We're Growing....By Six Feet

We're spilling the beans.
The Schwartz family is growing.

In September we're growing by 4 feet.
(Or paws.)
We're welcoming Patton, a beautiful orange kitten.

AND

In March 2009 we're growing by 2 teeny tiny feet.
We've hired our midwives and heard the Thump, Thump of another beautiful heart.
SOPHIA WILL BE A BIG SISTER!

Vacation. Vacation. Sweet Vacation.

We were blessed with the good fortune to travel to Fort Fisher AP Recreation Area in Kure Beach, North Carolina this past week on vacation. We received a bit of rainfall thanks to Ms. Fay blowing north, but overall the week was beautiful. We spend lots of time enjoying the sun and sand on the beach.
Sophia enjoyed the surf this trip (as opposed to the screaming and tear filled moments in Florida earlier this year). She really enjoyed eating Veggie Booty and sand while lounging on the beach. The wind blowing softly against her bald head while she used all 10 of her teeth to grind down the sand to a find dust. The combination seemed to speed up the teething process as while we were there she cut two molars!!
During the week we visited my sister and her husband, who live just a few miles North near Wilmington. Amy runs a fancy, fancy boutique in the Historic Downtown District. Elixir (the fancy, fancy part of the description applies here. The jeans can cost as much as a car payment!) and Return Passage (where you can find some great bags and jewelry at consignment store prices!) If you're ever in the area Downtown Wilmington is a nice place to jaunt around for a while. I guess if you like history (and your wife will allow you, unlike Geo's lovely wife) you could spend endless hours looking at "old stuff."


Another adventure was visiting the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. I haven't gone to many aquariums in my life but this is my very favorite and a place that we'll return to on every Kure Beach vacation. The exhibits are magnificent. We especially enjoy the large tank at the beginning of the tour. The glass stands over 6 feet tall and you can smoosh your kiddy face against the glass to kiss the fish as long long as your are tall. During our last visit there was a scuba show in a breathtaking two story tall tank (pictured with the beautiful bride in front of it). The scuba guy, we'll call him Scuba Steve, came out to greet everyone in full gear. He swam with a magic note pad and communicated with the audience by writing notes and putting them up to the glass. The tank is filled with small sharks and other interesting sea creatures. Ohh...fun!


Our trip home was longer than the one down. We decided to stay at a hotel in Virgina to make the trip a bit easier for Sophia. She didn't seem to appreciate the long drive down as evidenced by her staying up most of the night to "talk" with us about how disappointed she was in our decision to prepare her for bed and then pack her and the luggage into the car at 9pm and start our vacation travels early. The trip home was MUCH nicer.

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Chief BerryFace

We met a friend and her little munchkins for folktales and Pick Your Own berries at Willow Creek Orchard today.

Oh did I learn a lot about toddlers and farms! We sat under a large tent and listened to folktales by David Joe Miller, a professional storyteller. He was entertaining for the older kids and adults but Soph was more excited about interacting with other kids her age.

After story time we ventured into the blackberry bush with baskets in tow. After about three feet Soph sat down with some Veggie Booty and decided that she preferred to have a picnic instead of picking berries. I was satisfied that she was engaged enough to allow for me to actually pick a few. After a few minutes she gave a shout that indicated that she was out of Booty and wanted to move on to something else......this is where I caught the first glimps of Chief BerryFace.

She HAD moved on to something else....the over ripe berries that had fallen from the vines onto the ground near her picnic spot. Ohhhhh...they felt soooo good being smoooshed between her fingers! She HAD to have MORE MORE MORE!(For the FULL effect click on the above photo and check out the red, blackberry stains that ran down her cheeks from rubbing her face......priceless)

We had so much fun. It was a great experience all around. Before weighing the berries I stripped her down and washed off the clumps in a small wash bin. She smiled and laughed the whole way home.

Bursting with Blueberries

Soph and I are home alone this weekend while Geo is drilling. I was sure that I would get called to go to work, since it was possibly the least convenient weekend to find childcare and balance community commitments.....anyway, we got a great night of sleep following a fun filled day and to celebrate we made blueberry pancakes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce (Cooking Light, June 2007).
Oh my....it was soooo good. I used some of the sauce in place of milk in the buttermilk pancake mix. The sauce made purple swirls and filled the pancakes with sweet blueberries.


Deeeeeeelicious.

I have enough sauce to share if you're interested....

Hanging Out On the Farm

Geo looks forward to the Kimberton Fair every year like kids look forward to waking up on Christmas morning to a living room full of carefully wrapped presents. Because he was off playing in Asia last year he missed the fair....but not this year!

I mean, what is there to NOT love? There is the huge 4H display with goats, several rabbits and cows. We spent most of out time in that tent playing with the baby goats. I think they'd make a lovely addition to our family! Don't you?

There is also plenty of fried foods to be had. Geo ate his body weight in french fries and I had some delicious fried veggies.

We also enjoyed the tractor display. George always points out the big Ford. " Ya know, hun, Pop drove one just like that up on the farm." But this year was especially special because there was a "Cubby" just like the beauty that my neighbor drive (and jump starts with is car battery) and it was proudly wearing a 1st place ribbon.

Mike, You're a winner in my book!