over the hump

Summer is passing by much too swiftly. Some of Alicen's family were here & they've come & gone. Jesse & Laura were out for 10 days & they've gone home. The berry crew from the Midwest is starting to pack their bags & get ready to head back too. We spent quite a bit of time with the family while Laura was out. Lots of croquet, meals together, dusky walks, time by the pond. We went up to the Mt. Angel Abbey one warm  evening & watched the sun set over the valley & otherwise disturbed the monk's peace.  

 (Side note: I made them pose for this photo. They probably would prefer it not to be seen by others, but...I like it:) )

 The Sinn girls all together.

 This is her "I'm so hurt! How could you?" face. She's got the Sinn clan wrapped around her finger.

 After serving strawberry shortcakes at work for the past few months, I finally had to get my own. Dar sweetly took me to get one after some hints ("I'd love a shortcake, but it wouldn't be any fun to eat it alone..."). He's a good sport & humors my sweets cravings. I'm a good sport & humor his late night meal cravings. Grilled ham & cheese at 10 pm, anyone?

 We got together for Kenton's 32nd birthday.

 These two: they can't hardly stand it when Olivia's sleeping, and barely resist prodding her awake.

 Riley's definitely getting more camera shy so I have to be sneakier about how I get photos of him these days. He spent a good portion of the evening edging the grass:).

In other news, my oven is fixed!! (Praise the Lord for small favors.) Berry harvest is over halfway done. It's been 90 degrees for the past week & we should have sweetcorn in a few days. I've got gallons of berries in the freezer, all prepped for winter. We've harvested a few tomatoes from the garden & the bush beans are done. Dar isn't putting in quite as many hours, & suddenly fishing is sounding mighty enticing again. My basil plant is begging to be made into pesto. There are grapes clusters dripping from the vines, promising a good year. The peaches are ripening. I ate my first one the other day, & it was everything a peach should be: sweet, warm, fuzzy, & dripping down my chin. It is SUMMER!