308/365

308/365, originally uploaded by britrosewhite.

It's been awhile since Gracey showed up on here. Today I was knitting on the couch and she just curled up on my feet, all warm and cute.

And then my dad walked in with this box of goodies:


Fresh produce in November never looked so good!

177/365

177/365, originally uploaded by britrosewhite.

Lauren left today. It really happened. Gracey and I are in denial so we decided to hop in a time machine but I guess we went too far because Lauren wasn't there yet. As you can tell, Gracey was sad.

168/365

168/365, originally uploaded by britrosewhite.

I love this day! Independence Day is the best. I blame Sandlot for making me love Independence Day. And whoever decided that Ray Charles should sing "America, The Beautiful" is a genius.

Get ready for some pictures because I took a lot.


I teased my hair for church. What's up y'all, I'm from Texas!!

(I put it in a ponytail.)

After church I ran home and cleaned my room, ate some lunch, put on some shorts, and drove to meet some fam for Toy Story 3. But they were sold out. But Chelsea and I decided to buy tickets to Eclipse and sneak in to Toy Story 3. We thought that was funny.

Anyone else just to want be alone and cry for an hour after that movie? It makes me happy to still have my Babysitter's Club Books and Hanson posters up in the attic. My equivalent of Woody and Buzz.

After the movie, the party started.


Keane, his blue eyes, and Mimi.


Chelsea, Lauren, and Amber in the back there. Hangin' at the chip/fruit bar.


We are nothing if not patriotic!


Momma really knows how to shape a patty.


We took about ten of these and the chances of all of us looking at the camera...well, there are no chances.


Jonah is a straight up champ at bubbles.


Awesome! His shirt says "Closed for the season" over a picture of a brain. I asked him what it meant and he said..."Smart."


Joel, Jonah, Uncle Robert/Poppy - climbing the fence to check out the pool wreckage that exploded down the yard.


Maybe not the saftest thing? But cute! I love your matching outfits!


Our pool pump was waaaaay down there.


I bought Gracey a dress. It's mainly for laughs, not because I think dog's should wear clothes. It's funny! And I accidentally convinced Kasey it was her dress. She kept asking everyone why the dog was wearing her clothes.


This was when Papa asked us to sing a patriotic song before dinner.


YES! That cookie has a marshmallow inside of it. My Aunt Mary Alice is amazing.


Yeah, you are!


Black and Red and Blue stripes. Almost super flaggy.


We just needed a star! For eighteen years Rachel was the youngest cousin. Now it's Keane. Crazy, huh?


Oh babyyyyyyy, I love you.


Like a bird on a wire.


Gracey basically freaked out when the fireworks started. She buried her face in my arm pit and wouldn't leave my lap.

What are we going to DO without each other for three months?!


Cuties.


Keane's first fireworks!

I suppose I should share some fireworks photos:


Bam!


Bam! Bam!


And then we all blew up.

Then we came back to life and played Mario Party, and we still are playing Mario Party, and Lauren is INSANE when she plays this game.

It's a little strange that last year I spent this day in Central Park and ended it eating Brooklyn pizza on a pier in Red Hook, watching 10 different fireworks displays with Lady Liberty and an amazing sunset as a backdrop. And it was a normal day.

Guess you never can tell what a difference a year makes.

Unless, of course, you blog about it every day...

Happy 4th, ya'll!

134/365

134/365, originally uploaded by britrosewhite.

Today is Memorial Day, but we still had a birthday party. My beloved aunt Mary Alice, and my wonderful Papa. Two people I love and cherish lots and much. They are beautiful people and two of the most inspiring that I know. If you like me at all, I give them some of the credit for making them this way. If you don't like me, don't blame them. It's all my fault. Or yours. Why don't you like me?


Papa has a great garden and he looks really cool in his hat. He has a tiny blueberry bush and I may have had the single best blueberry in the world today. He also has grapes growing wild and wants me to make them into jam. Yes, I will do that, sir!


One of the White Family Traditions is to eat. Today, we ate a lot of chocolate. Starting with this s'more.


And this cake that I made for Mary Alice. It's a love/hate cake. At first, everyone was looking at me with love in their eyes. By the second bite, I was getting death stares. It's that rich. That's what happens when the frosting is made up of 24 ounces of chocolate chips and 4 cups of whipping cream.

I had to close my eyes and pour. I'm telling you, I am the healthiest cook around on most days. But when it comes to chocolate, it's all or nothing.

Now this picture...

was taken BEFORE the chocolate cake death.

Gracey is not fond of water. It's sad, but it's to our amusement. We love to do crazy things to her, the least of which is giving her a Target bag diaper during her time of the month. We want her to have puppies again...don't judge.

But I thought maybe we could get her to enjoy this raft. She loves to lay down just about anywhere, so why not here?

She did pretty good for awhile...but then she tried to jump out and Lauren barely grabbed her hind legs, at which point she swam like a mad dog towards me and clawed my stomach, shoulders, and back trying to get out. I bled a little...but boy was that FUNNY! Strange dog.


Happy Summer, from our family to yours.

Just for kicks:

127/365

127/365, originally uploaded by britrosewhite.

I took a lot of pictures today.

I normally wake up with plenty of plans for the day and then find myself in completely different situations. I haven't allowed myself to do much but sew the last few weeks, but today I did get in the pool for ten minutes (seriously) and bake some bagels this morning. And I did go to three different snocone stands after dinner.


A much more sufficient puff than last time! The flavor was just like a plain bagel. Not as tasty as the others, but texture was perfect.


There are swirlies in our garden!


It's fascinating.


I bought flowers and key limes and Central Market a few days ago.


Something in me has awakened and I love plants. Growing them, looking at them, and eating them. Of course, the eating part isn't new.


It was another beautiful sky tonight. I can't get over it!

Our mission was to try the three different local snocone stands and determine the best based on taste, atmosphere and friendliness of staff.


First up was Granny's. Good for tiny ice, bad for atmosphere.


Next, Bud's. The one I grew up going to.


I love that yellow snocone light! That's Audra, Lauren's friend. She enjoys banana snocones and maybe bubble gum, too.


Bud's wins for having free doggy snocones!!


And finally, Bedford Snoball. Pretty much the local favorite. Gracey looks eager, but she didn't get anything this time.


Lauren loved the fifty cent tiny cups! We were pretty full on snocones by this point.


I think we all agreed on Bedford as the best in all categories. Tough call since I liked Granny's ice best and the nostalgia at Bud's, but something just feels good about Bedford.


It just looks like summer.

126/365

126/365, originally uploaded by britrosewhite.

Yep. I posted that.

In all honesty, how could I NOT?

Grover woke up this morning ready for his first swim.


It wasn't so bad, but the diaper got in the way.

So...


Freestyle, baby!

He splashed around a bit but the reflection on the water was pretty bright.


This is when I noticed something very important and had to get a closer look.


That is some cottage cheese!


And that is one crooked creek!


And that is one squooshy toosh!


What a couple.

I am so proud that Grover took his first swim in our pool and that Claire made the inaugural swim - besides my dad's "cleaning the pool" swim yesterday. It's summer, y'all!

Now some quick updates:


Garden: growing.


Baby birdies: growing.

And to finish...


Babies getting some couch sleep.

But REALLY to finish, let's just go ahead and do this one more time: