My dad used to work for John Deere. I will never forget the longtime slogan "Nothing runs like a Deere."
The farm garden was doing well.
Middle daughter decided to decorate some of her notebooks for school. I thought she did a good job. I don't know how well they'll survive the blackhole that is her backpack, but for now they are lookin' good.
Not to be outdone, the youngest made a sleepover bag. It is hard to tell from the picture, but it is tied on the sides with a front button flap. It is getting its first use tonight!
This is what a van looks like when it is loaded to take someone to college for the first time. We went down on Saturday and helped the oldest get settled. Her room is nice and her two roommates are also quite nice. She is on the top floor of the building she is in and it was still hot on Saturday. There is no air conditioning since it would be needed for only a few weeks in the spring and fall. There had apparently been a run on fans, but we did find a small personal one. Since the first night it has been cooler. So far so good. We've been in touch everyday. I'm thinking a new phone plan may be in order.
We've been enjoying these. A popsicle with an ice cream middle. Banana and root beer are sooo good!
I've also been having a Monk marathon. I just love his character. Sometimes there is a little more violence than I think needs to be shown, but I believe it to be tame compared to a lot of what is on.
This past week was quiet again with the oldest at camp until Saturday. The youngest also had a day camp each afternoon. She loved it. Her favorite part of the outdoorsy camp which included knife whittling and building a campfire on a crazy hot afternoon was swimming in the lake. The lake doesn't have a beach and the kids were only allowed in up to their waist. Something about it was so fun that she'd leave camp each day with a big grin on her face. Her buddy, a boy from the neighborhood, was fighting pneumonia the whole week and so had a hard time enjoying everything until Friday.
Middle daughter got some fabric for her birthday last week to make Martha Stewart's Reversible Purse. The pattern wasn't exactly what she wanted, but it was a relatively easy project. I don't happen to have a picture of the finished product. I think I'll make one too. I saw some fabric with Japanese umbrellas that intrigued me.
I used the sewing machine also. I made this table runner. I thought it came out pretty well and I may make others for fall and for gifts.
Now we get to the produce part of the post. This is one of our first ripe cherry tomatoes. It looks big in the picture, doesn't it? Anyway, it was just so perfect that I felt the need to take a picture. We have several more that will be ready soon. The big tomatoes don't seem to be splitting and cracking like they do some years. I think this might be due to all the rain we had in June.
On Saturday we went with some friends to a really nice farm to pick raspberries. I wish I had more pictures. I haven't picked raspberries before. I didn't realize that you slide them off of a new raspberry that is forming underneath the red one. We picked about 3.5 pounds. Then, we drove to a nearby Culvers and had some on vanilla custard. Yum!
I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with the raspberries. I made these Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins. They were really good especially when they were warm. This smoothie recipe was also a winner. In addition there are some mini muffins in the freezer and some bars on the counter. Can you turn into a raspberry if you eat a large quantity in a short period of time?
The younger two got an Amercian Girl Spa Book from the library. Yesterday they soaked their nails in a mixture of milk and lemon juice to make them whiter. I think someone is hamming it up for the camera! Next up is a face mask of oatmeal and yogurt.
I made this owl. It is cuter in person. I used a blanket stitch around the eyes and beak because I was a little leary of zigzagging around the curves and angles. The girls like it.
A week ago Monday the oldest went off to camp for two weeks. The kids all ride in such deluxe buses these days with bathrooms and on-board movies. I can't wait until she comes home on Saturday although only for a week until she is off to college.
Middle daughter decided to try her hand at beading with a loom. She had tried a few years ago without success. This time it is working! I used to do loom beading when I was a kid.
Then we had a birthday to celebrate. Sweet 16! Middle daughter will be helping her friends celebrate too. She has some parties to attend.
Here is the finished bracelet. It turned out well. Her younger sister wants one now, of course!
I finished my third knit-a-long. It is hard to see it in the picture, but the design is a smiling starfish. Fun! 
Hubby's company has done volunteer work at a Y camp over the years. On Saturday, volunteers and their families were invited for a meal and to do the camp activities. It was rainy in the morning and I think that kept people away. We basically had the beautiful place to ourselves with the exception of the camp employees. The girls got to do the climbing wall.
They had fun on this slide called The Hole. The corrugated pipe goes down a steep hill. The kids ride down on sleds. It doesn't look like it, but they shoot out the bottom pretty fast.
The last stop was a really nice pool that went from 3 to 9 feet deep. The youngest had fun diving in the deep part to retrieve all of the rings that had been left there.
Sunday was a day for painting at the art museum. Wouldn't it be nice to have room in your house to set-up an easel and paint?
We also got to babysit my one year old niece. She had never been left anywhere before with someone she didn't really know. We haven't seen her much due to concern over her immune system, but that is in the past now. The first fifteen minutes after dad left were kind of rough, but then we had a great time. She has a favorite blanket that she loves to play peek-a-boo with. We took her for a walk, blew bubbles and hung out. Come back again sweetie!
Aside from vacation church school, which involved four driving trips a day for me, it was a pretty relaxed week. There was some baking--chocolate chip cookies and monster cookies. I really need to keep up the walking!
And the oldest made sure to get in some movie watching. Of course, she'll be at camp for two weeks starting tomorrow so I guess I can't begrudge her some screen time.
The middle daughter and I enjoyed some nature yesterday as we walked around the lake in the crazy high humidity. We saw some neighbors who decided to start jogging. Yesterday was their first day. Ugh! I guess most days to come will seem better to them.
Other neighbors had a birthday party for their one year old twins. They had pony rides and a petting zoo. They were kind enough to invite our kids to enjoy the animals. Don't you wonder what they'll do next year?
This is a cool craft the youngest made at VCS. It is a prayer box. Inside it are creation items. The felt strips are the colors of the church throughout the year. Each strip has a magnet on the back so that you can put the correct color on the front of the box. The little q-tips with yellow ends are supposed to be candles. I think this has potential for getting some thinking and praying going.
The younger two took art classes in the past few weeks. The youngest's had an animal theme. This dog is made from paper clay. 
Middle daughter's class had a pop art theme. She painted this picture of Calvin freehand. She loves to draw.
I checked out a couple of Lois Lenski kids books from the library after our visit to Betsy's and Tacy's houses (see the last post) reminded me of her. She so beautifully illustrated the Betsy-Tacy books. I may add a request for one or two of her books to my wish list. Only a month or two until it starts looking like this picture around here!