Kara's parents came in town for a visit over Labor Day weekend. Kara was gone part of the time at her BYU Roommate Reunion in Boise, but was back in time for a Labor Day picnic and some other fun activities. We attended the picnic at the church on Monday. Stuart wanted absolutely NO help eating his cupcake, and this was the result.

Simon jumped right in when they announced a watermelon eating contest for the kids. This picture was taken before it actually started (notice several bites already missing), but I don't think he was interested in being the fastest anyway, so no one seemed to mind.


We took my parents up to Avila Barn, a popular farm/farmstand/ice cream shop/u-pick/hayride type of place. We were in luck and caught the end of the u-pick raspberry season. Kara's mom was a very fast picker and with help from the boys we ended up with 12 pints of raspberries for $11. That, of course, created an unanticipated jam project the next day, but it was fun, delicious, and so fun to have picked them ourselves. Stuart loves all forms of berries. More ended up in his mouth (at all stages of ripeness) than in the basket!

This picture overlooks the rows of raspberries where we were picking.

We'll definitely go back later this fall to pick a pumpkin and enjoy more of their wonderful produce and yummy baked goods and ice cream.



The next couple pictures are just ones that make me laugh or give a glimpse of everyday life at our house. We've found that laundry baskets make great pretend boats, racecars, and on this day, some sort of imaginary "ski-diving" ("ski" is not a typo, Simon has somehow combined the two sports in his mind) equipment.

Fun and laughs with Daddy.

A recent life-saver in the afternoons to give Kara time to sit down and rest (some of you may not know yet that I'm pregnant and still in the first exhausting trimester) or finish dinner has been to fill up a bucket and a big bin lid with water, give the boys some cups and water toys and let them entertain themselves. Here they are using the bucket as a drum. They are starting to really enjoy playing together (when a favorite toy isn't in dispute), so that's making life more enjoyable for the whole family.

This face just seems to perfectly capture Stuart's current almost-two-years-old attitude about life and all that's required of him.