A Nonproductive Weekend...

Jared, Max, Alexander, Madeline, and me

Jared went camping this past weekend and his brother and nephew flew out from Colorado to go.  It was a much-anticipated guys' trip; Jared loved it.  I'm always relieved when he comes home safe-and-sound though - those boys can be reckless (of course Jared would disagree).    

On Saturdays Jared and I typically go to the downtown Farmer's Market.  Lately, however, he's had to spend the bulk of Saturdays on campus, so he misses out.  Sometimes I feel a little guilty going without him. I'm sure I would also benefit from spending my entire weekend studying, but I refuse to - at least right now.

I had grand plans to get caught up on homework and studying while Jared was camping, but ended up spending most of Saturday with some of my family.

We went to the Farmer's Market in the morning, which is one of my favorite ways to start the day.  

And I love that our weather hasn't cooled down yet because it means the market will hopefully continue for a few more weeks.   

Madeline practically inhaled that entire basket of raspberries.

I always tell Mary Leigh that I'll gladly take these little rugrats off her hands, even when Madeline throws her tantrums.

Here she is "feaking out" that her raspberries are already gone.

We also went to "The Rose" and got tea and scones.  It's a really cute cafe downtown.  I snapped a few pictures which don't do it justice.

This girl never misses an opportunity to satisfy her raspberry fix.

Later that evening, after the boys were fed and showered, we walked down to the Cultural Celebration Center where they were unveiling the Chinese Heritage Friendship Gate (pictured in the background of the photo below).  I loved the program.  It included traditional dancing from Asia, South America, the Pacific Islands, etc., and ended with an elaborate firework display.

Jeff, Max, Jared

I may have been horribly behind on homework/studying by the time Monday rolled around, but I decided for  the sake of my sanity, it was worth it.