Boxx Berry Farm

It's my favorite time of year in Whatcom County - berry season!  We spent some time at Boxx Berry Farm picking strawberries last week.

These two were the only kids who actually picked strawberries...

...this one picked a few, then added a layer of dirt, picked a few more, added another layer of dirt...

...and this one mainly just stuffed his face. 

(Note to self:  white shirt + berry farm = not great idea)

We got quite a harvest!

Then the kids played on the playground while I played with my new camera.

We picked about 17 pounds of berries, then came home and gorged ourselves on them.  With the few pounds that were left, we made some strawberry shakes and freezer jam.

Just how good are the berries here?  Well, I am buying an extra freezer for the garage next week, then heading back to the farm to stock it half-full of strawberries and jam.  (The other half is reserved for raspberry season, of course.)

More birthdays

Because of my blogging slacker-ness, I failed to recognize the June birthdays of two of my other favorite people in the world:

My "little" brother Bailey, who remains the cutest ever, even after suffering the many indignities of having five sisters, including:

the manly sport of clogging,

and countless games of dress-up that he never should have let us document.

Check out those legs!  It's probably a very good thing that he doesn't read my blog, huh?

And the other late birthday shout-out goes to my little sister 

(and partner in crimes of high fashion), Quincy.

I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH!

Summer!

Our first week of summer vacation has been a great one.

Last Saturday we went down to the Lummi Reservation for their Stommish celebration.  We got to catch the end of the canoe races...

...while picnicking on the beach.  We also got to see the parade, which consisted of four entries - definitely Garreth's kind of parade!

We enjoyed walking around and looking at all the booths, which had some amazing crafts and jewelry... and this great T-shirt:

Last summer was such a crazy one with the move into the new house, and it flew right by, especially since we changed school districts and Grace and Liam ended up with only two months vacation.  I decided to prepare a little more for this summer and make the most of full days with all of my incredible kids.  I am aiming for a good mix of:  exercise, chores, math and reading practice, and plenty of fun.  I stole this whiteboard idea from Liam's teacher and the kids and I have loved having a plan and some structure in our day.  (It also keeps me on track - if I write down "Mommy's workout" the night before, they will make sure I workout, even if I don't feel like it when it's actually time to do it!)

The kids and I spent the first day of vacation swimming in Lake Whatcom.  A little cold for me, but the kids loved it!

Yesterday, after three painful hours of running errands, we spent some time at the fountains.

I have had so much fun with all of them home.   There is still a little fighting, but not enough that more chores won't fix...  (insert evil laugh here)

Have I officially turned into my own parents?!?!  

Recent Events

I have not been in the blogging mood at all lately - maybe it's the nice weather...

Here are some pictures of what's been going on around here these days.

With afternoon preschool approaching this fall, we are weaning Sam from his daily nap.  It hasn't been easy (the boy LOVES his sleep) but I've really enjoyed having that extra time with him every day when Declan naps.  He loves to play on the computer - PBS kids online and Photo Booth are his favorites.  We also play a LOT of Go Fish.

The last few weeks, Declan has unleashed his inner artist.  He is now very intense about coloring and drawing and will sit for 20 minutes at a time working on one picture.  (That might not sound like a long time, but believe me, it is for a Ratchford boy!)  He uses tiny little detail, drawing small circles and little "letters."  It's really fascinating to watch him at work!

The kids have their last week of school this week and are excited for summer.  Grace wrapped up a huge class biography project and did an amazing job learning, writing, and teaching the class about Sacajawea.

Baseball season is over.  We loved it, but it will be nice having our Wednesdays and Saturdays back again!

We had several days of pretty hot weather and spent lots of time swimming in the backyard.  (I've been living in Washington almost two years, so it's true that my idea of "hot" has changed.  It really only got into the low 80's.)

Last week we went on a drive to Blanchard Mountain to the Samish Overlook.  It had an  absolutely breathtaking view of the San Juan Islands and Skagit Valley.  

We did some exploring and hiking in the woods, but sadly, this was the last picture we got before Garreth accidentally dropped the camera!  It's been weird not having a camera all week (Garreth said it's like me not having my arm) but I don't feel too bad, since I now have to buy a new one!  (I never liked the shutter speed on the old one anyway!)  But we missed out on a few great photo opportunities this weekend, like the Demolition Derby (I seriously love a good demo derby - does that mean I'm white trash?!) and the Scottish Highland Games.  (And we finally were there at the right time and got to see the athletic events - the caber toss was our favorite!)  Shopping for a new camera is on the to do list this week, so hopefully we'll have lots more pictures to share soon!

What the Ratchford boys did today

(And yes, my baby boy is a nutcase just like the others.  He's a Ratchford - I don't think he had much choice...)