The Measure of All Fullness: Sights of Summer

It is official; we are in the thick of summer here in Florida! As you can see from the pictures, we have been spending a fair amount of time in the water - whether at the beach or in our very luxurious plastic pool!

We kicked our summer off with Kazapalooza, an annual gathering of families from throughout the country who have adopted from Kazakhstan. There were about 125 families that made their way to St. Petersburg Beach to celebrate our kiddos and Kazakhstan.

Asher and Hayden head toward the water - hand in hand. We shared a suite with our friends, Hayden and her mom, Joanie at this year's Kazapalooza.

Who needs a bathing suit?

A gorgeous sunset on St. Pete Beach

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, we picked our own blueberries every weekend. The boys loved sampling while picking, and we loved eating fresh, succulent berries each week. We regularly indulged in blueberry pancakes and blueberry turnovers.

Asher stops picking to pose for a picture.

Is that hugging or strangling? Its the way that boys hug around our house!

Derick coaches Theo on picking the ripe berries. Theodore became quite adept at berry picking and eating over the month that we picked our own blueberries.

The fruits of our efforts on the last weekend of the season - almost a half gallon of delicious blueberries!

Sometimes, we swim in our swimsuits; at other times we swim with our clothes on, and...sometimes, we don't. And by "we," I mean the little guys. My moments in the kiddie pool always involve a bathing suit. :)

Theo turns to listen to the ocean on a beautiful, clear day at Crescent Beach, just south of St. Augustine.

Derick and boys sit in tide pools and enjoy the coolness of the ocean. They also find crabs, shells, and tiny fish that "kiss" their feet.

I have accepted the fact that it is nearly impossible to get a picture with Theo and Asher looking at the camera. There were just too many fascinating things to look at at the beach!