So Darn Kool to Have a Real Photographer in the Fam....

 ....young and adorable cousins were expertly and creatively captured while with a whole group of friends at an old-fashioned carnival in a suburb of Denver....

 ....the artist who staged, arranged and captured the visions of pre-teen summer fun is Erin Evans Gilliss whose Green Chair Photography in Parker, CO specializes in these colorful fun-fantasy arrangements of kids, celebrations, pets and what-have-you....

 ....her background includes growing up in Hawaii and travelling some too; helps give her an eye for interesting fruit salad jello color twists that make her's unique.... and very Kool!

...action, color and giggly fun.....(I asked permission to use her material, as we all should.) The evening shots were even more vibrant.

Another Long Ride Today...

 ...the weather was perfect: upper 60's with a nice breeze off Lake Michigan. So we did not want to waste the opportunity. Our route took us north to Lake Bluff, using several of the local trails to get there and back.
The wild life sighting of the day was this little painted turtle. He as just starting across the trail....

....I stooped down to get a good close-up. As I walked back to my bike, the turtle heaved up onto the asphalt and hauled a$$ and shell across the trail. Luckily no other traffic was around. When I turned to look back, he almost across....

 It's a long, hot, harsh trail for a little animal.  There once was an interurban rail line here. Now just bikes and peds.

...the turtle disappeared into the underbrush on the way to a cooler, shady marshland area. Today's ride was 48 miles, on asphalt (somewhat easier than crushed limestone). I didn't take enough breaks near the end and got overtired.

Recent Memories....

...Hubs' took this one of me, arriving at L'il Pearl's parents' house for the traditional Memorial Day Sunday cookout. No, I didn't walk all the way over (tho the exercise won't hurt). We parked around the corner. I brought a cake.

An Old Woman's Game....

 ...collecting and arranging, nurturing and trading: Hostas give us something to do after the children have left...

 ...when we travel in late spring, we can visit nurseries in other communities and buy novel varieties...

 ....I don't know all the names of mine; when I started collecting, I didn't save the plastic ID tags....

 ...I have a lot of shade in the front yard. Grass doesn't do well. So it's a fantasy forest for hostas...

 ...the Gardener gave me the one above....

 ....this one is called Forest Fire, I think...

....unless things get too busy around here, I may try to hybridize some of these this season. Are you still awake?

A Few More of the Twins from Alice's Party Day...

 ...the old wooden rocking horse is a family heirloom, tho I'm not sure how old it is. Molly thinks she's the first baby-girl member of the Pony Express, and she has to out-run all the men...

...after a hard ride, she stops at a local saloon to cuddle her dolly.

...her brother, Micah, is not feeling all that competitve today. He's just sitting there; the mail packet will have to deliver itself.            (OK, this is a lame post; but I just wanted to work in these pics of the kids.)

There Was No Restaurant or Tavern in the Community...

....at Trail's end. (Just south of the Kankakee River, which is bigger than you think!). At the end of the road we asked the worn out middle-aged lady; there was nothing. But near the house that needed painting and the junked cars and the discarded plastic toys, I saw these lovely lilies--ok, the clump needs dividing--but it was vibrant. So I complimented her and she beamed, and looked better. I asked if I could take a photo and she was delighted. Her Dad planted them many years before......a gardening moment.

Live-Blogging the Birthday Party....

 ...Birthday Princess Alice beams at her Court of Visitors. Once again, she, Mommy and baby July visit G'ma and G'pa for a Great Three Year Jubilee...

...her cousins Molly and Micah have come from Far and Wide (a northerly suburb) bearing gifts and best wishes. It wasn't long ago they had their 2nd Birthday. Micah thinks the word for "Happy Birthday" is CAKE....

...frankly, the Twins see less of me and Big Nik(on) than Alice and July. They are shy and uncertain. So far, they wish they'd see less today; but then how will their fans keep up? This is a nice photo of Micah and a nice cameo of Molly.

 ...People, it takes a Village of Professional Food Scientists to raise turtles that turn into cakes! They have the magic! Alice's Mommy didn't have a pattern for the turtle cake; she was able to free-hand it. I'm impressed.

...so are the partiers. That's Molly, July who doesn't have the foggiest idea what's happening (but She's Next, since her Big #1 is just about a month away) Princess Alice the Gleeful and Micah, who just wants to dive into the cake...

...never was a turtle head more delicious or appreciated. Knowing the Gardener's family, this cake was home-made from scratch from an old family recipe. I had a tiny bite of the piece I took home for Hubsy and it was yummy...

 July doesn't know from cake yet, and would rather play with the combs, which I'm sure are  dedicated toys, not just something she picked up. She's a quiet little package and I can't wait to see how she matures....

 ...little Molly is still a climber, strong and sure-footed. Shy tho, so it was tough to get photos that show how cute she is....

...and Micah aka "Mr. Cake", a big gob of frosting on his fork and he's keeping an eye on that cake. More please?