Garden update

Wow seems like the summer has been a blur and I can not believe we have already begun harvesting things in the garden.  The days sure have been rainy but I am thankful for that many less times we have to turn the water on ourselves just to water the garden.  I thought I would take a few pictures to show the progress. 

I spent some much needed time on the tomato plants the other day just cutting them back to manageable sizes.  What I discovered was a huge amount of green tomatoes growing.  This might be the best year ever for us!  We sure enjoy being able to have homemade pizza sauce throughout the winter and I think we will have plenty of tomatoes to make some!

This particular tomato plant is the one Lauren has had her eye on.  She and Jack both eat Cherry tomatoes like they are going out of style.  This happens to be the second red one we have had so far, can you guess where the first ripe one went?  Lauren enjoyed it thoroughly and as you can see will have many more over the next few weeks.

I finally picked our first small handful of sno peas today.  They sure are tasty.  I am encouraged to see all the pretty purple flowers since those are the flowers that make peas!  We generally enjoy these in stir fries over the winter.

Tonight I pushed back the leaves of our cucumber plants and found several of these guys.  Looking forward to making bread and butter pickles again with them this year.

And finally I was able to bring in 3 ice cream pales full of green and yellow beans.  This is just the beginning of what I think will be a huge harvest of beans this year.  Which is great because they are a great vegetable to have in your freezer over the winter.  I do have to get them blanched and frozen fast thought because Jack thinks they are candy and would eat them all if I let him!

Gardening sure has its ups and downs and is quite a bit of work but we are thankful for this being just another way that God provides for us.  Come on over sometime and we’ll treat you to a nice meal complete with lots of veggies!

Annual Luau

It was that time of year again last Saturday to host our annual summer staff social.  The previous owners of our house (and also former camp staff) started the tradition by hosting a luau for all the summer staff to come and hang out on their day off.  When we bought the house we thought that was a tradition worth carrying on and so this past Saturday we had LOTS and LOTS of staff come hang out, drink smoothies, listen to Hawaiian music and play some volleyball and various yard games.

It was a beautiful day and we hardly had any mosquitoes (which for our house is rare!).  Lauren sure had a great time welcoming everyone with a lei as they arrived.  Here are a few pictures to highlight the evening.

Getting ready for our guests to arrive.  Here is the smoothie table all set up and waiting for some “customers”.

These were the lei’s that Lauren would take off and put on everyone when they got here.  Later that night when I was tucking her in bed I asked her what her favorite part about the day was and she told me it was giving everyone their necklaces! 

People enjoying corn hole, volleyball and drawing with chalk on the cement pad while drinking their smoothies.

Our attempt at Hula dancing, lame as it may be, but that’s what you get for an 8 1/2 month pregnant lady and a guy who doesn’t normally dance!  Oh well we sure had fun! 

Growing Up way to fast!

I’m sure I have said it before but I will say it again…when did my little girl get so big?  Yikes!  Time is passing before my eyes. 

The other day Lauren had her very first dentist appointment.  We took her to a dentist that is specifically just for kids.  Wow do I ever wish I had that kind of a dentist when I was a kid.  In the waiting room was a giant play area (similar to what a McDonald’s might have just a little smaller), a movie area, and a place to play some video games.  Lauren enjoyed the slide a few times while I was getting her all checked in.  Then a dental hygienist came out, called Lauren’s name and off she went holding the ladies hand and leaving me to wait by myself while she very maturely went to get her teeth cleaned.  I think she even waved goodbye to me as she walked off. 

When they were done with the X-rays and teeth cleaning they let me come back (I asked to come back in the beginning but they said they liked to try and have the kids come in by themselves).  When I got back to the dentist chair she was in she was kicked back with headphones on watching a little movie that was on a screen by the light they use to look into your mouth.  Well, of course she had a great time.  I would too if I got to watch TV while someone brushed my teeth!   

They said her gums look very healthy, no cavities and keep up the good work!  But, thumb sucking really needs to stop (which we knew and have been working on with Lauren for a while).  Now, since coming home from the dentist and having someone other than mommy and daddy tell her not to suck she seems to bee kicking the habit (with a few set backs here and there)! 

People told me, and I knew it would happen, but I guess I was just not prepared.  I have a 3 year old now and she just keeps growing…way to fast.