Meet Shilee

Let it be known that i never throw any fabric away.  Shilee the rag doll consists of:
Muslin: 1/4 yard: 84 cents
Shoes:  Juliet's Dress she wore to Mitch and Elizabeth's wedding
Legs: Gingham from Cougar (age 9) baby room decor
Dress: Juliet's baking apron
Ruffle: Juliet's Easter Dress not this last year, but the year before.
Cheeks: Baby Charlotte's dress bloomers
Hairbows - Juliet's baby carseat cover
Hair: Dress I sewed for myself 4 years ago

Juliet named her doll Shilee.  She made it up herself,

Stuffed Owls

Stuffed Owls

 In honor of Harry Potter this week we made stuffed owls.  Each of the kids drew out what they wanted their owls to look like.  Next they went though all the scrap fabric I never throw away and picked out their owls' outers.  Finally we went and picked out felt for the eyes and noses.  The kids have kept me busy cutting and sewing, stuffing and stitching, but  just in time for the Harry Potter premier we all have owls.

 Brock's owl will no longer feel lonely.

After we got home with Cougar from HP the kiddos were asleep in Juliet's bed.  I guess Brock didn't like the idea of sleeping alone.

Wrapped Around her Little Finger

Juliet cried when we wouldn't let her get the LelliKellys because we were shopping to get Cougar one pair of shoes since his toes busted through the front of his old pair.

She cried in the store.

She cried in the car.

She cried at home.

And until the next day when her daddy took her back to the store and got her the most beautiful shoes she has ever seen.

4th of July

Some of our friends we met during medical school in Oklahoma matched for residency in Gainsville, FL just down the road. It was so nice to have them come visit on the 4th for a day of sunning at the beach, playing in the pool, watermelon and chili dogs!

We finished up the night by heading to the beach with the rest of the population to watch the fireworks off the Jax Beach Pier.
We met up with another Mayo Resident from OU named Siam and his wife on the beach.
Going to the beach for the 4th is taking a risk. It is really fun, but stupid dangerous. Not only is everyone there for the big fireworks, they all bring their own. It is absolute chaos. Bottle rockets are shooting off in every direction. Fountains are falling all over the place shooting into the sea oats and starting fires. The police are all over the place just watching the bedlam with lackadaisical passivity.
It is way fun, but way crazy.

Summer Days

I'm trying to keep the kids occupied with creative activities, but these summer days are long!

One of the rare moments we've seen Chad since the summer began. Brock wouldn't even leave his side to go to bed.

Cougar had his first official piano recital. He made it through without a single mistake! We are so proud!

Swimming with Ms. Peg

After a traumatizing week of swim lessons last summer Juliet became terrified of water. So this summer we invested in two weeks of Ms. Peg to fix our little problem. She's tough, she's fun, and she came to our pool. Juliet is not quite ready for the Olympics but is like a whole new little girl. Today was her last day of lessons, and I didn't think I was going to be able to get her to come back inside today!

Wild Blackberries

This morning I took the kids on a bike ride since there was no school.  As we were riding along we saw a large thicket of wild blackberries!  We stopped and picked a few to snack on.

Around 7 this evening we got back on our bikes and rode out to the thicket with plastic containers for everyone.  I can't decide if I felt like the Von Trapp family or Laura Ingalls Wilder, either way it was fun to hear the kids talk about, "What if a disaster happened and we became homeless, we could live on blackberries we pick ourselves!"

Or Jenny of the Prairie.  Maybe I felt like Jenny of the Prairie.

We got home, washed our blackberries and baked a blackberry pie.  I don't think they're ready to live on blackberries.