You're Invited.....

I found the above lovely invitation on my nightstand earlier this week. What a lovely idea. A tea party while our boys are away for the day. It turned out that today was rainy and rather dismal, but it sure was warm and cozy at our girls tea party! Take a peek inside the Winslow Kitchen and see for yourself:

Our hostess Elisha Winslow worked hard to get things ready!

On the menu:  various herbal teas, homemade cookies, almonds, and fruit and cheese parfaits. Just delightful!

In attendance were some very interesting people for sure!

There was "Lady Cordelia" from Egypt

There was Lady "Gwendolyn Nuseum" from India

And Gwendolyn's daughter little Miss Sara Nuseum.

And of course me...feeling very under dressed and without enough makeup! Sigh....

 Our hostess did a fine job of serving us, and everyone was practicing their "tea party manners"...This was Nicole (I mean Sara's) 1st ever tea party, and she was very excited! When she got her invitation she thought she'd won the lottery! She talked about this all week!

Lady  Cordelia was very well jeweled. These were her "family heirlooms"!

We were entertained with some lovely violin music during the party

 One of the things we learned was how to express to our hostess that we've had enough tea. You simply turn your cup over and place your spoon on top.

It was a lovely afternoon and I'm sure you could tell that everyone had a splendid time! The boys came home just as it was ending! Perfect timing!
Be sure to stop by for a cup of tea here at Grace Abounding Farm anytime! You are always welcome!

Our First Camping Trip of 2011

The first camping trip of the year is always so exciting! This year we took one a bit on the early side for us. We were invited to camp for free at Jellystone Park in Ashland, NH. They do an early camping weekend in June each year to honor foster parents and all they do. So we packed up and headed out with our dear friends the Lowman family. It was so much fun! We truly loved it. It was Nicole's first time camping with us. The pools were open...but oh so cold, but the kids still braved it both days! The pictures of our weekend truly tell the story. On the way home we stopped at the Rte 104 diner for some lunch on Sunday. That was great, too! Super weather, special fellowship, and spectacular family time! Who could ask for more?

Okay...so the 1st day..Glenn and Grace said.."No way...it's too cold to swim!"

We met some new friends. This is James...he LOVED Junior!

Breakfast of scrambled eggs and home fries and yogurt! Yum!

This was the favorite spot. The cones of water randomly fill up and dump down on you!

Our camping trip wouldn't be complete without our annual pot luck dinner. On the menu: Baked potato bar, beef stroganoff, fruit salad, cherries, banana bread! Yummy!

The girlies in bed!

The boys sleeping in!

We attended a wonderful pancake breakfast at the campground on Sunday morning.

Nicole loved meeting Yogi!

We also went on a wagon ride with Cindy Bear.

Sigh...time to pack up already! Many hands make light work!

We ended our camping day with a game of wiffle ball!

 We had a wonderful time, and can't wait to take our next trip. Our next camping trip is to Hiram, Maine to stay with our dear friends the Collomy Family over the 4th of July!