What I did this summer...

It was a summer of memorable moments for sure. Of course, it passed too quickly like everyone else. This past spring I took a gardening class through our church, we were lucky to have two happy master gardeners in our congregation sharing their knowledge. Inspired by our new mentors and the high price of bell peppers this summer, my friend Julie and I shared two boxed plots of veggies!

My backyard is mostly shade except for the very middle, Julie kindly offered a corner of her yard for our first experiment with gardening, I think we did well for a first go.

Check out our cukes
and this ginormous Zucchini {however, it was our one and only for the summer} I picked it on my way out of town the 4th of July and gave it to my friend, Tara, in Birmingham. Hope it was good girl!
We enjoyed fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, squash and jalapenos through the first part of July. An accidental lack of watering when Julie and I left town at the same time did us in. Oh well, there's always next year! And I've heard Fall gardens are fun.

Dan and I traveled through 10 states to visit his family in PA.

We got a pic of each Welcome Sign except PA, it was too dark when we rolled into town. The Sheetz pic is our homage to PA. {Next time you find yourself in Pennsylvania please enjoy the best gas station in the world, Sheetz.} Wow, it was heaven eating our meals outdoors, surrounded by Pennsylvania farm land. Dan's mom has an amazing talent for making a home welcoming.

Her flowerbeds overflow with color and joy, the cooking and clean up are not the least bit boring with everyone talking in the kitchen. We spent an afternoon riding bikes along the Ohio river under a verdant canopy watching rafters paddle by. {I know I'm laying it on thick, seriously it was the best 2 days of my summer}

My college roommate, Kelly drove up from DC with her husband Michael and my Godson, Luke. Every little boy needs to spend a day at the farm.

Have you ever ran up and down the hill to touch the apple tree 30 times with a 2 year old?! It's the best! The reason summers, hills, tall grass, bird houses, wild daisies and apple trees were invented.

Was wonderful spending the afternoon with ya'll Kelly. Love ya'll so much.

A few projects I've been working on...

Does the bird look familiar? He was inspired from this sketch.

For my sweet, chubby cheeked nephew. Currently, it's lost in the mail, a complete bummer after all the time and love put into this painting. Won't forget the tracking number next time!

I've come up with a couple ideas I'd like to introduce to my paintings and journals, think it'll be a big hit. Can't wait to make the first sample. I've been struggling with time management lately, so I'm trying hard to set aside time just for being crafty. Often it gets pushed to the side and I'm scrambling to finish projects. No fun.

Good luck everyone getting back into their school time schedules. Cheers to the return of football, sweaters and cocoa around the fire! Am more than a little pumped about Fall this year.

Head + Shouders + Knees + Toes

This is the precious show we

received Thanksgiving

evening.

Our sweet Olivia showing off

her new dance moves on

the tramp.

The baby who was quite

and shy

this summer is gone! Olivia is

rough and tumble now and

very vocal.

I love it!

She's not

afraid to growl like a

liger either.

Was wonderful having so much

family together in our

part of the woods.

Dan's mother from

Pennsylvania, Dana and family

from Wisconsin,

Aunt Linda and cousins,

home from college,

traveled from Houston.

And we all squeezed into

Paw Paw's home for one of

the best Thanksgiving

meals we've ever had!

Happy Birthday Luke

This adorable little man is my Godson Luke and I love the heck out of him! In this picture he has just finished wiping all the smurf blue icing from his cookie cake onto his shirt (front and back). Like all good children he was having more fun playing with his food than eating it!

Posing behind Luke for a quick shot! He's fast and not interested in sitting around all afternoon taking pictures!

Me trying to lure Luke close enough for a picture, the old Dumptruck-Over-The-Shoulder trick should catch him! And it did :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Luke, Auntie Jen loves ya!

Olivia Grace

Uncle Dan and Olivia
Our sweet little niece Olivia came for a visit this weekend! Dan and I were pleased as punch to spend the day with her and Dana, Dan's sister. She'll be One next month and I think she's the happiest little girl in the world! Always smiling, laughing and showing off her tricks- blowing kisses, flirting with boys and dribbling her finger across her mouth. Aren't family days the best? We started the afternoon with lunch at Counter Culture, {Dana is the newest fan of the Humphrey Yogart (yum!)}, galloped with a zebra on the Boardwalk's carosel, swam til Livie's heart was content and full and ended the evening with a cookout. The backyard was a happy place- fireflies danced around ball players, popsicles melted down tiny fists, contentment was is in the air. Dana declared Uncle Dan Olivia's favorite person so far, he is LOVING it. We miss them so much- the house feels empty without them. Looking forward to our next visit! Love you!

What a Man!

Who can resist this man?

My Pawpaw- dressed to the nines with my sweet Aunt Linda for his monthly men's club. I am so wowed by him. He's always been my favorite man in the world, but lately my heart's filled to the brim. He's really gotten out there and kept going, Granny would be proud. At eighty years he's making us look like homebodies- Dances, Dinner Trolley's, Musicals, Letterpressing, Dance lessons and Senior Olympics. Lunch with him is a hoot, he knows everyone dining and working there. And I'm so proud because they all respect him, love him and are so very kind to him.