Today I am joining The Inadvertent Farmer in celebrating Summer's Simple Things.  

Aly's favorite is berries straight from the garden.  Strawberries are picked half green, raspberries a nice light pink, and blueberries...well she eats those as soon as she can pick them.  We didn't get any strawberries this year so we've been waiting for the raspberries to ripen and finally got to pick 6 yesterday.  

The first raspberry.  A simple joy of summer.

Before I start I should say that the fastest way to make Kensley need something from me is to start a blog post.  Usually I don't even get it open, just start thinking "hey the kids are playing pretty well, maybe I should write a new post" and that's the end of that.  She is in her highchair eating breakfast right now so I better type fast.  :)

We had a great weekend!  On Saturday I woke up before dawn (4:45 is the middle of the night in my world) to run the Seattle Rock n Roll half marathon.  My love of running started in high school before I could even run a whole mile.  I used to dream of running mile after mile effortlessly and how cool that seemed.  Running isn't effortless now but I do enjoy it and I can finally run more than one mile.

The weather was perfect for the run, 50's and 60's and overcast.  (The overcast was especially good because I didn't use any sunscreen).  I did great for the first 8 miles and then slowed down walking a good portion of the rest.  I finished in 3 hours, 6 minutes, and 10 seconds.  My goal was to finish in under 3 hours but I am still totally happy with my finish.  The course started in Tukwila, ran past Seward Park and along the water to I-90 where we ran (I walked) through the tunnel into Seattle.  From there it continued along a bit before ending outside of Qwest stadium.  The whole thing was a bit overwhelming, more exciting than I anticipated when I signed up in February, and I am beyond proud of myself.  :)  

You can join me next year!  June 25th!  Registration begins in January, I think, and sells out by March.

It would have been great to get a picture of myself race day (other than the professional ones I can order) but it didn't work out.  I was too tired to care at the finish and nobody else suggested it.  I do have a cool finisher's medal and race number though.  Maybe I should take a picture of them.  :)

Steve's weekend consisted of watching the girls Saturday and then building our new deck and my sewing room on Sunday.  The building has gotten to the point where I can see progress being made.  So exciting!  Here are some pictures so far.  (uh-oh!  Kensley is finished eating-type faster!)

The lower deck is going to be enclosed like a sunroom making my new sewing room with the upper deck on top of that.  The size, 9 feet by 22 feet, is an odd shape for a room but beats my current arrangement of the pool table and does give me a lot of square feet.  I'm hoping this will be done by labor day so we can host a barbecue on the new deck.  

Alyssa does not overly love the sprinkler.  She does, however, enjoy it being turned on really low and making a mud puddle in my front yard to jump in.

I'm not convinced my grass loves this game quite so much.

But it is fun for me to watch.  :)

I decided that a good trip to the fabric store deserved a "prize."  I also decided to work with the fact that the line to pay at Joann's is full of $1.00 items at just the right height for a 3 year old.  Alyssa picked out fingernail polish.  

I found the cutest adirondack chair and table set at the Goodwill.  It has since moved outside but they did want to eat breakfast on it one day. 

My husband is taking this week off from work to build new decks.  The lower one will be enclosed like a sunroom and that will be my sewing room.  I cannot wait to have a space to organize!  Sadly, I would say there is no way this project will be done in the estimated week.  :(

I know I'm not the only one with a baby who climbs things but this is dangerous!  (She will climb higher if not stopped but behind the camera I can't really catch her when she falls.)

What have you been up to?

Let's do the exciting part first!  I had 2 entries for my spur of the moment giveaway (you really should have entered )

Abby suggested a homemade bird feeder made from an empty toilet paper roll, peanut butter, and bird seed.  I love this project and I have everything on hand for it.  

Beverly from Flamingo Toes suggested finger painting with pudding.  She says, "Yes, it makes a mess, and yes, she ate most of it. But sometimes you have to get in there and get messy, right? :)"  Beverly, I totally agree!  The other benefit I see to this is that my youngest daughter, Kensley, can "participate" too.  I don't have to worry about her putting paint in her mouth.  Beverly, you are the winner!  Yay!  I will contact you regarding your prize. 

So after I did my rainy day post, the sun came out.  :)  Here are some pics from my garden that I took this weekend.

The raspberries, blueberries, and apples are all doing well (we can never have too many of these)...

My first attempt at cilantro and the pumpkins I bought at the farmer's market...

The roses and foxglove are blooming...

 and the peonies will open soon...

OK, that was a lot of pictures, but I just couldn't decide what to show you.  What is blooming in your garden right now?

You still haven't entered to win?  Let's just say your odds are pretty good right now.  :)

Yesterday was beautifully sunny!  Of course, I was so busy enjoying the sun that I forgot to take product photos.  Oops.  But watching Alyssa run through the sprinkler is really much more fun.  :)

Today (in the rain) we are going to the zoo.  Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo is so very pretty.  I almost feel like I'm at an arboretum or botanical garden sometimes looking at all the flowers and plants.  I have more fun looking at those than the animals.  Of course watching Alyssa stand on one foot while looking at the flamingos or roar like a lion is pretty fun too!