end of summer update

Reid Bramblett is the founder of ReidsGuides.com, a trip-planning site devoted to travel beyond vacations that has won the Lowell Thomas Award from the Society of American Travel Writers and has been recommended by CNN, USA Today, National Geographic Traveler, MSNBC.com, and Arthur Frommer. Lucky us!  I felt like I was in the presence of traveling greatness - and already, my copy of the book is dog-eared and with lots of those little sticky post-its for when we head to Italy next.

Again, with our weekly travel book giveaway, Frommer's will give away a copy of Pauline Frommer's Italy: spend less see more, to a randomly drawn commenter on the article. Heading to Italy? Come comment!

 ~~~

We've been working so hard on our site that I am very excited about going up to the cottage tomorrow for the holiday weekend. Ed will golf with my cousin Mike, Lillie will be spoiled by gramma and grampa, we'll kayak and swim and eat very well. Life is good!

Here are some photos from this week. It has been weird weather, so I put in a fog shot from this morning.

here's lillie paddling - she and a friend put the top of her sandbox in the water, as a ship, and played SOS Sinking Ship.

more tie dying...

Fancy Nancy Party at the library. note the dress-up! She told me, scarves are very french, and french women dress the best, mama. that's my global girl!

painting rocks and shells for a project

blueberry smoothie

and, lillie painting hot rocks. these are too cool. you take flat smooth rocks, heat them up for 15 min in a hot oven. meanwhile, peel the paper off of crayola crayons. don't try the cheap ones, they don't work. when the rocks are ready, put them on newspapers on cutting boards on the table. PRESS down with the crayons and they will melt, leaving gorgeous designs! we LOVE doing this!