Just Another (Sunday) Afternoon

Party Girls

And no, they didn't purposely match the gift bags to their dresses! 

{This Moment} And So It Begins

{This Moment} - A Soule Mama Friday ritual. A single photo- no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments section for all to find and see. We wish you a lovely weekend and a wonderful 4th of July celebration next week!

Two Wheelin'

She's got it!

While watching Grace ride her bike Emma snapped this selfie of us!

Way to go Grace! What a difference a week makes!

Jam Day!

First thing this morning the girls and I headed to our favorite farm to do some berry picking. It was a cool 78 degrees when we got there and we had the fields to ourselves. We found a lovely shady row and got picking. The berries were plentiful and perfectly sweet. Had I not forgotten my phone there would be some really sweet pictures of the girls picking strawberries.

We decided we'd be using most of these berries to make Strawberry Balsamic Jam. I found a recipe online (using Pamona's Pectin instead of regular pectin) and we got to work. 

Before the jam went in the jars I tasted it and decided to add another 1/2 cup of sugar. I had used the 1/2 cup of honey the recipe called for, along with a 1/2 cup of sugar to mix the pectin in and found it more tart than sweet. The additional 1/2 cup of sugar made it just perfect (while still remaining low sugar). Looking forward to trying the finished jam once it's set and cooled!

Gretchen The "Helper"

Grace was quietly working on a project when Gretchen came along and do what cats do best. Sat down right where Grace was working! The girls thought this was the funniest thing they'd ever seen!

"Guess I'll just have to work with her here."

Thankfully Gretchen eventually moved completely off what Grace was working on and she was able to finish her card for her ballet teacher (yesterday was their last day of class). 

Emma was able to work on hers without any "assistance" from Gretchen. 

At The Lake

There is nothing like our first trip of the summer to the lake. For the majority of the kids in town today was the last day of school which meant that the lake would basically be ours. With that in mind we packed up and got there as soon as it opened. We found a lovely shady spot near the edge of the water and got settled. As expected we pretty much had the place to ourselves, though as the morning progressed more and more people (most of whom had ltitle littles with them) trickled in. The weather could not have been any more stellar. There was enough of a breeze that it didn't even feel like it was 92 degrees out while we were there. The water was perfectly warm and the girls barely got out once they were in. Sitting there, watching them swim and giggle and pick up right where they left off last summer, I couldn't help but think of all the summers of my childhood, so many of which centered around the water. We'd play for hours and hours and hours only stopping long enough to grab something to eat. Watching my own two do the same thing when we are at the lake makes me wish that they were growing up with it as their backyard. Thankfully, it's not that far from our house but it sure would be fabulous if it was right outside our backdoor! 

Goodnight, Strawberry Supermoon

Celebrating Solstice

Pancake suns began our Solstice Day.

And this fabulous mug from this fabulous wedding had to be used as well.

Then it was off to the salon.

The first day of summer (and a family celebration later today) calls for super cute toes, me thinks!

Then it was back home where we had lunch outside (on a gorgeous day like yesterday how could we not?) and to finish up the Solstice sun project they started before we left. 

Multi-sensory suns. 

While the suns dried the girls went and played. 

So much time was spent outside yesterday. It was glorious!

Later on we pulled out a gift they had been given at Christmas for even more crafting outside!

We found a place for these to dry, had dinner, and then headed to the first concert of the summer. 

Such a perfect way to end a lovely Solstice day!

8:35pm and still light out!

It was such a fun filled day spent almost entirely outside.There were a few things that I had planned to do that we didn't get to but we'll save them for next year. A trip to the beach and this sundial project being two of them. Our day just flowed totally differently than I had initially envisioned. Not that that's a bad thing, of course, just that it went in a different direction than I thought it would. All in all it was another glorious Solstice day! Welcome Summer!