He had a Lego Star Wars cake.
Notice the various battledroids that have been broken or are falling due to the Force. Nathan designed the entire battle scene.
The weather was gray but still nice enough to eat cake and ice cream on the porch.
And yes, he did get a Lego Star Wars set for his birthday.
Stephen showing his "rotten teeth" (really cherry pits). This is one of his many accomplishments. His best trick is his bubble scream. You have to hear it to believe it.
We went to a minor league game on one of the perfect baseball nights - 72 degrees and clear. Besides being a fireworks night, it also was Star Wars night. Darth Vader graciously posed for a picture. He's pretty nice for a Sith Lord.
Nathan is our first child to break something. He broke his little toe after he ran into a chair. It bruised up nicely and after the initial pain was over and we had taped it, I really think he was a little proud of being the first break.
I made a wonderful green bean salad from our green beans. They also did very well this year.
The corn is also doing well. At least the first planting is doing well. That is first planting Illini in back of the children and the second planting Illini in front. We'll see if there is enough heat for the second planting to do as well.
Gorgeous, isn't it?
We also grill roasted our meat birds. They were tasty but a little tougher than the store bought birds. We're going to try and roast them in the oven at a lower temperature and hopefully that will make them more tender.
The crops that aren't doing so well are the vine crops. We just haven't had enough heat yet. I hope they (and the tomatoes) will all ripen before the first frost.
We came to see this lighthouse and take a tour of the house and the tour.
View from the top.
The children were fascinated by the "old fashioned" typewriter.
Then we went to the lake. From these two pictures, you would think that the weather was great.
Now take a look at the adults. We wrapped up in towels. There was quite a breeze coming off of the lake and we were COLD!
Nathan was the only sensible child and he just played in the waves. Amazingly he didn't get wet.
There was a lagoon type type thing a little ways back on the sand. This was much shallower and much warmer.
Since the children got to play in the water and the sand, to them it was a successful trip.
The weather cooperated and we ate most of our meals on the porch.
We started with a variety of cheeses and wines to taste.
First course was Fresh Pea Ravoli in Broth.
The Main Course was a fantastic Salad Nicoise.
Dessert was a cherry custard with our cherries.
For lunch the next day I made pressed Italian sandwiches.
The last night, Mom and Dad graciously babysat and all the parents went out for a wonderful Italian dinner.
And shell more peas. And pit cherries and even snap beans.
The highlight was a cousin sleepover in our basement. And amazingly they did go to sleep at a decent time!
