Birthday party at Garfield Park in Ashland.
This is why we don't usually give Opal a plate.
Sweet sisters.
Yes, we dress her up.
Sometimes she looks so much like Ian to me.
Trying to feed chipmunks at a rest area.
Opal "helping" me empty the dishwasher. She like to do the silverware, as you can see.
This was our first ripe peach this year. Ian and Ila checked on it every day and fought over who was going to get to eat it. In the end, we split it four ways.
Had you asked me yesterday if I thought Opal would be walking by her 1st birthday on the 26th, I would have said no. After what I saw this evening in the yard I may have changed my mind.
Opal and Grandma Merlene in the lake...it didn't last long.
Every year Brad treats us to his carefully bbq'd chicken and ribs for his birthday.
Brandon and Liesl's new addition...Humans are nearly outnumbered by dogs on this trip. Opal couldn't get enough of this puppy.
Love this girl...and it's the only time of year I get to see her.
Slack line
Ila and Taylor Douglas look forward to seeing each other now that they remember one another. As soon as we got there they walked off into the woods holding hands to start work on their "girl fort". Of course their proudest feature was the stove (stump) they made with pine cone knobs. Future housewives???
Ila sleeping in the tent with Madison. She was such a big girl this year!
We all look forward to this camping trip. We have been doing it for at least 6 years and for many of us it is the only time we spend together all year. We always drive away talking about how lucky we are to have such great people in our lives. The kids get older but the adults never do...or at least we don't act like we do.
It is so hard for us to believe that Opal Skye's 1 year birthday is upon us. Notice she is standing in most of these pictures? She isn't walking yet but she loves to pull up on whatever she can and "cruise". Some of her favorites right now are popsicles, watching the bubbles in the washing machine window, hugging her sister, 3am snack, her pink fairy water bottle, swimming (going totally under), food of any kind, pictures of dogs and books about dogs, Rio, eating lemons and limes, blueberries, playing "BOO!!!" with Ila, putting things on her head and laughing, loud music...the list goes on because she is the kid that truly loves life. It is really hard to have a bad day or get frustrated when she's around. I can't describe how I feel about her, but if you are a parent, you know...
Ever seen a home-made cricket keeper? It's amazing what one can do with things (trash) from around the house.
We started with 3 gallons of whole milk...
and ended with delicious fresh motzerella cheese. Our industrious neighbor Tiffany came over and taught us how to do it. 
The famous Heuberger raspberry pie. The three ingredients of the filling remain a mystery to those outside the circle of trust. Making pie crust with Ila was actually kind of sentimental because it reminded me of being a little girl and getting the leftover dough from my mom. As silly as it may sound to some, pie is actually kind of a tradition in our family. That's the real reason we all run!
We have made several batches of raspberry freezer jam this summer. Ian loves it and the ladies in the family want to keep him happy.