genius!

This just in- my hottie of a husband passed his Dental Boards Part 1! That's right, he's both gorgeous and brilliant. YAY! YAY! YAY!

the magic of the mountains

Just in for a few days between vacations... Lake City was as fabulous as ever. I forget how much I love being in the mountains, actually. Some old family friends offered their guest house as living quarters for us for the week (the cabin with the whole Gentry fam wasn't equipped for three couples and a baby), which was fantastic! Our week was full of fishing and great food and fantastic company. Burke even fell in the river and seems to have recovered just fine.

this was taken right after burke took a little tumble into the stream... he was so muddy that we had to dip him back in the river so that we could remove the layer of muddy filth from his head

burke's getup for the week (see that little hand reaching around)... we make a good hiking team

the nettleton's house and our guest quarters... we're so thankful that they had some space for us to stay!

this the only picture I have of our whole crew- Mark and Evette, Aaron and Leslie, us, and our friends the Cairns' and Smiths (I know, I know, my eyes are closed)

ice cream at the soda shop- glory!

love of my life...

I had a funny thought sometime after Burke was born... I realized that someday (not too far off if the rapid pace with which life seems to be passing continues) Burke will fall in love and marry someone and leave us. Just like I grew up and left my parents. And if we have any other kids, they'll just be ours to care for for a season as well.

But with me and Adam, that won't ever be the case. He is it for me, my forever someone. It's an immensely comforting thought to me, actually. I think it's the thing that lets me be my real self with him, that allows us the safety to try things that we might fail at, the thing that frees us up to plan our life together with grander goals than either of us would pursue alone...

Today is our seventh anniversary... I didn't know it would go this fast, or that it'd be this great, but I am so so so thankful that I married this man seven years ago!

And I can't post today without wishing Jordi a happy birthday! I'll have to put an entire post together later, but in the meantime, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE SISTER!

new trick

Guess who learned to remove his own diaper??? It's trouble around here, friends. Funny and fun... and trouble.

Oh yeah, and isn't the naked-save-for-a-hat a good look for Burke? Hahaha!

another reason to love summer...

... lots of time with family and friends... :)

best. present. ever.

Since our Little Bug's mantra in life is, "ball... ball... ball," his Aunt Jojo (and fam) got him a birthday present featuring, you guessed it, balls. Gumballs to be specific. With a gumball machine.

This gadget doesn't light up or make any sort of noise (it doesn't even have batteries, actually), which ranks it high on my list of fabulous toys. But my affection for the thing doesn't hold a candle to Burke's passion for his toy. He wakes up pointing to it, carries a gumball in each hand for the entire day, insists on bringing a gumball everywhere he goes (including into the shower), and is amused for HOURS on end by putting gumballs into the machine, pushing the lever, getting them out of the slot and starting this whole process over again.

In fact, when our 5-year-old friend Will Morlan asked Adam if he could borrow this fabulous contraption for a day or two, the answer was a resounding, "Nope..." It's just too important to us.

So thanks for the birthday gift Aunt Jojo. Do it sadden you just a bit to realize that your Burke-present-picking may possibly top out with this one? Because seriously- Best. Present. Ever.

my kind of girl

That Keadryn girl LOVES her some shoes (found these pics and they were too funny not to share)!

no pressure

Adam's taking his Dental Boards Part 1... oh geez. It's supposed to be killer. Send smart vibes his way.

our crazy life

Summer is so funny to me... There's time to slow down, sit on the patio talking with friends until midnight, soak in the sunshine and splash in the pool... And at the same time, it feels sort of frenzied. People coming and going at a rapid rate, full weeks (and weekends), going from one thing to the next until you look at your calendar and half of the summer is gone already. It's just sort of funny- the laidback rushing.

The chill-and-chaos summer pairing is definitely the case around here... I LOVE the sunny weather, time to be with friends, summer food, limeade, watching the Bachelorette with my girls on Monday nights, playing with Burke in the backyard, working in the garden... At the same time, Adam has been studying like a madman (4 days until boards... and actually, only 13 days until his finals are OVER! there is some serious celebrating in store for us in the next couple weeks!), life for me has been crazy with kojo stuff and it feels like the end of july and august are pretty non-stop with family vacations, etc...

I'm sure things will die down come September 1st (and to a smaller degree when this dental school craziness is over). Until then, we're enjoying the ride... :)

sad sad boy

I'd cry too if I were in the backyard wearing just my long sleeved pajama shirt and a diaper on a hot summer morning. Sometimes mom is not quite on top of her game around here.

too good not to share

A few things I am loving:

Concentrated Iced Tea JarsI got this idea from the fabulous angry chicken blog. In order to have room in her fridge for three different kinds of iced tea, amy brews superstrong iced tea in little mason jars and then uses a few tablespoons of her concoction plus ice and water to make her tea of choice. This is brilliant y'all... and so much more compact than trying to squeeze three large sun tea jars in an already full fridge. Currently, I have a green tea jar, a black-plus-peach tea jar and a green-and-mint tea jar in my fridge. Revolutionary.

Rhubarb Simple SyrupI love rhubarb, friends. I could eat strawberry rhubarb pie every day (preferably for breakfast), am growing rhubarb in my garden, pour rhubarb syrup on anything requiring syrup, and think that this tangy fabulousness paired with something sweet is heaven. Inspired by soulemama (another great blog), Adam and I made rhubarb simple syrup the other night by boiling rhubarb with sugar and water and then straining. Soulemama mixes this yumminess with tequila and lime juice for an oh-so-delectable refreshment, but I think it can also be added to a shaken-tea-lemonade, or even just added to iced tea for a little bit of deliciousness. We're also experimenting with several ideas for a Gentry-family-signature-cocktail, but I can't share the details until after the annual Ludwig family drink contest in July. Stay tuned.

Summer To-Do List
Oooh, this is a good one. The Inspired Room highlights this great idea for a family tradition by meg duerksen- poster sized summer to-do lists. Seriously great, huh? If you have kids, or grandkids, or just love making lists and having family traditions like I do, this is a terrific way to celebrate summer!

Summer Eats: Couscous with Cherries and ChickpeasI got this recipe from my mama (who got it from some magazine, I believe) and it's too good not to share! Again, glory, pure glory!

Ingredients: 1 cup couscous
1/2 cup dried cherries (or raisins, craisins, dried apricots). I used fresh cherries and it was delicious!
1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large orange or yellow bell pepper cut into bite size pieces
1/4 large red onion cut into thin slices
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 16-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
Directions: In a large pot, boil water with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place couscous into boiling water, cover, remove from burner and let stand until ready to use.
Meanwhile, cut peppers, cilantro and onions. Pit cherries, if using fresh cherries. Open and drain the chickpeas. Place everything in a large bowl.
Stir the couscous in the pot to break up. Put into the large bowl with the other ingredients.
Whisk the 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar together with the specified amounts of orange juice, cumin, ginger and cinnamon. Pour over salad; toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Burke and his Crazy HairSince he is a hat houdini, our fair-skinned, white-haired monkey requires a serious SPF lathering every morning. The result of said-lathering is a wispy, wild, white fro that makes me giggle all day long. You should especially see it when he wakes up from a nap. I love summer.

Flowers from the Middleeastern MarketFor $3.59- aren't they gorgeous???

That's all for now. I'm off to work on my summer to do list while I eat more couscous and drink more tea... perhaps some tea with a dash of rhubarb simple syrup. Oh how lovely.

*all images from blogs mentioned...