Quarantine summer

We didn't have any vacations planned for this summer, and we typically spend a lot of time outside, so this quarantine summer felt pretty normal. We are thankful for that!

Sweet pool baby.

We always beeline for the strawberry fields in early June - and I'm grateful that we made it because the next day, the farm ran out!

We visited Uncle Josh and Kayla in Pittsburgh for a night! It was fun finally seeing Uncle Josh's house and tasting some of the city's best pizza.

We rode the incline down Mount Washington - I know the boys will remember that experience for a long time!

After Pittsburgh, we drove up to Steve's parents house, and he got to work moving lots of things from the basement and carriage house into a dumpster!

And I was excited to see a couple of friends while we were in town :) 

Eating our favorite donuts with some of our favorite people!

My friend Meghan and me.

Junia and "Grandma Carol".

It was in PA that I found our first monarch eggs of the summer.

Building a fort in Grandma's backyard.

Our annual photo outside Dr. Doolittle's 🍦🍦

Junia's "pick-me-up" face :)

We'll miss this big house!

Driving us back to Indiana!

Fourteen months old on the Fourth of July.

The monarch eggs a few days after they hatched! They're so cute at this stage.

Many more butterfly photos to follow. :)

xo

Rachel

Happy summer

Summer always seems to fly by the fastest of any season. Now that we're in July, I'm trying to savor each day a little bit more! Here are some photos to share what we've been up to!

Sometimes they are so sweet with each other!

Key lime pie jars - you're going to want to try this recipe here!

Steve built me a raised bed! We haven't had one since we lived in PA, so this was a big deal. In it, we planted tomatoes, peppers, and a very-alive pumpkin plant!

Junia was tested for food allergies. Just what we suspected - she's allergic to cow's milk and egg yolk. Thankfully, the doctor says she should outgrow them by age 5, and we are allowed to give them to her in baked form, to build her tolerance.

Our friend Kevin gave us an apple tree! It is only one year old, and it has doubled in size since this photo - despite Japanese beetles and some mildew.

Quarantine set us up on a really great routine of nightly walks. We enjoy them so much!

This was from Memorial Day :)

Steve has become quite the sourdough master. He feeds our starter every day, and can make a gorgeous looking loaf!

I made cinnamon rolls from scratch for the first time, from Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook.

Peony season was lovely, as always.

This was our container garden when it was really taking off! 

Love these boys so much!

M and August playing hard in the turtle sandbox :)

August said, "Mommy, take our picture!" And then they both smiled so sweetly.

I made the boys some activity boxes - with homemade play dough, golf tees, smooth stones, cut-up straws, black beans, and beads. When I first gave it to them, they spent an entire day playing with it!

We blew up the pool in our backyard for the first time, and it attracted the cousins to come over!

The kids and I have made it back to church for one outdoor Sunday so far. The boys are really good at keeping masks on, for which I am thankful.

Over the past couple of months, I've found four beautiful birds' nests in our privacy bushes. The two on the bottom were made by Lucy the cardinal - and both times, she was successful in raising at least one baby. The nest on the top left is from a catbird. As you can see, she must have spent so much time and energy building a nest that big - with many twigs, an Aquafina label, and other fibers and plastic. Her eggs were stolen, as were the robin eggs on the top right, which breaks my heart. (The open eggs in it were found on the ground from another nest.) Lucy the cardinal is currently sitting on eggs in her third nest of the summer!

More to come, including strawberry picking, pool time, and a road trip to PA.

xo

Rachel