Thursday Thirteen: summer in review

I can't believe summer is drawing to a close, that school is starting in just 5 short days! Things have been quiet on this blog this summer. Our days have been full of a lot, and a lot of nothing. It has been so good to be relaxed in our routine and to enjoy having daddy here every day. In honor of the Thursday Thirteen, I have decided to list 13 things that have made up *most* of our summer. It would be impossible for me to go back and think of everything we have done, so here are the 13 that my little helpers and I have come up with.

1. Our trip to Florida, right at the start of summer



2. 4 birthday celebrations!






3. lots of softball games and soccer camp for two boys (sorry, no pictures of soccer)



4. learning to blow bubbles


5. catching bugs


6. ice cream



7. blueberry picking (twice)




8. waterskiing



9. first popsicle


10. peach picking (twice)



11. backyard fun



12. a fun visit to Great Grandma's farm, picking black raspberries in all of her "secret places"!




14. long walks and lots of quality time with daddy

A summer love affair...

...with A1 steak sauce! Our family has seriously gone through at least 4 (large) bottles of this stuff since spring time. Luke won't eat meat without it. He eats it on ham, pork, chicken, hamburgers and steak. He even had it on a bratwurst! So what happens when one child eats things a certain way in a large family? Of course, they all eat it with everything now. Even Daddy. The weirdest thing they've had it on? Grilled chicken tacos. What happened to salsa anyway?

Luke {a.k.a. turtle boy}

he was quite chilly after swimming in the lake. this picture cracks me up, it is now the screensaver on our computer!

summertime salad

In my humble opinion, there is nothing more delicious than a summer-ripe tomato. My favorite way to eat that delicious tomato is in a salad that looks like this. YUM.

Party pictures

Gabe had such a fun first birthday! When I unloaded my camera last night I realized I had taken 193 pictures of his big day. Sydnee said that Gabe is probably the most photographed child in our family, and I totally agree! Isn't it awesome with digital cameras that we can take as many pictures as we want and delete the ones that didn't turn out? No more paying for film and developing!
Here are a handful of pictures (okay, maybe more than a handful) from yesterday's party. We had a "bubbles, balloons and balls" theme. It was a ton of fun!

I made a collage of pictures from each month of Gabe's life. It is fun to see how he has grown and changed in a year!


We made him a birthday shirt with his handprint and name on the front...


...and the back of the shirt


One thing we did was buy some play balls and put them in a kiddie pool in the living room. He LOVES them!


birthday bath!


here he is opening presents, which he really figured out quickly! You can see the determination on his face!


riding on his rocking horse


ready for some CAKE!


let the fun begin!


hmmm...maybe not


not.liking.the.frosting.at.all.


I never thought I would have a child who turned down birthday cake!


What a fun day, and what a fun boy we have! Here's to another year of adventures with our littlest boy!

Happy 1st Birthday Gabriel!!

And oh how fast this year has gone!





Gabe is such a wonderful addition to our family. He brings sweetness and softness, his older siblings absolutely love him and enjoy playing with him. Gabe is active and playful, quiet and observant, tender and loving. He knows what a doggy and kitty says, where someone's nose is, says "hiiii!", "dada", and "mum". His favorite food is fruit (any kind) and avocado. He is SO proud of himself when he crawls into the little rocking chair. He can clap his hands, wave bye bye, and his favorite way to get around has been scooting on his bottom for the past few months. He only recently learned that crawling is MUCH faster! His favorite toy is definitely a ball, any kind, just like his brothers before him.
Happy birthday, baby boy!