Monday, July 25, 2016

Epic Summer Birthday

Well, hello there. I have been off having adventures...some of them very good, and some not at all pleasant. But you take the good with the bad. And I'm back to get all the dreamy and dreadful onto the blog.

Let's start with a birthday. Daisy is our summer birthday girl. Summer birthdays are very unpredictable around here. I never know where we will be when Daisy's birthday rolls around. One year, we were on trek. Another year, we were at the cat pee house. Sometimes we are on vacation, sometimes we are home. Last year, June was at Girls' Camp. You get the picture. It is all up in the air. But there is never a doubt that we are thrilled to celebrate our Daisy Cakes.

Birthday Bear was there as usual when she woke up.


And we measured her right away. (Even if you try to grow some more today, we already used SHARPIE. Haha.)


Sometimes we do breakfast in bed. (Usually for Ivory) I can even be persuaded to get up early and make breakfast if someone requests it, but a summer birthday has its perks. No one has to be at school, so we went to get Kolaches. (Koh-lah'-cheez) Tyler discovered the Kolaches recently, and we are all glad he did. They are like a cross between donuts and pastries. A pillowy dough with a dollop of fruit and cream inside. They make savory ones as well. 100% tasty. It was so fun to go as a family.


Everyone picked out their flavor.


Dig in kids. Delicious!



On the way home, we stopped to get balloons. everyone picked out a balloon for Daisy. She picked the huge 8. Guess you can't guess how old she is? I love this picture.


With breakfast in her belly, new balloons, and Dad still with us (before he went to work) Daisy decided a few presents were in order. She is still very easy to please and she loved all her presents. Monster High dolls have been in and out for her. But this time around, they were definitely 'IN'.





Yes, that is a two headed mermaid from the new movie. The two heads are named Peri and Pearl. I like these dolls. With their strange tails, they can stand on their own.


Daisy's birthday happened to fall on a field trip day. So we packed everyone up and went to pick raspberries. We found this super cute place called Perry's Berries. It was close, convenient, and fun. The instructions seem pretty simple.


We sent those pickers right out. Tricia came along and brought her two girls, so you may spy Annalise and Camille in the pictures.


It was very sunny and almost a little hot to be picking. We should have gone earlier, but Kolaches were totally worth it. As it was, we were reminded that we were picking sun ripened raspberries.


The view was lovely. Have I mentioned that I love living near the mountains?


Robyn knows how to beat the heat. Smart to bring a sun hat.


She gets those brains from her mother apparently. Sun hat selfie!!


There were lots of berries, although I think there might have been better picking just a few weeks later. They recommend you call ahead so they can tell you whether the berries are ready. There was no shortage for us...you just had to look for the good ones.


Birthday girl was a good picker. She doesn't look like she has much, but she kept dumping her treasures into my bowl.


June is picking the Australian way...through the bush.


All my berries went into my bowl. Half of June's went into her belly. That is to be expected. Don't worry, we left some extra cash on our way out.


There was a little wildlife about. There were the sweet little white butterflies everywhere, and I saw a snake at one point. And check out this dude posing for a picture.


Many hands make light work. We weren't there even an hour, but came away with a good haul.


Here is the official sign if you want to make your own visit.


Many berries went from bush to belly, but Daisy requested jam, and you have to humor the birthday girl. (Especially when it is a fantastic idea.) The girls were great helpers. They even made designs while adding sugar. (Maybe there were inspired by the Kolache.)


The end result was pure heaven in a jar. (Although that is almost guaranteed when you add 5 cups of sugar to fruit.)


It was a dreamy day for our new eight year old. In the evening we watched her new Monster High movie. Spoiler: Pearl is the meaner of the two mermaid heads. It's a shame. She has a lovely name.)

We still don't do cake around here very much. Daisy requested mint ice cream sandwiches. And that is what she got.


Candle out. With one flame, I think she'll get her wish.


Daisy sure is a delight in our family. I'm glad we have an excuse to celebrate her during the summer.

1 comment:

meganmushrat said...

Don't forget she still has a present coming next week. I find it interesting that her birthday is exactly six months after yours - and Ivory's birthday is exactly a month after Tyler's. Way to plan your kids!