playing in the dirt

In an attempt to grow some of our own vegetables instead of swiping from our parents' gardens, {K} and I decided make a couple of raised beds. The main motivation is for the boys to have an opportunity to take care of their own garden, and to hopefully eat the things that they grow. We spent a weekend choosing a spot, building (this part didn't quite involve ME), and digging and raking dirt. Boys, rakes, shovels, dirt... well, the combination requires no further explanation. A trip to Home Depot resulted in some bags of compost and Moo-nure, or as {s} likes to say, over and over, "bag of ca-yuw poop!" When you ask him what we put in the garden, that's what he'll say, and then he'll finish the statement with, "WHOLE BAG!" He's obviously excited about this aspect of gardening. The boys picked some vegetables to plant... peppers, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, and eggplant. Eggplant? Oh, and strawberries, too. The planting went well. We even covered the ground around the bed with mulch that was shredded from trees that {K} cut down out of our front yard a few weeks ago. And another note - the wood from the beds was made from hickory that we had cut from our land and milled before building our house. So anyway, all was well and the garden looked pretty nice. And then a rabbit ate everything except for the onions and strawberries. Now we have to start about halfway over, but somehow, I don't think the boys will mind.












our helper... she was a little too eager and she had to go back in the fence

circus girl

Some friends invited us to join them at the circus a few weeks ago... not just any seats, but a suite. The circus has a ringside "pre-show" which was the best part about it all. You could go right up to the performers. This was my favorite picture (after using PW's hard light photoshop suggestion).

so very true!

"...one thing about having a baby is that each step of the way, you simply cannot imagine loving him even more than you already do, because you are bursting with love, loving as much as you are humanly capable of, and then you do:
you love him even more."

--Anne Lamott