Saturday, September 21, 2013

Pictures

We had our family pictures taken on Thursday.  My friend, Sara, does a fantastic job.  I love the pictures she takes!

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Of course, it probably helps that my kiddos are so cute.  Smile

This one is for Craig’s desk at work.

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We got great pics of the kids.  I’m going to have a hard time choosing which ones to put on my wall.  12931303

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My little boy!  He’s so handsome!

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This little miss has gotten so BIG!!! 

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L is downright beautiful!

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This family pic might hang on my wall long after we grow out of it.  I just LOVE it!

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That’s all.  Aren’t they lovely?!

Saturday, September 7, 2013

The Garden

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Do you remember this picture from when we planted our garden this spring?  It doesn’t look like this anymore.

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I did my very best this year to not let the weeding get away from me, and I’m satisfied that we did a good job.  We never had to go in and dig our plants out from under weeds.  I have learned to curse morning glory, but I’ve also succeeded in stopping it from killing my vegetables.

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In the past, I’ve struggled with tomatoes.  I couldn’t get them to grow any taller than my knees.  This year, whether it was the heat (most likely) or my improved gardening skills, they really grew.  Can  you spot C in that pic? 

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He was trying to get to the two pepper plants that have been completely enveloped by my cherry tomato bush!

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I have two rows of beets (more on that later), green onions, carrots, a cucumber vine, a watermelon (which is about the size of a softball, and probably won’t get much bigger, living in the shade of the tomato), purple and yellow peppers,  and sweet peas.

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We even remembered to thin our roots, so they could really grow …

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Which leads me to my beet problem.  They’re big.  And there are a lot of them.  Of the two rows, I picked half of one row this morning.

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Without something to show you the scale, this looks like a lot less than it really was.

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This bowl is HUGE.  Like, two people could soak their feet in it, BIG.  And those beets … larger than both my fists put together.

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And this is 22 pints of pickled beets.  Yum!

… from only 1/4 of my beets.  I have 3/4 of my beets still left in my garden.  And I’m out of jars.

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,” commanded the Lord, “… and prove me now herewith, … if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:10).

The Old Testament is true.  We have no more room.  Anyone want some beets?

First Day!

I have two children in school now.  I must be getting old.

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I bought each of the girls a new umbrella, and wouldn’t you know, it even rained on the first day of school for them!  I’m so glad.  I think they would have taken the umbrellas anyway.

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L is going into second grade.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about her teacher, so I’m very excited for this year.

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S is in Kindergarten this year.  She is so excited and jumped right into it.  Thank goodness for me, it’s only half day Kindergarten, so I get my little girl back for the afternoon.  I miss her.  And J misses her.  He’s not used to being home with only Mommy to play with.

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J couldn’t be convinced to stand up.  I love my little bugs!

County Fair

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J is getting big enough to do more than just ride in the stroller the whole time.  I can’t wait until we go next year, and leave the stroller at home!

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Little S is there in the shadow.

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Hello, my eldest child!

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I neglected to take any pictures before we got to the ag barn.  I do wish I had a video of when the horse snorted at J.  Up until then, they were his favorite thing, and S is still talking about the horse getting her wet.

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We drank peppermint water and let the kids play before we headed back to the barns.  But I think, if we’re honest, we go to the fair for the food. 

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L let us know the night before that she wanted an Elephant Ear.  This one was bigger than her head.

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J specifically requested a sno cone – a blue one!

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And S got cotton candy.  We made them all share.

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Next year, J might be asking for cotton candy, too.

We also like the petting zoo.

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J was a little nervous about the animals, but he stuck close to L and watched what she did.

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When L got too close to the cow for J to be comfortable anymore, he latched onto my arm, and wouldn’t let go.

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So we carted them up and headed back home for an afternoon nap!