Updates!

L had a very fun night last week, the Reading Restaurant! R and I got to go be served some very delicious books in L's class by none other but L himself! He was a Great reader and were were stuffed, but we couldn't say no to a cookie and lemonade for dessert!

On Friday L was awarded the rising star 'Citizenship Award'! Every teacher picks 1 boy and 1 girl from their class who represents:
A positive attitude
Being Responsible
Showing Respect for yourself and others
Giving your best effort
and Year Long good citizenship
Way to L!

R has decided to participate in our local library reading program and the Barnes and Nobles reading program. It's been just a few days and he's on his 3rd book. Currently he has started the 39 Clues series, and the Lost Years of Merlin series.
What a great kid that R is!

My garden has continued to grow, I'm Amazed! And I even ate some strawberries while I was weeding this afternoon, how cool is that?! Everything is taking off, including the weeds :0) I'm totally loving it!
I even grew some pinto beans straight out of a bag of beans meant for cooking and they are all growing. I did the same for a few Lima beans out of a dry 15 bean soup mix, they are growing too! Its all just so exciting to me.
The problems I'm having this year, besides knowing when to stop adding on to the garden, is our dog who keeps running through everything, slugs, and sweet Innocent looking little birds who try to eat the little seedlings. But despite all that, its all taking off.

Here are my snap peas, we had a very windy night a bit back and my wooden tepee fell over and they became a snarly mess, but so far they seem to be OK, and they even have little flowers on them!
This is my container garden experiment with an Eggplant. I've never grown eggplant or grown anything in a reusable shopping bag, we'll see how it goes!
These are my regular peas, they seem to be pretty happy in this web of yarn!
I can't really remember all the types of squash I've planted here, but they sure are growing!

Too Fun! (and more plants!)

J got the boys dirt bikes a few weeks back. They have so much fun on these things its awesome! They get a bit more daring every time...I'm just waiting for L to figure out that his bike actually has more than 1 gear, but we won't be telling him any time soon! I love hearing them zip around the property, we tell them they can ride anytime they want and they have learned how to get all geared up and start them on their own, too fun!


Here are my boxes, I tried growing lettuce and spinach in them but it wasn't working, I had bad dirt in them, so I swapped out the dirt and put in these perennials, they are just about to bloom pretty pink flowers.

We used to greet all our visitors with a nice weedy entrance by the driveway...Not anymore! I got some dirt and perennials and made a new flowerbed. This is 1/2 way done, I have more dirt and plants to put in. I love it, its so much nicer than before!

Here are my 3 new blackberry bushes, I have high hopes for these guys!



Now, its just a fact, I have a mental disability when it comes to sewing. But for some reason I keep returning to it, I am determined to be able to say that I have some skill in this area. I'm happy to say that I made this curtain! The fabric says, "All things grow with love" once I saw it I wanted it. As I was working on it R asked me if I like sewing, I told him No, he looked at me like I was a crazy person for working so hard on something I don't even like. I Like the idea of sewing, I just don't like the process, or the poor graveyard of fabrics after many of my attempts at being crafty. :-)

Learning

I just received my grades from my last 2 classes.
~Business Math I earned a 'B'
~Intro. to Business I earned an 'A'

There used to be a time when the world would almost end if I ever got less than an 'A' for an assignment, let alone a class. However, since I've started my Bachelors degree I have learned to let go.
I don't need to be perfect in school. I still work hard at it, but I have also learned that I can give my homework its proper place in my life. I don't put as much time into it as I used to, I try to keep my life a little more balanced. I still learn a lot, still earn decent grades, but I no longer put as much extra stress on my dear family about my school. I try not to get so down if I don't get that grade I wanted, I try to finish up homework at times that is most convenient for my guys. And there are times I will walk away from that pile of homework so I can go hang with my gang.

Such a Blessing!

This year I have officially caught the gardening bug!!!
Last year J built me a square foot garden after I saw a show about it on BYU TV.
I was amazed at how easy it was to grow veggies and how much I loved it.

This year I am concentrating more time and energy on gardening. I am trying new ideas, new seeds, new ways to weed and fertilize.

I'm enjoying it so much. It is a great blessing to have this land and be able to work with it and do more than just clearing it out; we get to cultivate it and grow with it.

I hope that my efforts prove fruitful, however, if they don't I still am enjoying the journey!

My square foot garden has grown, I've added on with traditional rows and mounds.

Our 1st year here I got 2 Cherry and 2 Apple trees. Last year I got 1 tiny apple, this year I'm getting what looks like at least 2 cherries! Hooray, enough to top 2 sundaes!

J planted these shrubs to boarder the lawn and driveway, they are so cute!

Our Strawberries from last year moved from their small container to this one. They are doing great, J even cut down a tree and it fell on them and they haven't died!

L and I planted some Carnation seeds in these little pots.

Here are White Onion bulbs.

Some Tomatoes.

Snap Peas, we Love these!

