Cousins, Friends, and Family

We have had a busy long weekend with family and friends.  Cousins spending the night, two trips to our favorite pool, riding on miles and miles of bike trails, and just keeping up in everyday life.

There were strawberries that needed pickin'...

Pickin' berries turned out to be something that our nieces Alivia and Lily loved taking part in.

Abram ate as many as he picked.  They were delicious!

We took a trip to the pool with the blonde and brunette.  Even though we were stormed out, we still had a blast.

My family is always rolling their eyes at me taking photos.  I take my camera everywhere, fearful that I am going to miss capturing a life defining moment.  But, I am glad that the blonde and brunette are just as obsessed...if not even more obsessed...as I am.

Alivia and Lily absolutely loved the pool.  So, when I suggested that we go to our local "splash park"---I was out voted by the kids.  We ended up going to the pool two days in a row---which doesn't usually happen because it is kind of expensive and a half hour away. 

I am insanely jealous of Carsen's eye lashes!  Move over Aaron---I have another boy in my life---I absolutely love Carsen!

Letting Noah swim in the big/deep pool, by himself, with out me watching him like a hawk, waiting to pull him out of the water at any little motion of distress, was a big task for me.  It helped ease my mind that the other brunette swam with him and told me he did fine.  It is just so hard to let the nervousness go and give him freedom.

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The rest of our weekend was spent doing Aaron's favorite hobby...biking.

Sunday we I completely overslept and missed our 0900 church service.  There was no way we would have made it.  So our morning was busy with our weekly outdoor chores---mowing the lawn...weeding the garden...weeding the sweet corn...picking more strawberries...and so on.

Sunday afternoon we ventured to a neighboring city to ride on their beautiful bike trails.  And who, of all of the people on this planet do we meet on the trails?  Take a guess...  We saw our pastor and his family...right after skipping church. 

I felt so shameful for missing church and then to be found by our pastor gallivanting around on the bike trails... Oh the guilt!  I think that the Man Upstairs was trying to tell us something.  But, our pastor is a kind and gentle person and did not even mention our absence in church----which almost made me feel more guilt and shame.  I wish he would have chided me or publicly humiliated me or thru rocks at me.  Nope, he made peaceful small talk between his family and ours.  Between Aaron and the pastor----a future bike trip is in the making.

Abram did not want to go on the bike ride.  I can't say that I blame him... riding for miles upon miles in 90 degree weather...doesn't sound like much fun to me either!

And if riding for many miles on the trails was not enough, when we got home guess what we did... we went for another bike ride.  It was a beautiful evening so the boys wanted to take advantage of it.

On the way back, I was determined to leave the boys in the dust.  I was not going to get beat...again...by a bunch of boys.  So, I burned rubber and left them in the dust---or so I thought (I also wanted to quickly get my camera and take their photo riding on the road.) 

I raced home, parked my bike in the gravel and ran with jelly legs up the steps and in the house.  I whipped out my camera, ran down the stairs and outside (still with jelly legs) and up our driveway to take their photo. 

In the photo below, you can see what I saw.  They are the speck on the road.  Noah's chain fell off his bike.  So, my one and only win was not even fair.

Noah evading another photo op.

Oh, well.  It was still an awesome day!