Summer Beginnings

 So here I am reminiscing about the beginning days of summer as I live out the end ones.  It goes by so quickly, my friends!  We started this summer just like last--with a business trip to Indianapolis.  It so happens that my parents are on the way so we drove to Kentucky and then Ryan traveled on to his conference in Indiana while we stayed to play.

Between my last post of spring break pictures and this, I realize there's a whole lot of Jack/car seat action.  But he's just. so. cute.

We got to stop by my sister Kara's office on the way and have lunch with her and meet all her work peeps.  Wouldn't you know I didn't get a picture but it was nice to stop and chat and have really yummy fried chicken.  The other thing that was nice was getting to Grandma and Granddaddy's house with daylight hours still left! 

We're here!

There was no wasting time...we all went right to exploring!  New this year....STRAWBERRIES!

Really, really pretty ones:

This is the strawberry that I would expect to find illustrating the definition of strawberry.  Right?

Taking a spin with Granddaddy

The next day Molly got down to business making mud pies.  And boy howdy did she make some mud pies.  All. afternoon.  She is all about some mud.

Dad had a slab of marble he built a base for that makes the perfect potting bench and mud kitchen outside.  We gave Jack his own little table, too.

A little unsure of the feeling of it dried up on his hands!

One more just cause he's cute.

Told you she likes mud.

Apart from mud-pie-making there was also plenty of side-porch-sitting:

Water-hose-playing:

Lap-sitting:

Crowding the computer

Watching a movie with Grandma

Dinner with the summer missionaries at Sandy's house

Identifying letters with Granddaddy

Watching the squirrel in Granddaddy's trap

Butterfly-catching-net-wielding:

Treasure-hunting:

Molly's mud findings

Kitchen-helping:

Molly and Grandma's chedder ham cups

Flower-planting:

Again with the dirt and the loving it.

Jack joining in with Molly and Grandma

And, of course, library-visiting:

Listening to the lovely Georgetown children's librarian talk about weather.

Making a thunderstorm in a cup.

Jack enjoying all the book displays

Talking to the very hungry caterpillar.

One of my faves at the library

Another fave from the library of my wide-eyed beauty:)

We had quite the week full of fun but we were all so happy to see daddy again!

It was definitely a treat to see Grandma Dot on the way home.  She had taken out Aunt Sylvia's vintage fairy tale puzzle that Molly took a fancy to:

And though Jack was in a bit of a mood, he did come around eventually:)

 And I'll leave you with this.  A picture with so much joy it makes me laugh.