Pumpkins

The pumpkin vines just get bigger by the day!! This past week when I helped Brad mow the lawn, I had to mow around them!!! They're trying to escape the garden and we're powerless to stop them!! Ok... not entirely powerless, but still!

Check out this picture - See where the dirt ends and the grass begins? That's the garden border!




Just look at the size of the leaves!



Oh... and I did spot this little hidden treasure on one of the vines...

ANTS!!!

I turned on our soaker hose to water my rose bushes and left it running for a while... Unbeknownst to me there was an ant bed built over the hose since it was laid out a month ago... So when i went back out to turn it off look at what I found! Chaos in Ant City! Don't worry I ran straight to our room to make sure no ants were coming inside!!

A few bit my feet while I was spraying them and I saw several carrying small white flecks which I assumed were baby ants... See what you think - This is a picture after the bug spray...

Here the Ant City lies in ruins... Yes, those are ant bodies!

Back to School

It's time (already) to head back to school! For parents that means a return to packing lunches and buying school clothes...

For us that means stocking up on uniforms that will be outgrown before December....

And, for Wes it means getting to know a new teacher and a room full of new classmates :)

Which means - It's time for one of my favorite assignments: the "Get to Know Me" forms :) Wesley filled these ALL out at school and brought them home. I only will include the truly fun answers :)

* captions are beneath photos in case you can't quite read the text and you can click each photo to view it much larger ;)

1. I like to make things.
2. I do not get outside alot. (um, NOT because his parents don't try to get him to play outside, mind you)
3. "usuly peaple like piza But I don't"

I especially liked the international symbol for NO Pizza and NO Trees :)


Here he listed his teacher as Mrs. Fraesher and the members of his family as "Mom, Dad, me, grany, PaPaw, nana, papa, Grandmom, and Grandad" Mrs. Frazier must think we have ONE FULL HOUSE!

What do you like to do when you're at home? "Make 3D things only using paper, sicers, and tape"

What makes you happy? "Knowing I'm still alive when I wake up from a bad dream"

What makes you sad? "Leaving my grandparents house"

If you could have three wishes what would they be?

1. I wish I had a moving head. Make it 2. (moving heads = lights that move)

2. I wish you could have 3 more wishes.

3. I wish and 3 more wishes!

What makes you afraid? "This show on the science chanle"



What do you want to do when you grow up? "I want to do light shows for people and most of the mony gose to churches and mishonarys." :)

AND possibly the biggest eye-opener on the whole page:

What do you like about school? Everything.

Seems like it is shaping up to be one wonderful year!!!

The. Best. Husband. EVER!

As you may know, Brad and I have taken up walking. It has been wonderful to spend an hour together just talking and walking. I look forward to it and am truly bummed when we have to skip a few days here and there. We see this as an investment in MORE years we can spend together, and in better health.

While Wesley was visiting his grandparents, we were able to hit a few of the walking trails in the area (that's where the above photo was taken)

So, I've been very blessed with a patient husband who stays at my pace and doesn't complain.. and who pushes me to try harder when I start to slack off. In light of all this, he bought something SO simple that really touched me :)

He bought gatorade!

Like I said, it's so simple, but the sentiment meant alot because it's just another small way that he takes care of me :)

Today, we thought we'd try an early afternoon walk - even though it was in the high 90 degrees outside. It started off well, but I had a headache that only got worse so we had to cut it short. In fact, I came home and had to lay down :( I ended up resting for two hours.

When I emerged, dinner was almost ready. He made a batch of delicious red beans and rice and even spiced it up with peppers from our garden! It was awesome!!

After church, we even had dessert. Brad made the BEST strawberry chiffon pie I've ever seen or eaten!! It had the perfect fluffy, sweet, creamy filling - and the perfect oreo crust.

It dawned on me that he made this while I slept so I had to ask how he created the oreo crumbs. He said he used the food processor... I said, "Wow!! I must have been out cold because I never heard that!!" He replied, "No, I didn't want to wake you so I took it to the guest room."

Honestly, what could be sweeter than my husband?

Oh - and he made rolls tonight, too! :D

Mystery Plant ~ Revealed!

Thanks to our contest winner, Jenn, we now know the mystery plant is PUMPKINS!
Since our last post, they have grown exponentially!!

Here they are on July 26th:



And here they are four days later, July 30th:

And, in keeping with the Fun with Food theme- Here Brad displays a lovely flan he made while Mom Smith was in town :)

Mystery Plant

Hmm



Something strange has popped up in our garden...



A special prize is available to the first person to guess correctly! Guesses can be submitted via email, text, or even as a comment on this post :)



Here are your only two hints:

#1

#2

July 4th, 2010

Happy 4th of July (a little late...)



We headed to Mom and Dad Smith's house for the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.



There was relaxation, fun, food, family, and many wonderful moments!



I may have mentioned this before, but I have the most precious niece ever...
Turns out, her new little brother is just as adorable! I was so glad I had the chance to snuggle and play over the weekend :)



I also took tons of pictures! SO, I thought it'd be kind of fun to share my top 6. I was going to do a top 5, but I just couldn't cut any of these from the list :)



Without further ado, I bring ....







#6 - Bradley, Muffin Baker



I *love* when my husband gets in the kitchen because I know good things are on the way! This time, it was blueberry muffins featuring OUR berries from last weekend :) They were DE-VINE! :)











#5 - Brad and Jenn, Roll Makers



I know this is very similar to the previous photo's theme, but I can't help it! Not only did I enjoy Brad's return to the kitchen, I *loved* seeing him and his sister bonding and enjoying time together :) With Jenn living so far away, I don't get enough opportunities like this one.











#4 - Macy, Splash Machine!



Well, you knew the Macy pics were coming, right? Here she is laughing out loud as her mom splashed in her pool! She's a big water fan, just like Wesley :)









#3 - Wesley, Giggle Maker



Speaking of Wesley, he was a complete ACE Cousin Extraordinaire! I was so proud of him and how he spent time with both Macy and Steven. Not many 9 year olds would be interested in a small baby or even a toddler, but Wes said he liked to "get to know little kids to figure out what makes them laugh!" Now he's a pro at entertaining both of his younger cousins :)

#2 - Macy, Heart Melter

This photo was dangerously close to being in the #1 spot as you can imagine. Macy was a complete doll in her patriotic dress and grinning ear to ear! I enjoyed the excuse to follow her around making her giggle :)

#1 -

This photo needs no title and no caption...

It was Grandmother Kay's birthday party and I think she enjoyed this gift.

I did, too.