In my pretty Garden

This year has been a really crazy one (seasonally that is.) Yes, here we go again, I am going to talk about the weather.

Our spring was VERY cold and snowy (through mid June +) and everything seemed to be behind by 2-4 weeks. We started our garden indoors back in March, and put it into the ground within water walls on May 4th. We didn't plant our other stuff until June 15th (rule of thumb here since it ALWAYS does a good hard frost around the 14th.) However, it was a pretty darn cool summer. I dare you to try and find anywhere in this blog where I complain about it being too hot. Nobody wanted to sign up for swimming lessons until the end of the summer because it seemed like torture to make our kids get wet in such cool weather.

 

Well, July came around and warmed up, but the monsoon season came as well, and it rained every afternoon. We started getting colder again in August (even had some snow nearby)...and well... we had hoped for a better summer.

WE also started out very gung ho, but I definitely petered out. After prepping and weeding and working so hard, I just got tired and wasn't motivated this year like I have been in the past. Our pumpkins and watermelon plants completely died. The seeds for squash and cucumbers and basil and peppers never came up... it was fairly disappointing. We got a few (3) zucchinis (not plants, actual guys we could eat.) So - it was disheartening.
However, we got some great carrots, and some of our tomatoes did well - some not so well - I guess that's how it goes. We planted a variety called 4th of July - guess when they were supposed to be bearing? Well, they just started. Unfortunately, most of them only get to be the size of a golf ball. We're going for all beefsteak next year.

We had a couple of heavy/hard frosts earlier this week and when we looked, we could see that most of our plants were completely fried. So, we rushed to bring in all of our tomatoes. We started later in the evening and ended up working in the dark!
However, I think we got most of them. We have boxes of green tomatoes in the basement just waiting to green up and be canned while we wait for some parts for our stove. Last year due to our excessive canning, all of the wiring under my burners melded together... I'm getting some different burners too hopefully this week so that this doesn't happen again.

Here are some photos from this past week. My husband playing with the kids (and a neighbor) after FHE,


the girls playing with one of our zucchinis and our daughter holding a friend's baby.

Sweet acts of Charity, and I've been tagged

I have to say that my girls are pretty awesome. This morning went more smoothly than some (this means everyone was wearing clean clothes, got breakfast and actually got their hair fixed and prayers said before they ran out the door.) Anyways - with 8 minutes to spare (miracle - negative 2 is our norm) they trekked to school. My youngest had her backpack full of Gogurts which she got to take today for her turn at the snack. Her pack was so heavy for her along with her library books and lunch. As I spied out the window (as I do every morning) I watched them run across the street holding hands (cause the older was watching out for the younger - not always so common) and then, I saw them pause and then stop. My oldest took her backpack off, and she took her sister's and put it on herself so that she could help her sister with the weight. It seems to be rare that I see such acts of selflessness and I treasure seeing it this morning. I've got some great girls and am so grateful for them!

Finally, onto another matter - my sister tagged me...wanting me to share some of my ubiquitous quirks. Unfortunately - I am not aware that I have any of those, and so thus, I have been stalling. Truly, in 4 days I haven't been able to think of a one.
Therefore, my dear reader - if you would like to participate in this tagging - please feel free - you are invited to comment and if YOU can POSSIBLY find anything to comment on (regarding a quirk that I MAY or MAY NOT have, please feel free to share.) I thank you beforehand, my loyal reader for your participation - I'm supposed to come up with 6 - fire away! If you aren't able to come up with any - that's okay too - I understand! :)

Worse than a bath

It really isn't very often that one of my kids say something that I gut laugh about, but it happened yesterday. My oldest child prefers to not bathe (I hope it is a stage). We have a standing rule that she MUST bathe/shower at least for Sunday, and we try to negotiate at least two other weekly showers in as well - but aren't always as successful as we'd like.
She LOVES to play in the mud in the back yard - in fact if I can't find her, there's a 99.9% chance that that's where she will be. Digging holes and making mud and actually, I'm not sure what she does with it other than wear it. I love for my kids to have imaginative play - last year they built the Nile and some pyramids. Anyways, she wears it on her face, her hair, arms, and legs and everywhere else. I'm actually ALL for it - but struggle with the whole not wanting to bathe afterwards part.
(I've used this picture in a previous post, but it clearly illustrates her penchant for mud - although she's generally dirtier than the other kids in this photo.)

SO - yesterday she took off to the neighbor's (to weave some hot pads) as soon as she got home from school. I brought her home so that she could work on her homework first. This is what I heard:
"I hate homework. It is the worst thing ever invented. I hate it more than anything." She didn't really get much of a response from me as she loves to rant and I have become rather desensitized over the years. Then as I walked out to the garage to grab something I heard, "This is worse than taking a bath!"
It was a really good thing I was out in the garage, because I couldn't stop laughing. It explains everything - so par for the course for her...
What do you know that is worse for your kids than a bath?

On a side note, after getting that out of her system, she buckled down, did the homework and ran off to play, quickly forgetting her intense pain.

A family addition, and the ganache...

Not only lizards, but we've now taken to adopting people!
Yesterday was our friend's birthday - he's somehow been adopted into the family - it's true - we aren't sure if he should receive condolences or congratulations!
As such, we had a family dinner for his birthday.
Here he is with an inside out german chocolate cake... which yes, is covered in a ganache. Needless to say, get a couple of guys around a gourmet cake and throw out a word like ganache and suddenly all of the jokes are on you. I've never heard the word ganache used in so many different contexts!
Thanks guys...
Happy Birthday - we wish you many many more, and welcome to the family!

