Berry Hill Farm

Last week Val had to go to Louisiana to his office for a partners' meeting and I decided at the last minute to tag along and spend a couple of days with my friend Sandy, who just happens to be his partner's wife. Sandy and I have known each other for 17 years, and from the first moment that we met, have felt that we were sisters born into different families.
She lives about 40 miles north of New Orleans on 10 acres out in the country where they have a blueberry farm. Her daughter Amanda and granddaughter Claire live next door. Here are Sandy, Claire and I by the Berry Hill Farm sign.


I spent two wonderful days with them picking blueberries, going to lunch, talking, sorting berries, laughing, going to dinner, watching movies and having a great time. We made blueberry cobbler which was absolutely the best thing ever! I brought home a ton of blueberries and froze them so I will be making cobbler all winter long. YUMMY! I thought I should share the recipe so here it is:

BLUEBERRY COBBLER

5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
4 T sugar
3 T flour

Toss berries with flour and sugar until coated. Pour into greased baking dish (9x13)

Mix 1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1 C milk

Mix well with wire wisk and pour on top of berries.

Combine 1/2 C rolled oats
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1/4 C butter or margarine

Cut butter into mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the top of cake mixture.
Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until top is golden brown and edges are bubbly. Cool slightly and serve with vanilla ice cream.

FUN ON THE FOURTH !

The 4th of July is one of our favorite holidays. Last year we were at Lake Powell and our kids were upset. They made us promise to stay home this year and have a blowout celebration. We did our best to make this year a memorable one. We got up at 6 a.m. to run the Centerville 5K Fun Run. Val, Shauna, Travis, Wade, Shayla, Dan and Tara all participated. We had a great time running together. Val finished first with the rest of us close behind.

We then joined up with Liz, Kelsey and Baylee for the awesome Centerville parade. One of my favorite parts of the parade is when the jets do their fly-by. A friend once said to us, "that is the sound of freedom" and I couldn't agree more. Thanks to our military personnel for the great job they do defending our country and the freedoms this holiday is all about.

After the parade, we had lunch and then met my parents and my sister's family at Cherry Hill for a cutthroat round of miniature golf. Raegan and Kirt won with the lowest combined score. Next on the schedule, home for Astro Bars. Then Kelsey provided an exellent demonstration on how to perform CPR on children and adults. It was very educational and we all hope that we never have to use it! We watched the Red Sox beat the Yankees (woohoo) and played a game of 5 Crowns. Then it was outside for volleyball, badminton, and a wicked game of FrisbeeFootball. Grandma Steed and Sheri and Kate Thompson joined us for a delicious barbeque. Thanks for being our chef, Val. His barbeque is the best!

Then it was time for our annual fireworks show - "Circle of Fire". My neice Lara and her husband joined us for that. Between us and our neighbors we had an awesome show. Thanks to the people in surrounding neighborhoods who provided a incredible "illegal" fireworks display. All in all it was a great day. Happy Birthday America!

Congratulations, Kelsey!

June 30 through July 3 Kelsey attended drill camp. This was her third year at BDT (Basic Dance Training) For the third year in a row, she was selected to participate in Top Corps. Teams can enter several girls. Camp directors teach them a challenging combination to perform. The top 25 is selected. They are taught additional choreography. Then the top five performers are chosen. Kelsey made top 25 all three years and top five her junior and senior year. I guess all those years of dance lessons are really beginning to pay off. She also participated in the camp drill down and was one of the top five finishers there also. It was a great way for her to finish her last camp. This picture is of Kelsey, Kailey and Marynn with their drill down medals. Viewmont had three of the top five finishers!

Top C.O.R.P.S.

Top five finishers

Kelsey, we're proud of you!