Beer Bottling Party

Isaac threw a beer bottling party at his house on Tuesday.

Things started off with washing bottles.

He had pizza and everything. The only weird part was that Heather and the boys were at camp and Natalie was in the mountains.

Racking and tasting the beer.

And then on to bottling.

There was lots of fun with Squiz.

We finished things off with tropical flavored otter pops.

Camping at Calvin Crest

We headed up to Calvin Crest Friday to camp in Sherwood Forest. On the way we stopped at Pizza Factory in Oakhurst for lunch.

We made it to camp early in the afternoon and settled into our cabins.

It was wonderful to be in the forest.

Photo: Heather

Photo: Heather

The cows were in full attendance too. They gave us a wake up call early Saturday morning by mooing right outside our cabins.

We couldn't have a fire, but enjoyed sitting around together anyway.

Photo: Michelle

Saturday morning we hiked the Gethsemane trail.

The kids had fun playing by the waterfall at the end of the trail.

It was a beautiful morning.

We returned to Sherwood for lunch and a little time in the hamlet.

Later on we went to the playground.

Mary loved exploring Sherwood Forest and often came to take my hand and say, "come with me, mama" so we could walk around.

We climbed on the colorful benches, explored town square, went in the candle shack, saw the loch, went over the little bridge, saw campfire, walked through the girls' area, and headed back to Reddingham. This happened a few times during the weekend.

Photo: Michelle

Photo: Heather

The Nickells left after dinner Saturday so they could have a day to recover before a big week.

Since we couldn't have a campfire, we roasted some marshmallows over the camp stove instead.

Photo: Michelle

Sunday morning we packed up after breakfast then walked up the Gethsemane trail and the AIM trail to main camp. We got to walk past all the sweet peas in bloom and the AIM tree where Joshua and I used to watch the sunrise and where he proposed.

Waiting for Dinner

David and Mary enjoyed some time outside while we cooked dinner. They had a lot of fun on the tricycle together.

 The orchid we were given when David was born is blooming again.

Cookie Time

 Dad and Mom went with Heather to pick up Natalie from camp on Friday, so I suggested Evan and Micah come hang out with us and they agreed. We had an enjoyable morning and decided to make cookie dough. It was a good decision.

Happy Fourth of July

Mary helped me make festive parfaits and a fruit tart for the Fourth of July.

We got together at the Nickells' house on the third for refreshments, swimming, and fireworks.

We got to watch the fireworks set off by the country club from their front lawn. It was an impressive show and a great view.

Mary loved the fireworks. It was a late night for the kids, but I was glad we got to see fireworks, especially such good ones.

On the fourth, we had our usual Sunday dinner with everyone, except Natalie who headed off to camp.

Mom and I made a festive meal with red, white, and blue potato salad; red, white, and blue green salad; watermelon stars; and cranberry juice with blueberry ice cubes. We also had hamburgers to round out the fun meal.

Starting the Day Off Right

Enjoying morning reading.

Styling

The kids have been getting good use out of Joshua's UO sunglasses.