Pocahontas edition. Because I feel like an Indian in this poncho shirt I'm wearing. Not to mention the canoes.
My niece Hannah took the pics that I'm in.
Just had to include Ollie picking at his pant's seam. That is Ollie for you.
I think this year's Hume trip had the biggest impact on Ollie. He was so pleasant and smiling from ear-to-ear almost the entire time. Except for when John took him on walks outside the cabin-- he was convinced that daddy had no idea where he was going and kept insisting that "daddy was making them get lost".
And it was so sweet watching Ollie snuggle up with cousin Hannah while we watched a movie on a huge screen under the stars on their deck. Definitely a highlight(I've mentioned before that John's brother Pete and family live at Hume year round). The cousins are getting so grown up.
I was sad that cousin Mikayla was not in the above pic. She is 10 and wishes she were still 5 and WAS SO MUH FUN for the boys to play with this year.
The snack shop is also a huge highlight for all. Even if the 1/2 shake I ate kept me up all night.
This year, Uncle Peter let the boys chop his firewood. This was kind a big deal for my boys. They were obsessed.
I was actually fine with this little activity, believe it or not.
However. I did have some reservations regarding the following sitch.
Meet my nemesis: Huge powdery dirt hill just outside the cabin.
Little boys INSISTED on rolling down this hill whenever they could.
All while Finn was, oh say, THROWING A HATCHET AT A LOG, just a couple feet away.
I will give the boy credit for good aim.
However.
I was in no mood to explain to the ER doc why Twain had a hatchet stuck in the side of his head. Ya know. In case that happened. And with our luck recently, it was a real possibility.
So I shut this operation down, much to the dismay of all male parties involved.
Seriously, my boys are so 'District 1', as Olive Oyl would say.
(Um Hunger games reference, if you have no idea what I'm talking about. District 1 is home to the "career" kids, who flawlessly hone their skills in hopes of winning the Hunger Games).
Don't let this cozy picture fool you.
John and I had quite the roaring debate that morning while the boys were rolling down the dirt hill, with Finn simultaneously throwing the hatchet. John saw no real problem with the whole scenario, while I was, on the other hand, flipping out. It just defied common sense to me.
I was so very upset about the whole thing, while John was insisting, "They are boys. I grew up one of 3 boys. This is what boys do. This is what is fun for them!"
To which I replied, "This is too much of an extreme leap for me! I'm not used to this! We live in a very tame environment at home. I'm ok with the rolling down the dirt hill...or Finn throwing his hatchet by himself with nobody else around...but I cannot handle BOTH activities simultaneously!"
Thankfully, John agreed. He understood it was too much for me. And so they went on a nice nature walk instead.
And then fed some ducks before it was time to leave.
John and I always seem to have a way of working out our differences in the end.
It's been real Hume. Can't wait to see what next year holds for us. Um, well I can wait. But I love Hume. So.
After Lindsay's twinsies were born, my sister Jessica and I really wanted to throw her a Black Apple style baby shower.
I found 6 little dolls on Emily Martin's site. They would be perfect. Here is one example, which also happens to be my favorite.
There was just one leetle problem. All of her dolls were girls:
And we needed some boys. Because Lindsay has a girl AND a boy. So I modified the above girls using the pen and vector tools in photoshop, and turned some of them into boys. Believe you me. I felt like a complete klutz trying to figure out that trixy vector tool. But it worked out well enough and we were back on track for the shower.
I think Emily Martin is one of the most talented artists I know. She is the creative genius here. I just modified her girls into boys. But really it's all her inspiration, k?
Used these dolls to make lots of banners and centerpieces. The ribbon shape of the banner's pendants were inspired by cm handmade's yay banner that I saw on sweet Hannah's happy days blog.
It was my sister Jessica's idea to hang the fun colorful paper flower/wheels from the ceiling. They are from Martha Stewart. Used a 50% off coupon and it made my day.
Jessica filled the mason jars with sweet alyssum and painted them. Inhaling those paint fumes makes me feel all hopped up on crack, so thanks Jess, for taking the hit for me. Quite literally, ha. I mean, not that I know how crack feels. Moving on.
Dewars peanut butter chews are my favorite candy in the whole wide world. In case you wanted to buy me a pound. Wink.
Jess also ordered these eyelet M. Stew(Martha Stewart)lanterns. I had no idea what she was talking about at the time, but I really dig them.
Jess and Mom were cooking like wild mashuganas(why yes, I am speaking in yiddish). They made the most delicious quiches I have ever tasted in my life. Also. Sausage was there, folks, trust me. But scarfed before I could take a pic.
Jess makes awesome handmade whip cream from TJ's heavy whipping cream, with just a little bit of powdered sugar, and some stevia drops. Pretty healthy dessert option with strawberries. Mmmmm.
Mom is giving a devotional. She spoke of God's faithfulness to our family during various trials we have encountered this past year. It's been hard but God has been so very faithful to us.
This shower was a long-awaited celebration.
Celebrating that God safely brought these two precious family members into our arms. I could fairly burst. In fact, I think I did. As each person walked into the door, I almost cried from the joy of it all.
The above pic is special to me because Jess has 4 girls and is holding Savannah, and I have 4 boys and am holding James.
Sisters! Lindsay in the middle. She shrunk, yo. You'd never know she had a baby, let alone twins. Sheeeeesh.
with our dear mama.
and with family, family! Cousin Jamie,(also a twin!)is in the middle, holding Savannah. Next to auntie Nanie. Hayley and June, we missed you!
They were def with us in spirit. Hayley(Jamie's twin) sent quite the sentimental gift for Lindsay, amongst other things:
Wooden creatures representing Lindsay's beloved horse Sheba, and sidekick Pepe, the fainting goat. Yes, the goat actually faints when frightened...but hey! That was the only goat my parents could find at the time and she mows the back grass for them. Horse Sheba has moved onto greener pastures(sniff), while Pepe still resides with my parents. And with Rufio. Another goat. We are weird. The end.
