Kuplink, Kuplank, Kuplunk

Grace Louise loves the classic story, Blueberries for Sal! And so she was oober excited to do some blueberry picking of her own at the beginning of the summer. Our friends opened Crown Jewel, an organic u-pick blueberry farm here in Lake Wales, and I will say, these were the best blueberries I have ever had! Of course, I trained the cutest blueberry picker to choose only the most plump and ripe blueberries she could find! Even Jamesy joined in...so long as I kept his mouth full! We ended our fine (and horribly hot) morning with a picnic lunch with friends. This is a must-do activity for families in our area! 

Happy Father's Day!

I put together a little something sweet for the daddy of our house. A tribute to Jimmy as a stand up father, Godly role model, and loving husband. We sure do love him!



As for celebrating our own fathers, keeping with tradition, we dined at the meat market... I mean Texas de Brazil. Do you remember our special evening last year? Same place, same outfit, only this time our baby boy was wearing it! Oh, how much has happened in one year!

Having my dad living with us on and off during this transition has been challenging, but I have already begun to count the gifts and they are many! I am thankful for this time with my daddy; my kids have enjoyed him and won a special place in his heart :-) He is off to a long term alcohol treatment program at the end of this week.

Now... back to the carnage. Taking my dad to Texas de Brazil was epic! DeVanes love to eat and have a love affair with meat of all kinds. Dad was in hog heaven. And the damage was fierce! (Wishing I had a picture.)

Before dinner we browsed Bass Pro for a quick minute and let this sharp shooter try her aim. She's a natural. (Gets it from her daddy).

T Minus 2 months

Baby boy is ten months old today! I love thinking of all the ways he is changing and growing, bringing increasing joy to our family. Most notably...

he is wrestling! yes, wrestling! He will crawl all over his sister, rolling on the floor, shrieking like a crazy person. Grace Louise picks him up, (gently) slams him, rolls over him, all the while he is just a' laughing. Beats all you've ever seen.

he's a crazy person somewhere else...in the bathtub. He crawls back and forth in the tub, never stopping. A quick 180 at the end and then he's on a mission again. And he loves to put his face in the water.

he loves to play the "Ahhhh" game. He starts with an "Ahhh" and I repeat (in a really annoying mocking kind of way). He gets louder and more expressive each time until one of us can't take it any longer and succumbs to a tickle or kissing fest.

he is officially climbing the stairs. Thankfully he's confident and fairly stable, but is wearing us out keeping an eye on him. Thanking the Lord for a stairwell door!

If it sounds like he is a maniac in the making, don't be so sure. He is the loviest little bug you'll ever meet. Grin at him while he's in his mama's arms and he will melt.your.heart. Dimples surface, arms tuck, head tilts, and he becomes the poster child for coy. Love him!

Porch play

I love that my kids get to play outside most of the day. And that they want to be outside. Even Jamesy is starting to spend more time on the porch, another play toy for Grace Louise. He's particularly fond of the bubble paraphernalia... and sticks and moss... and the plastic pool. He figured out that crawling in the elements is rough on the ol' knees and so has learned the bear crawl by necessity. Grace Louise has discovered that she can pick him up now and insists on simply toting him to the destination of their next adventure. Fun times.

They think we're just fishing.

Lots of rain makes for good catfishing in these parts! Worms in hand, Jimmy took me, my dad, and the kiddos out in the boat to catch a few. We had such sweet time, enjoying the vanilla sky (dad simply could not say this enough), and reeling in fish after fish. This was Jamesy's first ride in the boat in several months. He tolerated the life jacket until we anchored and would not leave it on a second longer. The boat was filthy with wet worm dirt... and just look at this kid's knees! Happy as could be, though. I fished very little, finding it more difficult than ever to keep two little ones safe with a lurking nine foot gator only a stone's throw from the boat. Eeek! Taking a break from playing in the worms, Sissy reeled in a blue gill of her own, and we sure did fry him up! In fact, we put together quite the fish fry with family and friends on Sunday night! So blessed to catch and cook our dinner- and make memories to boot!

 

Meet our new family member

Well, she did it. Every little girl's goal to persuade mom and dad that she needs a bunny. A real life bunny. Meet Rain Hurst.

Honestly I don't have a lot to say about that. She's fed, watered, held. She hops and poops. And falls asleep when you stroke her repeatedly between the eyes. Other than that- and the flies she's attracted to the yard, she's been hardly noticeable.

Grace Louise loves her though. Can't you tell?!