Other ways in which we have been fruitful…

One of my favorites: dahlias!

And this lovely hydrangea did quite well this year.

More edible than the above two are our tomatoes. I have two plants in pots on my front porch and they look very promising.

This corn is going to be fantastic!

Tucked in behind the corn, in front of the raspberries (which I need to get out of there) and beside the sedum (which has no business in the garden!) are the beets. We love this vegetable. We have been putting the beet-greens in our smoothies at lunch, or sautéing them with the tiny bit of swiss chard we harvested with garlic for dinner. And we will enjoy the roots themselves very soon.

These babies are exciting. Purple beans! Packed with antioxidants and the promise of much excitement at the dinner table. Prior to the beans, they had really pretty flowers.

This is what I call garden candy. I don’t think any will make it to the table because the kids and I keep eating them as soon as they are plump. (The same thing happened with the carrots too).

Not a good picture, but cilantro. Seriously, need I say more?

Every time I glance at this herb, I swear I can taste a mojito!

Dill is a new love for me. It looks so humble, but like all good humility, it has been an incredible asset! Every salad I’ve made has had dill as the prized ingredient.

Look at all the berries on this blueberry plant. We just might get a few of these in the house this year (it is hard to beat the kids to these).

This fall will be our first to enjoy the orchard we planted last fall. We are so excited to see that we will be getting lots of fruit from these trees.

We have already enjoyed a handful of sour cherries; the plum and pear trees will not be fruiting this year, but look at this.

Yummy. But I am not happy to see these creatures.

Anyone know what they are? They are ALL over many of the apple trees.

And lastly, our first live food makers.

They are not exactly free range, but this little lady is rebellious!

We are so excited to be getting eggs soon. We eat 12 at time when we serve them fried. This is the one fella of the group.

Aidan and Luke have decided that he must take turns with the chickens. He gets married to a new one each year so that it is fair. It’s the only way they can think of to make it work to have one man and twelve mommas. It’s complex.

Pioneer Day Parade

We went to our little town’s annual parade on Saturday.

The kids love the candy they score.

I love the veterans and cry at every emergency vehicle and the big bands. (I don't know why)

Ethan liked this guy the best (he wants to be a “motorcycle guy” when he grows up).

I thought this was funny.

Poor baby.

It was fun to see friends. Steele and Adia’s Grandpa in the bucket of the ladder truck.

And our favorite, the Jazzercise ladies!

Everyone had a good time.

Well, not quite everyone (these are the fellas that follow the horses…).

so you think you can dance? my boys do too!

I have shown the boys clips of the best of the best dancers/dances from So you think you can dance from time to time in the evenings. They love it. And it has inspired them to become break-dancers themselves.

It is not uncommon for us to turn up the music and have dance “competitions” in our kitchen.

They really get into it.

And give it all they’ve got.

They think they can dance, and I agree.

happy day

I have been waiting for this day.

The day that I finally have someone...

who wants to help me with the laundry!

She is a good worker too!

I am a happy woman!

(in case you are wondering, Ava felt Ethan's shoes to be the best footwear option for this chore)

a weekend in leavenworth

This past weekend we enjoyed a weekend away as a family. We went to one of our favorite spots, Leavenworth! We love the beauty/hiking in the summer as well as the beauty/snow in the winter.

Just as we were packing up to leave Ethan came into the house crying and explaining that “a bee hit me!” Indeed it had, he was stung at least three times on the arm. And in case you have ever wondered, this is what it looks like when a child has a mild systemic reaction to bee stings.

The left side of his face began to swell and swell.

Thankfully, once I smartened up (thanks to my mom) and gave him Benedryl, the swelling began to subside. Here he is almost normal at my parents campground in Leavenworth.

This girl does not enjoy traveling in the car. But she survived the trip over the mountains.

Luke was made to be in the woods. He loves it.

Everyone really enjoyed time with grandma and papa.

Papa took the big boys shooting.

We spent lots of time of in the woods (which I always love)!

Played on a river bank.

Oh, I love rivers.

The last day we were able to watch these ninjas (really cool guys) kayak down the river. They were so close we could have thrown rocks at them. But we didn’t.

It was really neat to watch. Mike took about a zillion pictures, so if anyone knows who these guys are email us so we can send them these pictures, I bet they would love them. Everyone thought it was so cool. The boys (all four of them) are excited to try this out someday.

We had a wonderful weekend. Lots of good memories made. Time to together...exactly what our family needed.