile? Grass, Patrick is home, Adeline's laughter, we had REAL mashed potatoes for dinner, Patrick whisked me away for two nights to a wonderful B&B as an early birthday gift. 
s. season of choice? autumn
t. tag 5 people: Linda, Susan, Kristin (I miss you in the blogging world), Christie, and Jennifer (where ya been?)  
u. unknown fact about me.... I have to do another meme listing 6 of these...stay tuned...
v. vacation of choice? really hoping to take a trip to Europe while we have friends in Germany and England. 
w. worst habit? being critical of others, thinking (okay, insisting) I'm right.
x. xray or ultrasound? ultrasound
y. your favorite food? icecream, REAL mashed potatoes, all things pumpkin
z. zodiac sign? Virgo (but I gotta tell you...I was out of college and in my 20's before I even knew the answer to this one).  As Jenni said, "I don't believe that the stars tell me who I am, just the Maker of the stars."

Patrick's Family Visits

Last Saturday (yes, almost a week ago...I got a lot goin' on), Patrick's family drove to my parents' house for a visit.  We had such a nice time together.  Here is Damien (husband to Patrick's sister, Brooke) and their daughter, Taylor. 

Adeline giving kisses to her cousin, Madison (3 1/2 months younger, but the same size as Addie).

Pat with his brother, Bob

Bob with Madison (doesn't she look a lot like Adeline?)

We played a rousing game of croquet.  My dad knocked me into the pole at the very end to send me out of the game (and you said I was mean...)

Okay, since my dad rarely comments on this blog he probably won't tell you that I first tried to knock him into the pole and missed.  hmm....it seems I really am mean....

Friday Fun

Sorry, dad, but this was too funny not to share...

Play Date

Remember those awesome girlfriends of mine that I keep mentioning...well, we all got together for a play date a few weeks ago.  We planned to meet at a playground, but the weather had different plans for us.  Thanks, Jen, for hosting!

Jen, Heidi, Jen, Krista, Jen (do you sense a theme?)

Miss Christie visits PA

I forgot to tell you the craziest story...

We were waiting for Patrick's luggage after our reunion at the airport, when out of the corner of my eye, I see someone running towards me.  I turned and was SHOCKED to see Christie!!!  Yes, the same Christie who went to residency with Patrick, came to Korea with us, became one of our closest friends there, spent Christmas with us, had a major hair transformation, and took golf lessons with me.  We knew she was coming to see us on Friday, but did NOT expect to see her at the airport on Thursday!  She was picking up a friend from the airport who just happened to be on Patrick's flight.  We had a nice little reunion which was a foretaste for Friday.  Adeline and Christie have a mutual love for each other and were both so excited to be together. 

We took a walk, and I have been meaning to show you this old covered bridge in our town.

Thanks for making the effort to visit us, Christie.  We love you and are really hoping to make the trip to Germany to visit you in the next 2 years.

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday Finest

A little late, but blogger wouldn't let me upload photos for a few days...

Happy Birthday Isaiah!

A few weekends ago (I told you I was behind), Adeline and I had the privilege of attending Isaiah's 4th Birthday Party!!!  

We were the only "non-family" there, but since Heidi is like a sister to me, I guess that counts.  It was the perfect evening for an outdoor party.

                                                                

The food was delicious.
                                                                   

Logan was so sweet to swing with Adeline.  She loved it!

 

The cake tasted as good as it looked!
                                                   

Adeline with Heidi's husband, Jonathan...
                                                                              

Happy Birthday Isaiah!  Thank you for inviting us to your party...we had a blast!