Give the man a grill!

oh baby, we got a grilling machine! and I am not referring to my husband! We bought ourselves a high-fangled, propane-burnin', summer-saving grill. NO more cooking in the kitchen when it is 99 degrees outside (93 in the shade), lacking the modern convenience of air-conditioning. So now on any given hot summer night you will find us in one of two places; 1) in the back, cooking on the 'que, or 2) hovered around the ice cream machine awaiting the joys of the first taste of homemade frozen dessert.

The grill master getting a feel for his tools.

Alex left an important Magna Doodle message after dinner tonight.

yes, oh yes....this is summer.

In-laws In-town

Our families are blessed with house guests this week. David's mom Kathleen and step dad Randy are visiting from Arizona. They had a hard time convincing any of us to spend a week in 110 degree Arizona summer, so they finally relented and joined the mountain folk for a week. Remember that when one of David's family members come to visit they get a double dose....Alex (David's brother), wife Kelcey, and baby Lilikoi live right next door! So visiting families get two for the price of one!
Our couch has been home to many cuddle puddles since the grandparents arrived Sunday morning. They did have a true North Carolina country experience after making a wrong turn on the way to our house from the Charlotte airport. But these southern mountain neighbors are friendly and will head you in the right direction and invite you in for some sweet tea to boot.

Randy and Nene (Kathleen's affectionate granny name....partially because we lived in Hawaii when she became a grandma and the nene is a popular bird, and partially because of Kathleen's fondness for horses...neigh neigh) are enjoying spending time with the kids and grandkids, having daily afternoon siestas, and all sorts of yummy homemade meals....
Here Randy and Alex are entertained with Lili's antics...

And what could be a better mid day game to play with grandparents then dress up? Don't worry, this is not the new look coming out of Scottsdale.....

Independence Day at Lake James

To celebrate the 4th of July among friends and families, some of us Stone Mountain people packed up our minivans and headed to Lake James (just about an hours drive) for the weekend. The rental house was beautiful...right on the lake with plenty of room (and dishes) for all of us celebrators. We watched a fantastic fireworks display over the lake and then had a little show of our own (David cleans the windows for a family that "tips" in South Carolina fireworks).

Here is a photo of one of the many swimming sessions of the weekend. The water was warm and so clear.....with some waves every now and then from a passing motorboat or jet ski. The combo of the beautiful weather, lovely water, and a bunch of flotation devices made for fun times for parents and children alike.
Noah and Banyan have added fishing to their list of favorite activities. They had a lot of fun not catching anything.

David and Nimuae enjoying some breakfast on the deck overlooking the lake...

David rocks on....
Willow, Gita, and Kestral coloring.....
Renee....
Jason with Ema over shoulder















Fitting 20 people in the house (10 kids/10 adults) was no easy task. It was certainly the largest slumber party I had been to since high school. David and I took the screened porch as our room. 7:30 am (when the kids started waking up....yes, all 10 of them) seemed to come very early after staying up until 3:00 keeping the gin company. Some midnight adult only swims kept us awake later than most nights.....

Friends
Karen, Aurora, Michelle & Kestral, Brandon, Jason, Noah & Banyan, Renee & Nimuae, David, Chad & Willow, Ema & Gita

sleepy

I am feeling far too tired to do much blogging (a party filled and super fun weekend with a gaggle of friends at a lake house kept us up into the wee morning hours two nights in a row), but I would hate to leave our most dedicated readers with nothing new to view. While I catch up on some shuteye and sort through the weekend photos to determine if any of the photos taken are appropriate for this family friendly blog, here is a little bit of cuteness posted on Kelcey's blog last week.
enjoy.
we will return to your regular programming after this short break.

http://kloomer.blogspot.com/2008/07/sad-bear-comes-to-play.html

Nothing Says "Welcome Home" Like Rainbows Above the Homestead

Vacation's end

We are back at the homestead after traveling back down the coast from the Northern most state to North Cacilacky. I did not get a chance to finish my vacation-themed blogging while still on vacation, nor have I had a chance since settling in back home. But now that we are mostly back into the swing of things, I have a second to post a few pictures before I head to work.























Grandma, Grandpa, and the Bosen children
( Tim, Sarah, and yours truly)



















cousins Nathan and Austin riding Noah

Rolling on the River

We took advantage of a sunny morning and willing grandmas and took off up the Pemaquid River on canoes. The younger 3 cousins stayed at Grandmas house for a morning of playing and walking to the lighthouse (Gita helped push her little cousins strollers the whole way!) while the adults and the 3 older cousins enjoyed a few hours on the river with the herons and turtles. We had the Carmona canoe, the Bird canoe, and the Bosen canoe...that is one original Bosen and their spouse per boat....a great success!