This is our mixed leaf lettuce.

Here are some Green Peas and a Hybrid Corn.

Idaho Potatoes!

Green Beans I hope to Can this fall.

Squash, pumpkins, and cantaloupes.

My new raspberry patch.

This is a new garden patch on a different part of our property, planted Black Beans, Sugar Pumpkins, and Red Potatoes.

These are my new Blackberry bushes, they will be planted with my Raspberries.

This is my little container garden, I am teaching an Enrichment class about it so thought I'd give it a go! Here are Watermelons, Zucchini, Spinach, and Cilantro.

L's Celebration!

Our funny L is turning 6 this week and so we celebrated it on Saturday.

I asked L what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said he wanted to have tiger cake at the zoo and that was it! So I made a tiger cake and we went to the zoo, just our little family.

It was very busy there but we still had a good time. We gave L a zoo map and told him he was the leader and we went where he wanted to go. It was beautiful and sunny, the boys played and played, then when they were all done we went out to the parking lot and had a birthday celebration of tiger cake and presents in the bed of the truck. It was a lovely time, and I loved seeing L so happy and having so much fun with his big bro, his Dad, and me.

We sure love that L, he is pure wonderfulness!

Love Those Boys!

Last night L and R were watching a movie in my room, this is how I found them:

A bit of Panic!

I'm taking some of my first business management classes right now. In one of them we had a unit on identity theft and credit fraud...nasty stuff!
A few weeks after learning about his stuff I'm out and about using my debit card and when I get home there is an automated call about an issue with J's and my account.

Ooh, that doesn't sound good. And since J is the primary name on the account he has to call back. Well, my card is still working and there are no suspicious purchases on our account. So I tell him he can do it after his duty at work is over and he's at home (the next day).

The next day I try to buy dinner with a friend of mine after a meeting when my card won't process...panic!
Shoot, I've been the victim of ID theft! I try not to think of the damage that potentially could have happened and all the crazy steps I'll have to go through to solve my problem.
I get home and tell J all about it. He calls in the morning and the code is expired it says. Hmmm, that is weird and my dread worsens.

So I call the bank and I'm told there doesn't look to be anything wrong with the account, I'm trying to understand what is going on, and getting nowhere. Is my credit life over, is there someone running around town acting like me buying stuff that I'll never see?!

Then the lady says, "What are the four expiration numbers on the card please?". I tell her its the 4th month of this year, and she politely tells me, "Well, its now the 5th month..."
Oh....my debit card has expired! She asks me if I have a new one in the mail. Uh.....maybe, probably....I forget. And a quick look shows me, yup, its right there in our mail pile and I just forgot about it!

I thank her for being so nice about it all and hang up feeling utterly relieved and totally like an airhead! At least I wasn't a victim of ID or credit theft, just my procrastination!

Point of View!

L and I were watching Bambi this morning. The part was on where Bambi is in the meadow with his Mom came on. Faline, the little girl deer, is giggling and teasing Bambi and I say, "She's silly huh?"
L says, "No, she's just distracting him!" And yes he said it with a bit of disgust in his voice, like how dare that girl deer be like that.
Oh, that L, he makes me laugh!

Update!

We've had busy full days now that Spring has arrived!
I had a combined birthday dinner/Easter dinner with some friends of ours, it was a wonderful day. I got beautiful Orchids, my favorite candies, a new backpack with a water pouch, flowers, pics on my wall from my best friends ever, and homemade ice cream cake!

It is garden time and this year, I wanted bigger and better than ever! I put in more strawberries, onions, spinach, various lettuce, cute-cumbers, 3 kinds of pumpkin, 2 kinds of squash, zucchini, 2 kinds of peas,3 kinds of beans, carrots, peppers, corn, potatoes, raspberries, and some herbs. I've also planted some flower seeds here and there.


J has a list of things he wants to get done before his schedule gets too hectic and he has been working hard! He has built the coolest chicken house, both sides of the roof lifts up and there are little boxes for nests inside. The little house and enclosed cages are completely portable, they are not all attached to each other, but all have openings that fit together. This way we have been moving them around and next month they are being placed on the back of the property. He has been clearing, rototilling, and burning as well. There is more grass seed to be put down and even more clearing that he plans on doing.

R is all done with basketball, he had a fabulous season! He learned so much, grew so much, and had so much fun! He is still working on the piano and his Bear cub scouts, he is rockin the 4th grade too! L is doing so well in school, he is turning into a book hound big time! He is our busy little boy who is always full of new ideas, funny faces, and goofy antics!
I have been slaving away over my school work, just teasing! It must just be harder for me to do school work when the weather is so nice. I'd much rather be outside than inside studying! I have really been enjoying gardening, hanging with friends and my little family. I did get some Spring cleaning done and this is my favorite outcome: I got this idea from a friend of mine. I love how it looks up ontop of my cupboards with pics of the boys instead of as a place for storage!

I have to say, Spring Rocks!