Pie day :)

I finished off the week with a pie-making class at Sur La Table with my mom on Saturday morning.  It was fun and I learned a few new tricks.  We made a cherry-nectarine lattice-top pie, a key lime pie, and "perfect" pie crust.  Everything tasted great :)

See how pretty?

Artfully-placed limes...

This pie used dried cherries (meh)

Here's mom -- very excited about pie (of course)

Happy 4th of July!

A busy day here today!  Started off with brunch with Rachel, and then Lindsay joined us for some prep tasks for Rachel's wedding in October.  Rachel wanted to make some pearl necklaces for the bridesmaids (me and Lindsay) and we also needed to make her birdcage veil.  Success on both counts.  Veil turned out to be super easy.  We went back to Rachel's to see her dress, which was recently finished and turned out perfectly.  Also made a brief trip to Graeter's for some mocha chip ice cream.  Some more wedding planning stuff on the books for tomorrow...

We also got to see some more family in town to visit.  Aunt Kari and cousins Hannah and Eli came to town and got to advise on the wedding prep and visit a bit with baby Max.

Really cool detail on the  back

It comes with built-in wings!

After dinner and some visiting, we headed back to Dublin for the fireworks, which were NOT cancelled, thanks to a brief break in the rain.  We met Brian & Co. at the high school, where they had a tent set up and were listening to this year's musical guest, Chicago.

Waiting for dark

Both of the twins were happy to share their umbrellas

Met up with Christina and Caroline

Brian got the girls some light sabers (of course)

Picnic day

Saw The Heat last night with Aubrey.  Hilarious.  The plan for today was facials with Aubrey and a picnic with the girls.

Aubrey and I went to a local day spa, which was awesome.  Wish I had time for a massage, but I found out the awesome masseuse moved to San Francisco, anyway.  Sad.  Then I headed home to get ready for a picnic.

I grabbed the girls and we headed to the Dublin farmers' market, where they sampled everything (homemade chocolate granola, apple cider, summer honey, fall honey, gluten-free/dairy-free/peanut-free/vegan ice cream, cheese, homemade hot dogs, and jams).  We settled on some blueberries, peaches, and a mini raspberry pie.  They also insisted that we buy some honey for Grampy.  I think farmers' markets may be the best thing about summer.  I can't wait to get to the one in Brookline.  (Mmmm, heirloom tomatoes.....)

Then we headed to a local park to eat our fruit and pie (plus some mac & cheese).  Had a good time running around, finding bugs, and playing on the playground.

After the picnic, I met up with Muriel, and we went to the Powell Village Winery and finished off the evening with some ice cream from Jeni's (pistachio and banana honey).  Caught most of Red, White, and BOOM! on TV.  Live fireworks here in Dublin tomorrow, if the weather holds out.

Kiddie Cars and El Vaquero!

Last night we had a cookout with the whole family and a few family friends.  Afterwards, the girls were surprised with the arrival of a belated birthday gift (which had to be picked up from the store): a child-sized motorized Jeep.  I was impressed by their driving skills (especially Macy) and their mad cackling (especially Sadie).  I'll try and post a video, which is actually fairly long, but cute!

A local Mexican favorite, El Vaquero, was the destination tonight.  Macy had requested the novel experience of walking to the restaurant, which is actually pretty close to my brother's house.  Still, it was quite a jaunt (in the heat) for two four-year-olds (and some adults), and we were all very proud of ourselves.  After dinner, the girls "fed" tortilla chips to the ducks out back and got some lessons on skipping stones.  KC did more than his share of the work on the walk home, acting as entertainment and vehicle.  The nieces LOVE Uncle KC.

On the walk home, Macy told me that she was very close to skipping stones.  "I almost got it!"

Clearly, my skills are not up to par.  I did not obey commands like "carry me on your head!" or "RUN!!!!"

Hocking Hills

KC and I had planned to take a trip to Hocking Hills to canoe or kayak or something, but the forecast was bad.  Also, I'd agreed to try out riding as a passenger on his new bike, so he drove me to the local breakfast place and then down the road near our old house.  He's a good driver, but I was still worried that I'd be flying off the back of the bike at some point.

KC with the new bike

Old house -- when a new family bought it years ago, they took down a lot of trees and whatnot.
Now it looks really different...

Brian's old tree-fort tree is still around.  (Some of the climbing planks are still there.)

The house seems much smaller than I remember, but the cherry tree is huge!  I am jealous.

As we were driving around, we realized that the weather was actually great, so went ahead down to Hocking Hills to kayak and hike.  It was really pretty.  Also, we were told that the area is the second most biodiverse place in the world, with the Amazon being #1.  Interesting...KC says it's because of the variety of ecosystems created by the underground caves, river, sandstone hills, forests, etc.  We saw...a turtle and a spider.  And KC confirmed the presence of catfish in the river.  AND we managed to miss the storms, though they created a pretty sunset for our drive home.

KC, looking forward to the trip.

Hocking River

The Upper Falls near Old Man's Cave

                         

Devil's Bathtub

(from the other side of the "drain")

Looking out from under Old Man's Cave

The view from 270 North