How does your garden grow?

Sometime last winter, I was washing and slicing an 'old fashioned' carrot--you know the kind with a stem and dirt, not the ones that come peeled and perfectly ready to eat in a bag. Lilly came up to me and asked me how it got so dirty. I told her it was dirty because it grew in the ground. She didn't believe me...she honestly laughed...out loud. "Then who puts them in the bags at the store?" Whoa--wake up call to me--and we try and eat pretty healthy around here, but at this moment, I felt I'd steered her wrong. I made the decision that day that we'd make our first attempt at gardening in the Spring.

Most of my friends and husband laughed, as I've never been able to keep a house plant alive and the first real Christmas tree we ever bought was dead by December 15th. However, we have some green-thumbs in our families and I was determined. I bought "Square Foot Gardening" and read some advice from quad mom extraordinaire. My hope was to save some money on produce, but that hope was dashed when we purchased the seeds, seedlings, and soil for the garden. Don't get my husband started on the kid-sized gardening tools and matching gardening gloves I bought the family. Perhaps the money-saving comes next season?

Anyway, we've been pleased, the garden HAS grown. We planted carrots, cucumbers, snap peas, squash, tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, eggplant, cantaloupe, peppers and green beans. The squash & cucumbers seem to have taken over most of the 'squares', but that's okay, we are rookies, so we'll learn as we go. Here's what we've seen so far, meanwhile if you have any cucumber recipes besides a boring old salad, send them my way!:

Addy--always a good helper!

Cucumbers--this is about 1/10th of what's growing!

Squash

Snap peas

Pepper

Radishes--our first pick back in June--the girls were unimpressed that these were the first product of the garden!

Today's bounty--squash, cucumbers (4), snap peas (a few handfuls), and a pepper!

Fourth of July for (almost) 4 year olds

Going to the lake, 3 bottles of sunscreen, ice cream cake, tubing with daddy, swimming at the pool with mommy, chasing Baby Owen, dancing to a rave with Savannah, turtle hunting, mocktails at the tiki-bar, driving the boat, hot dogs, Uncle Joe's Birthday, making peanut butter ice cream, nature hikes, new friends, old friends, foregoing fireworks (there is always next year!)...coming home exhausted!

On the way home, we stopped to see our favorite bulldog and Uncle Jon and soon-to-be Aunt Maggie!

In the lake with their favorite girlfriends!

Hugs with Savannah (sweaty girls--it got near 100 degrees)

Laughing on the boat

Addy--a laker girl in every sense!

Mommy on the tube with the girls

Daddy's turn...


Meeting a little turtle

Hanging with the boys

Sunday Drive....

I'm not sure there is anything better than the sweet sound of a baby or child laughing. Some days, I find myself going back and watching old videos on the blog of the girls when the were little, laughing out loud, like this one. You just want to bottle it and bring it out on one of those really rotten, no good days. Their laughs have changed and they've become giggly little girls. This videos is one of my favorites as it captures their personalities and their laughs! Enjoy...

Let's go fly a kite

We continue to try and reward good behavior and avoid going completely ballistic over the tantrums and bad behavior that occasionally seem to be taking over around here. So, this week, the girls reached their 10 stars on the reward chart-so they were rewarded with a special adventure with dad. Typically, we try and do these separately, but they opted to do it together. I worked late, Daddy picked up from pre-school, packed dinner up and headed to the park. They flew a kite, played at the new park and went for frozen yogurt with unlimited toppings. A perfect 3 year old day!

I began the chart over again this morning, and was asking them what this next reward could be. My little manipulator Lilly, quickly suggested....Disney World?

Summer To-Do's

1. Princess Camp (check)

2. Swim Lessons (in progress)

3. Vacation Bible School

4. Father's Day at the lakehouse (check)

5. Back-to-Nature Camp at the YMCA

6. Trip to Pennsylvania

7. Trip to Chicago

8. Trip to Hilton Head

We are busy! The girls are LOVING summer. They were a bit disappointed waking up and NOT putting on a princess dress this morning. We had a rainy day but made the best of it with friends. Here are some pictures of the Princess Camp Graduation Performance last week:

Tinkerbell and her Tambourine

I'm hoping the dance instructor gets a kick-back from Disney for the early brainwashing that went on....

Addy on the Red Carpet

Lilly & Ms. Kelley

Dancing Queens