Slate Run Historical Farm is one of my favorite places to visit in Ohio. I have gone every summer for the past three years with my girls, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law Katie and whatever random cousins (of the 13 miller grandchildren) that are available. I fully intend on making it an annual tradition. This year Jamie was able to come and as you can see took his turn on the stilts. I love it because it is simple, educational, a good picture spot, FREE, but most of all a precious memory that I hope my girls will take with them forever.

I am not much of a gardener. I am actually a plant killer, so probably the complete antithesis of a gardener. But I am also persistent and optimistic. We started small this year- two potted tomato plants, a red bell pepper plant, a strawberry plant and some cucumbers. We were on vacation last week and upon our return home I could not wait to see if my "firstfruits" had ripened and were ready to pick. Below are my firstfruits-- amazingly red and juicy looking from the top--completely rotten on the bottom. And the green pepper is amazing looking, but if you can see in the picture it was supposed to be red, and I don't think it is going to change colors any time soon. So, this was making me laugh and making me think about a statement I have heard before about giving my "firstfruits" to the Lord. I couldn't find the word in a search I did of a couple Bible translations, so I haven't gotten down to the true meaning of the word--knowing it must be talking about quality, not order...I would assume... at least in my case, I don't think he wants my actual "firstfruits"--maybe my "second fruits" or "third fruits". I will keep you posted.

I think Macie found a friend!





These are pictures of Macie and her cousin Ava. Ava is my sister Emily's daughter and she is 4 months older than Macie, even though they weigh about the same. (you can probably see Macie finished her bottle first) They will be the younger clan of cousins. They don't seem as crazy as the big ones, but then again they can't walk yet. Still, I will keep my fingers crossed.

One of the perks of living in MN is getting to attend the Minnesota Lynx games and watch Amber Jacobs play. The girls love Amber and I think Tori has asked for her autograph maybe 25 times. Anyway, Friday we went to the Lynx game with Abby and we sat courtside (which was amazing- Thanks Nicole!). We could actually reach out and touch the players and we were sitting next to the guys from Big Daddy Weave {but that is Abby's side of the story =) }. Now Tori was having a good day, bad day sorta night. Good day she got to go to the game, bad day I wouldn't let her wear her bright pink pants, good day we got to go the game with Abby, bad day she had to sit by me =), good day she caught a t-shirt, bad day she dropped a program on the court and was embarrassed, good day her and Isabelle were on the big screen, bad day I apparently starve her and Abby wouldn't buy her something from the concession stand. Good day Abby surprised her and bought her and Isabelle some french fries (not because she thinks I starve them, just because she is very sweet- thanks Abs), really bad day she accidentally bumped the chair and spilled all her french fries on the ground and Isabelle had eaten more than her. And finally, really good day Prowl (he is the mascot) came over and sat by her and put her on his lap and then took my camera and trounced her around to center court, the scorer's table and to one of the referees to get her picture taken. She was beaming (except on the scorers table- she was a little nervous). She came over and said it was the "best day" and once again all was good in her world. Yes, I know the drama of a six year old girl...so silly to be controlled by our circumstances, isn't it?