Family Survivor Series

Ever tried to dry pack can 1,500 lbs of food with two little girls? I believe they should make it into one of those reality t.v. shows - like survivor.

Here's our front room before we started...


One of our kids decided that she could heft the 25 and 50 lb bags to pour the contents into the #10 cans…. She really didn’t believe us that it was a difficult job. I was very relieved when she decided to go help her dad push the button and keep the machine on the counter - she turned out to be a great help to him in that position and I love to see how patient he is with her!


Our other daughter was our great organizer. She put stickers on all of the cans and got them organized to take downstairs, and kept me supplied with clean cans, helping get oxy packs and lids on everything.

It always seems that once we get the production line finally into place things go well – it only took 3 hours, and the girls helped for 2 – and they were a great help!
We did get a can of wheat which was contaminated by some blood, and at least one can of oats spilled all over the floor -

BUT we survived, and are thrilled to be finished with that project!!

Places I've visited

I saw this on my cousins blog and thought it was pretty cool and that I'd have to copy it. Up next - I think I need to tackle Europe!
You can't see it, but I have been to one very small S. American Country (island).. so I've covered all of the americas...


visited 6 states (2.66%)


I've almost got all of the US... I'm excited that Hawaii is on the list of need to visit still!


visited 42 states (84%)

An addition to our family!!

We’ve had an addition to the family – I can’t believe I haven’t introduced our new arrival yet! Two weeks ago, I was sweeping the kitchen floor and the cat brought me in a present. (She does that from time to time and they are usually live – and then all …. Well, you get the picture.)

This time, it wasn’t a bird and it wasn’t a mouse. She outdid herself this time – she caught a lizard! Yep, right from our backyard. I picked it up and showed the girls –they were in awe. I let them carry it outside to put back into it’s habitat. Next thing I know, it is on the trampoline with a group of kids and then on my table in a box with some food and water!!



Well – a friend lent us all of her snake get up, and we named her Lizzie. We even drove down and got her food and mulch and all sorts of stuff.
Unfortunately, Lizzie wasn’t alive the next morning. Two crying little girls and their daddy ceremoniously buried her.

Did you know that 80% of the reptiles within the US carry salmonella? Ironically, I got rather sick that day as did my little one… it lasted about 3-4 days. A bit suspicious I think~

Well, we figured that since we had the get up, we’d go get another one. So we drove another 30 miles to the pet store to find a cheap lizard… well…let’s just say it hasn’t been cheap. And now we also have a box full of pet crickets..what did we get ourselves into?

Here’s our new lizard. He’s a leopard gecko – we are still working on his name. He may remain nameless as some have voted for Brown, and others for Bandaid. I liked Lenny.

Mother's remorse

Ever heard of buyers remorse? I've got it - but I didn't buy anything.
That day that I've been anticipating for several years has finally arrived.
It is true - I can now officially go to the bathroom on my own (without company), go for a hike or walk without having to push or pull someone, and even go to the grocery store without having to deal with a tantrum, whining, or begging. I have several hours a day to work on my business accounts, play my music, read my scriptures, sew, work on projects, and organize my home. There's no one right behind me messing it all up as I go.

That said - I've found that it just isn't what it is cracked up to be. I miss my little ones - I miss hearing their laughter...I've grown accustomed to go throughout my day with one ear cocked and listening for them - keeping tabs on them..where they are and what they are doing. My house is awfully quiet now. I especially miss my little one - she was my helper.
School has begun. After school yesterday I asked on of my children if she missed me. She replied, "Only a little."
I think I just hit that stage where parents are completely expendable. I never thought that all of my kids would be in school this early - this definitely wasn't what I had planned... I still imagined having 2 or 3 still running around, I figured this day would hit in another 5-10 years or so - not so soon! But here I am and I'm not sure I love it. I wish I could go back and do just a few more art projects, playing with clay, day trips, stories and snugly naps together. I was so excited and now I'm not sure I can figure out what for??

That said - here are our photos of the first day. We had an orientation on Wednesday that turned into - drop your child off for 3 hours and then pick them up at the end of the day... so she had two official first days!


The official first (second) day as (of course) they were late and running out the door:



Once we got there:


After school:

Labor Day 2008

I had to quickly post this picture – because I forgot about it until I was taking some photos off of my camera this morning.
On Labor Day we went to a nearby state park to barbecue and spend some time with some friends. Unfortunately, not everyone paid the day use fee as they came in because they didn’t see it as they were trying to figure out where everyone was. Unfortunately, the park ranger was dealing with ‘l.m. syndrome,’ and felt like he had to be nasty about it. Here he is giving our friends a ticket and telling them that he was ‘being as nice as he possibly could be.’

Copy cat

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it was pretty cool!

HowManyOfMe.com

There is 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

By the way - I think it might be me (or my husband's aunt which I'm okay with cause I know her!)

Congratulations!

A big hand goes out to my sister in laws mother... apparently she (or someone where she works) was checking out my blog and they were the 1,000th visitor to my blog since I started counting. Thanks for your visit... that's awesome! I'll try to think of a really great prize...like an expense paid visit to my house!!! :)
We hope you had a great time on your ride this last weekend..it was great to see you all again!