Blueberry Crumb Cake!

Ok...I know that i seem to always be tooting Martha's horn, but this recipe really takes the 'cake'.

I made it for a luncheon with friends a couple of weeks ago and we all loved it, especially the kids.

And it is sooo much better than plain ole' blueberry muffins.(Just ignore how much butter you put in;))

Or better yet, eat all you want and then sign up for my bootcamp!

Summertime in Carlsbad

75 degrees +7 cousins +3 live snails (2 dead) +16 shiny balls on a table +3 hand held game systems +

162 stairs to the sand +5 minutes to Legoland +3 sexy men with biking tans +3 empty bottles of sunscreen +

1 of the biggest pizzas I've ever seen +1 'dirty' board game +12 magazines +10 lbs of sand in swimsuits =

 

See ya next year, Carlsbad.

My Little Fishy

This speedy little girl just swam her last swim meet of the summer and she was awesome.
Last night, Phoebe was chosen to swim in both the freestyle and medley relays in the city-wide rely meet. Her freestyle and backstroke relays had previously taken first place, so we had high hopes for this meet. Her first event was the freestyle relay and she was swimming third. Her teammates started off in high gear and had a big lead when it was Phoebe's turn. And she held the lead. They came in first by a big margin. Yay, Phoebe!!
Next, she was starting off the medley relay with the backstroke and wouldn't you know it, she hit the wall first! It all came down to their last swimmer who just lost the lead by a fraction of a second. They got second place...not too shabby. Again, YAY Phoebe!!
I love watching this sweet girl succeed.

Our small town Fourth

This weekend, we packed up the kids, 4-wheelers, bikes and enough food to feed an army, and headed to the fresh-country-air of Happy Jack, AZ.
I have decided that short vacations are the best vacations. Every time a little voice whined, "I'm tired" or "I'm bored" we would say "Go outside and play some more. We only have two days!" They played pretend in the trees, whizzed around the neighborhood on the little quad, and swung as high as Casey could push them on the rope swing. And when it was time to go, they begged to stay.
Perfect.
Here are the highlights...

QUAD RIDING

COOKIE DECORATING

BLUE RIDGE FIRE DEPARTMENT CRAFT FAIR

BECOMING AT-ONE WITH NATURE

4th OF JULY TAILGATING