Let The Chronicles Begin....

If I wasn't sure from the flip flops on the mail box cover, or some of the kids shipping off to camp, or the constant ices, ice cream, watermelon and swimming, today's activities solidified for me that it is indeed summer.

Blueberry picking. Which has become a rite of summer for those of us not vacationing in the wilds of the Pennsylvania mountains. The way this year works out we went blueberry picking on what turned out to be the second day of "our" farm's season. The difference was lots of very plump blueberries, which may be slightly tart, but so full of flavor as to put the bland store bought ones to shame. To be fair as the season progresses the store bought blueberries from NJ are pretty good, based on our proximity to their growth.

We had made plans for a second stop, since the actual picking is not that long lasting. We had good directions on local roads, and as we pulled through the area of the vast parkland to our destination (a nature center and trail-side museum), we stopped at a building on the grounds to use the restrooms. As we pulled up I said to MBB:

"hey, I recognize this bathroom building."

A quick glance to the field on the  left  confirmed that this was the place we had come on a chol hamoed Pesach in 2009 with a large chunk of our extended family. It was then that I realized the nature center was the building we had mistakenly parked at when trying to get to the playground lo those many years ago.

The nature center itself was perfect for teh kids we had with us, they really enjoyed it. Piling back in the car to head back to the playground they decided they wanted to sit in the back of the car (mbb's) to eat their lunch, to "tailgate" as they put it.

Just as they settled in with their bagels  there was a huge rumble of loud thunder (read:close), and it was decided to hop into the car proper, and check out a different area of the Watchung Reservation while they munched their lunch and we assessed whether  the weather would cooperate, and afford us a chance at the playground. It did not. The skies opened up, and we headed (the long fairly scenic way) home.

A good time and Slurpees were had by all.

Milestones

In Chez Blogberg, we now have two Blogbergettes who have graduated High School and have driver's licenses.

How did they get so big, so fast?

Short and Sweet

I got a call early this morning from my daughter in Israel. She was in the airport, had checked in, and gone through security:

"It was all fine, the bags were the right weight, and security was OK. Mother, do not put a toy gun in your suitcase unless you want all the security people in the airport to come and talk to you!  They asked why I didn't say I had it when they asked me if I had any weapons, and I said-cuz it's a toy."

End the year with an adventure!