2 New Simes, Hurlburt Reunion, Summer Miscellanae

My little rock star's been hitting the bottle lately...

(Sorry, grandparents... couldn't resist that caption.)

Well! Summer's just about over and I've hardly blogged any of it. Sorry for that. My excuse is that I usually write in the morning, and that's harder to do when the kids are home (bickering), as they are in the summer.

But September's coming fast, and I plan to get back to my blah-blah-blogging at least once a week. I don't know how many of you have missed my garden and kid reports, or all those witty observations of mine... but I've missed writing them down for you!

Well, there have been a few important births in the family recently, and I better report those first.

Two of Jon's nephews, brothers Joe and Eric Sime, became first-time fathers within days of each other recently. Joe's wife was the first to deliver... a little girl named Lauryn Holly. Two days later Eric's wife delivered their daughter, Audrey Lynn.

I haven't had a chance to see them yet, but have heard both babies (and moms!) are doing fine. This must be a very happy and exciting time for the whole Sime family-- we wish them the best.

July concluded with a Hurlburt family reunion at the Mill Yard Park in Cornell. Grandpa Bud's health prevented him from being there in person, but many of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were in attendance, along with his brother Tug and family and many Craker cousins.

As always, the potluck food was delicious. The kids played, the teens "hung out", and the grown-ups chatted.

Brent led the charity auction, with help from Emma and Dakota, who helped pass out auction items to winners. I was pleased to end up with a decorative ostritch egg hand-painted by artist/crafter Diane Craker.

Above, Leila with older cousins Sam and Alec.

There seemed to be lots of little ones this year.
Here's Leila with Joel Craker's youngest, Laurel. They're about the same age and have identical hair color and blue eyes. Leila's taller, but both were sunny in yellow and fun to watch.


A sleepy-eyed Nikki Hurlburt holds her even sleepier daughter, Ellie.

At the beginning of the summer, the kids were busy with summer school, band, and swimming lessons, but this is the part of the summer when they have lots of free time on their hands... maybe too much: they've started feeling nostalgic about school. It hasn't been all boring, though. We've gotten to see quite a few family members this summer, and there are neighbor kids nearby. Emma's resumed her "job" at the farm, this year mostly helping in the greenhouse. At left are Emma and Makayla (note their matching "best friend" socks).

Here's Emma with another good friend, Cienna. Emma is fortunate to have nice friends who also happen to have swimming pools in their backyards. She's spent a lot of time in their water this summer, and has the suntan and bug bites to prove it.

Jon's been gone much of the summer. He's still working in Iowa and has been coming home once a week. When he's away we think about him a lot (and worry). It's been so hot and muggy lately, and he has to wear long sleeves and fire-resistant clothing for work. He's a tough guy, but still... it's hard. We appreciate all he does for us and are glad he's coming home for a 4-day weekend tomorrow.

At left: Michael stands next to my Mother's Day rose, planted last year. It's been blooming all summer and this latest bloom is about six feet tall (completely unsupported but still upright, despite the recent rain and wind).

I've spent a lot of time in our garden lately, mostly picking green beans and cucumbers. The peppers, parsley, basil, and rhubarb are also ripe -- and it's blackberry season. So I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen, canning and freezing what we can't eat.

The twelve baby chicks Emma took care of in a box in her bedroom are now almost full-grown chickens. We've been letting them roam our yard freely alongside our egg-layers.

These chickens are our first attempt at raising something for meat.

Yesterday we came one step closer to living off the land: a neighbor pointed out some large mushrooms growing on a log on our property. After careful identification we learned that they are edible oyster mushrooms and that there are no toxic look-alikes in the United States. We harvested them. There were enough I was able to saute a few for supper, fill a dehydrator with the rest, and still let the neighbors have all they wanted, too.

Last week Emma spent three days with my sister and her husband in Middleton (near Madison). They did all kinds of fun things together, like go to a water park, a museum, and some fun local shops. They even baked cookies together. Emma had a blast. Laurie and Mark brought Emma home on Sunday and then stayed for an overnight visit.

My dad got back O.K. from a 2-week camping trip to California with my brother John. I haven't heard about the trip yet, but John is coming over Sunday for a visit, so we'll hear about it then.

Tomorrow Jon's picking up Susan and Jay in Minneapolis. They're coming here for a two-week stay, and we can't wait! It sounds like they've been doing some extensive traveling before coming to see us. I don't know the details, but they've been traveling by train and stayed in a hostel in New York City. Sounds like quite an adventure!