Fun at the Lake

Heather bought a pass this summer for Army Corps of Engineers parks. It gets us in to the swimming beach at the lake. I drive; Heather provides the pass. It's been very nice to swim and cool off this blistering hot summer. Luke and Patrick have taken to swimming like fish.

Luke is learning to "swim" a little bit.

Patrick throws sand in his face, in his hair, in his mouth.

Blueberries

Luke helps Papa harvest blueberries: We have three little bushes we bought as one gallon pots last fall, and now we can pick a small handful of berries every two or three days. We don't get many berries, but considering their young age, I think we are doing quite well.

July 4th

We had quite a celebration for July 4th this year, a celebration lasting three days. Friday, Day 1: a tailgate picnic, patriotic concert, and fireworks at a nearby church.

Saturday, Day 2: 27 friends over for a backyard BBQ ("cookout" down south). We provided the meats, they brought the sides. Lots of fun!

Sunday, Day 3: a roadside picnic while we staked out our spot for the fireworks display put on by a neighbor city. Tradition! It's our third year to camp out at this spot. It's convenient because Publix is right across the street so we can go buy a box of Luigi's Italian Ice, and borrow Burger King's restrooms directly behind us as needed. And there is a handy grassy slope for kids of all ages to play on.

David Goes Corporate

Our family has suddenly become a fan of Coke products, not because we like them, but because David is a new intern at Coke's HQ. He began on Monday. So far, it's been meetings every day. He works in the department called "Information Security and Regulatory Compliance". Really. He will be getting class credit for two semesters as well as a paycheck.

He reports that all drink vending machines in the building are filled only with Coke products and all drinks are free. There is even an online map showing which drinks are stocked in which vending machines, just in case your fave drink is one of the more obscure ones and only one machine has it. It's a nice perk, but he sticks with Dasani bottled water.

Happy Wedding Day

The new Mr. and Mrs.

All the attendants with the newlyweds.

First dance.

Father-Daughter dance.

The wedding cake: Greta made the ceramic figurine as a cake topper, but it turned out to be too heavy for the cake. At the last moment we added hydrangeas as a topper and the ceramic piece became a table decoration.

A close-up view of the cake topper.

The groom's cake was a surprise for Daniel. We asked a friend to make it to fit the keyboard cover of a real piano. It was so realistic that most people thought it really was the keyboard.

Cutting the cake


The bride's bouquet.

The guests are ready and waiting for the newlyweds to run through the rice.

Daniel is carrying a handful of chocolate coins to toss back at the guests as they reach the car. Greta got this idea from watching Jane Austen movies.

To see more pictures of the wedding, go here.

Spring Explosion of Color

I wish I could keep all our blossoming shrubs just as they are for the next month, until the wedding. So much is in bloom right now and after such a cold winter, it is a real treat to see the beautiful colors.

Azaleas in white and many shades of pink...

Monet's iris, Chinese Fringe, dianthus,

redbuds, dogwoods, and cherry, all in pink.

Easter

After church on Easter Sunday we enjoyed a houseful of guests and dinner on the patio in the beautiful sunshine. Later, Luke really got into the business of hunting for eggs and it didn't take him long to discover TREATS inside the eggs.We also were treated to a mini concert of a capella hymns sung in three-part harmony by the Street family. Beautiful!