"All warfare that is not defensive, is criminal; and he who draws his sword to oppress, or merely to aggrandize, is a murderer and a robber."

 - Sir William Wallace 

The Scottish Chiefs 

 

Yep, I'm still here....

Playing with the camera

Okay...this summer has been busy and a lot of fun. So busy and fun that blogging hasn't exactly been a priority....Sorry! Here's a quick rundown~

Planted a garden, got tons of cucumbers, green beans, and some melons.

Went to San Antonio for the Baby Conference that Vision Forum had. That was a crazy trip which involved having pizza delivered to our hotel room at midnight, getting to swim in a 9ft pool, and hearing some fantastic speakers (Doug Phillips, Michelle Duggar, and Jennie Chancey were my personal favorites)

My mom keeps ordering organic produce in bulk, so that along with what we've either grown ourselves or bought locally, we've had a lot to preserve! We've tried Strawberry Preserves, Apple Butter, Blackberry Jam, Orange Marmalade, Cinnamon Pickles, Bread and Butter Pickles, and just plain old Green Beans. It's been quite an experience! I love to can, so it's been fun for me.

Havin' fun with my brother...What are we doing? Don't ask me, I have no idea!

We've been going to the farmer's market in Guthrie and selling some crafts like ceramic coasters we stamped, note cards with our photography on it and stuff like that. It's been good to meet the people in our lovely city :-) I've learned all about the sales tax and how to fill out the report. It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

As an early birthday present, my grandmother (who btw, just moved up here close to us) took Brianna and I on the train to Fort Worth. We stayed with her sister and her family while we were there. We got to go to a really neat Civil War Museum. As a history buff and pattern-designer-wanna-be I had a blast looking at all the original historical clothing they had there. It was absolutely amazing! The details, the design, the like-new condition in some of the pieces was stunning! There's at least two I want to reproduce. Okay, enough of that...
My mom's cousin is a chef and he lives with the aunt and uncle we were staying with, so we got cooking lessons! It was so cool to learn techniques like how to cut an onion, a mango, and a chicken. It's stuff I do all the time, just not the "right" way :-) We also learned some more complete meals and made baguettes. Busy three days!

We celebrated Brianna's thirteenth birthday August 1st. We had a party at the house with friends and family. Daddy gave her a copy of the book he wrote for his daughters on our thirteenth birthdays: Guidelines for a Southerland Lady. They also gave her a ring. Thanks to everyone who came and helped us celebrate!

We are getting ready to start school this year after Labor Day. I am like so excited because this is my last year!

Today is my parents 20th anniversary!  Happy Anniversary Mama and Daddy!

Wow, I didn't realize this was so long! Thanks for taking the time to catch up with me...