Our Garden

Once again, having a garden has caused a controversy at our home. Robert must have some repressed horrible gardening memories, because he has fought me constantly about having one. In Colorado, I borrowed a rototiller and got a garden spot all ready. I even separated it from the rest of what was going to be our lawn with railroad ties. Robert took those out and put grass on the whole lawn- on purpose! In Texas, we were going to move too soon and have to sell the house and no one liked a house with a garden spot (what??) In Virginia, obviously we had no backyard to speak of. Here, we are only renting the house and no we can't just do a small spot and throw grass seed out when we leave. So I went and rented a spot. He threw a fit about that! But it was only $10 for the year and the water is fairly easy to get up to the spot, so now he can only complain about the drive and how much gas is. He refused to help us at all, so here is Sam, Max and I digging up our spot. They had rototilled it once, but we had waited too long. I don't think the soil is the best, either. So we used a shovel and a bunch of rakes and took 2 hours to get 2/3 of it done. We left the rest, but we don't have our beans and peas and zucchini planted, so if we want those done we will have to go do the rest. It was a lot of work, but Sam really wanted to garden and he helped the whole time. Max wasn't the best helper in the world, but he picked grass out and tried to rake for us. He also was a good carrier and planter. Sam called the planting, "the fun stuff!" I hope we get some produce out of this! We got 9 tomato plants and 1 jalapeno plant free from the University of Ohio extension. We also planted corn and cantaloupe and a watermelon.

Good-bye Soccer- for another season!

It's sad that we spend all this money on soccer and then are glad when it is done or when the games get canceled- which they were a lot this season. We had such a wet spring that the fields seemed to be always closed! Both Emma and Max got so much better this year. They told Emma that she was one of the two people that pulled their team out of the dumps and helped them start winning! Let's hope that proves true when she tries out for the High school soccer team this fall!It doesn't look very coordinated, but she made a big goal right after this!

Their parties ended up being on the same day. Emma's was a pizza party at 6pm that I was going to have to miss because we had Max's last game, but true to the season, it was canceled due to rain! I set up Max's party, because somehow I became the de facto team mom. So I set it up for 7 pm for ice cream only! Yeah baby- pizza then ice cream!! There are advantages when you take charge! These pictures that I have no idea who took are not one of the advantages, though! I hate how my chin slides into my neck! I have got to work on that posture!Sam and Joseph have been practicing football with Dad. Sam starts football this July! Let's hope this 15% for height and 10% for weight guy doesn't get crushed!!

Emma's Bananarama Do

Emma and a group of girls got together for music class to be the Bananarama's. They are having performances from other era's all week long. Emma's of course was the 80's! Recognize anything you used to wear? Loving the pegged jeans and the tough girl bandanna. She sprayed her hair out a little more, closer to performance time.

If you give a child a camera...

If you give a child a camera, because you can't go on his field trip with him, he will discover the video mode and annoy the teacher to no end as he videos the day away. Then he will take at least 80 pictures of his friends looking something like this... and this... He will look at these over and over when he gets home, reminding your other child how much fun the camera is. If your other child remembers how fun the camera is, he will then proceed to take lots of pictures with the camera that look something like this... He may even do your hair for you in the morning to get you ready for your photo shoot where you will look super in your morning do! You will decide that you've had enough pictures for one day, only to be reminded that you have 3 camera's in the house. Once you have successfully hidden all the camera's, the boys will be going on a Father's and Son's outing and you will have to find the camera to take a picture of them and then give it to the Father to take some pictures. Sadly Father's don't seem to take pictures very often- at least not our Father, so he'll have to give the camera to a child

and if you give a camera to a child you get one picture of the outing that looks something like this...

I wish I had a picture

Sunday I was asked to give the closing prayer in Sacrament meeting. Like I have said before, our ward is large! It's like going to stake conference every week. Of course, we were late this Sunday, so we were all the way in the back of the gym. That was a long way up to the podium. The kids told me that Rob was watching me go up and singing "These shoes were made for walking..." 3 of the Laurels then commented to me (at different times) that "when you walked up to the podium..." one said she didn't want to close her eyes for the prayer, because I was just so pretty, she wanted to look at me some more. Wow! I don't think I have ever gotten that kind of reaction, ever! I wish I had a picture so I could know what it was that worked so well that day! Maybe I can recreate "the look"!! Rob said it was all the walk- not the look. He says I was shaking what my mama gave me! Ha ha. I think that's just my husband speaking, though! What I was really doing was walking carefully, because I don't wear heels often and I was that day. I really, really didn't want to face plant on my long walk up to the podium! I actually had a vision of that in my head, just before I got up to make the walk. I wonder if that's what Kate Middleton was thinking on her long walk in front of millions of viewers! Yes, I just did- I compared myself to Kate Middleton! Hee hee. Well, I won't let it go to my head!

in tha muthahood

Have you seen this video? Cute!

Last Sunday we got to celebrate being in tha muthahood! It was a really nice day- my family is getting pretty good at this! The boys begged and begged until Rob took them to the store. We went to Pier 1 and they all found me something fun. A back massager from Emma, chairs that I love from Rob, a yummy smelling candle and bath gel and a frog loofah, and a sea sponge from the boys.
They made me a great breakfast- chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream and a smoothie!
and a yummy dinner. Rob brought me some flowers
and Joseph made me some at scouts. You should have heard Joe's description of how they were made. It made me laugh and laugh! It was all with expressions and hand gestures, so I can't replay it for you! He has a very expressive face, though!The boys all made me cards. And my favorite- I didn't have to help clean it all up! Now that's the kind of day I like!! Love being in tha muthahood with such a sweet family!

Robert Beyond- Amazing- Man!

Let me just start out by saying that crazy people and I don't do well together. I don't know what it is. I don't even have to open my mouth. The minute I show my face to a crazy person, they get all worked up and start going nuts! If I can somehow keep them distracted with all my bustling around, I just have to open my mouth and then it's on! So, I am overly impressed with people that can deal with the crazy! Robert is one of them. I still don't know how Rob gave up teaching so easily (really ran from it.) He is so good at it. Besides being an amazing teacher he is so good at the discipline. Ok, I know, I just compared crazy people to teaching teenagers- but let's face it, it's sort of the same thing! Yesterday, a lady from our ward came up to me and told me that she was sure that people had been talking my ear off about how amazing my husband was, "beyond amazing!" Um, nope, please continue! Then she told me about how he had handled a teenager who really needs medication and counseling bad! There are 5 kids in the recently baptized family and the father just died of a heart attack. They are all adopted after having been foster kids with this family. The mother hasn't the slightest idea how to deal with them and is actually part of the problem. I guess he was going nuts this Sunday (I was at work), hitting his brothers in the face, etc. and finally ran out of the chapel and around the building. Robert went after him and Beyond-Amazing-Man got him from crazy-out-of-control to calmly and humbly bearing his testimony in under a minute. (OK, I may be lying about the time frame.) But that's how he rolls. He can diffuse the craziest of situations. I am so glad to have him in my life to help me with the crazy that comes out! He definitely is Beyond Amazing!