Curt used to say that he had absolutely no creativity in him.  Of course, he proved himself very wrong when he started whipping out those bow articles.  Well, once again, he has shown creativity in another area.  Oh, and I found out where he gets it from.

Curt's Grandma H. just had her kitchen cabinets replaced.  So between the ideas of Grandma and Curt, she got herself a new......

wheelbarrow!!!

An old drawer, spare wheels, a bar, and a few other odds and ends.  Curt sent it back to her today with his uncle who had come for a visit.  Grandma must have been very pleased as a few hours later, Curt's uncle showed up with another drawer! 

Zachy testing it out.

Between this project and others, I don't think Curt will tell me that he's not creative any more!  "You can see what happens when Grandma and I get together!" he told me.

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With the first month of our vegetable stand behind us, we have been very pleased with the results and are making notes on what we can do yet this year and next year to better it.  One change has already been the location of our stand.  Lora came last week for the fist time as she had been on vacation the first three weeks of June.  When she came, she immediately noticed that the stand was a little too far back from the road.  She thought that this might deter some people from stopping.

Not anymore!  We are right up there by the road.  No one could miss us now!

We are assuming that people were out late last night watching the fireworks and relaxed in the morning as there were very few cars on the road early this morning.  And of the cars that were out there who had passengers, half of the passengers were sleeping! 

Cassie putting up the parking signs.

At about 10:30, things picked up.  No friends or family this week... all just neighbors or people passing by!  (Except my Dad, but I think he falls more under the "empoyee" category as he gives me a break each Saturday morning.) 

Even the sweet old lady next door ventured over.  She was looking for parsley and was full of all sorts of scary bear stories from neighbors throughout the area.  (She also suggested that maybe it was time for Curt to apply for his bear hunting lisence!) 

It was a fun morning, and we decided to stay open a bit longer.  Cassie was very happy to as she said to me this morning, "Mom, this is my favorite chore!  Well... it really isn't even a chore!"

Purple Dragon carrots, the first of the season.

Elijah and his cousin Peter are great friends.  Peter is very excited to hear that Lijy is coming for a visit, and Elijah can't stop singing "Peter, Peter, Pal..." over and over whenever he knows he is going to see his good friend.

Of course, it isn't as perfect as I have made it out to be.  When they actually see each other, Elijah runs around terrorizing Peter who determinedly defends his property and himself.

Yesterday, when we went to visit my sister and her family, things were pretty typical, however we also saw a glimmer of hope for their future friendship!

Note that there is no hair pulling or hitting or grabbing.  In fact, they are both smiling!

Peter shares some snap peas with Lij.

By the way, Beth's little Jo was there, and he's a tough guy too.  I thought that maybe he was defending Peter when he slammed Lij into the wall, but Beth says that he likes to test how strong he is.  :)  These boys are awesome!  (But when they get a little older and feel the need to not only test their strength but also compare, I think we will be relying on the backyard!!!) 

Recently, I had a friend over who was standing in the kitchen talking to me with her arms crossed.  Elijah spent a lot of time studying her position.  He stared, examined, and worked hard at practicing to place his arms exactly like hers.

Since then, we often him him lounging around with crossed arms looking very cool!

We've been spending a lot of time this summer in the pool!  Well, the "big kids" anyway.  While Cassie, Nick, and Zach want to live in the water, Elijah is quite afraid of it.  I put on his swim suit and ask him if he wants to go to the pool.  With a somber face, he adamantly says, "No, no, no!" while shaking his head no way!  (You should have heard him yell when I took him in the water last week, and that was before his little toes touched the water!)  I am so thankful that my Dad has screened in his back deck this spring.  It is a great place for Elijah to play yet a perfect view of my fish!

Ready to go to the pool Bapa's and Nama's deck!

Grandma and Grandpa H just so happened to be coming to the area on Nick's birthday.  Although they had a little work to do up north on their land, they agreed to eat some birthday cake, spend some time with all of us, and stay the night.

Grandma and Grandpa G also came for cake!  :)

Nick enjoyed his birthday and was thrilled to get two new Playstation games.  So, of course, before we even left for church, he had to try one out.

Between all of our June birthdays and Cassie's new piano song "Happy Birthday", Elijah has learned how to sing "Happy Birthday".  (He's also learned how to request "birtay cake".

Elijah singing "Happy Birthday" to Nicky.

With Grandma and Grandpa H's visit, it was reaffirmed that Elijah is indeed a Grandpa's Boy.  Although at first he was very confused as to why he would call this man he wasn't positive he even knew "Bapa" too, it didn't take him love to remember he did know and love this Bapa.

Their visit was so nice that at lunch while Grandma and Grandpa talked about their plans for departure that afternoon, Nick very softly called out, "Grandpa?  Grandpa, we want to watch another movie with you.  Can you please, please stay another night?"  That was a little too much to resist, and Grandma and Grandpa stayed a second night!  (Or as Zachy referred to it "another sleepover".)

The kids had a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa and are already looking forward to next time.  Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, for making Nick's birthday such a treat and all of our weekend so memorable!

Grandpa playing with Zach's new saw.  :)