Casualty

The tree in front of our house was killed. We had a minor thunderstorm this evening with a little bit of wind. I came home from a brief trip to Dairy Queen to find one of our trees laying against the garage. It doesn't look like it did any damage to the house. If it had fallen a few inches left or right, it would have done more damage.

So the weekend project of digging up our back yard has turned into a weekend project of chopping up a tree.

More Cheese

Let's face it. It's been a long time since I've posted some pictures of my children. So, to honor their smiling little faces, I think I will do just that.

We've been a busy family so far this summer.

Here are some pictures from our camping trip:








Natasha's teeth are coming in weird. She has both eye teeth, but not the top two-front teeth (one just started coming in this week, though).



Here is big brother Adam protecting his little sister at the park the other day. Some girl was fascinated by Natasha and followed her around staring at her. Adam didn't like that idea, so he put his arms around her and gave the stranger his best big-brother scowl.



And here is big brother Adam driving Natasha around in the Jeep (a big surprise they found one morning in the garage - Santa Claus daddy came the night before).

Getting Political

I don't normally waste my time saying anything about politics in my blog because I know my audience (hi, mom!). You don't come here to read about politics. You come to see cute pictures of my monkeys.

But I couldn't resist posting the link to this hilarious video made by Comedy Central last year. It made fun of President Bush's poor speaking skills. It's always funny to watch, but of course now that Bush's speechwriter has resigned, it's finally topical.

http://www.devilducky.com/media/23894/

A Few Anecdotes

Adam has wholeheartedly entered the world of "why?" I was determined to meet all of his inquisitiveness with precise scientific answers, but as with all things related to parenting...I get too tired and go the easy route responding "because that's just how it is". This is when being religious would come in handy. I could say "Because that's how God made it", but well...I don't feel ready to try to explain my theological beliefs quite yet.

He had an interesting comeback the other day. I told Jason "you kick my butt" after an exhausting effort to get everything packed and ready for camping. Adam said, "No mommy! I don't kick your butt. Your butt is too big!" I suspected Jason in implanting this into his head, but he claimed innocence. I do believe him, but I wonder where this quick retort came from.

While Natasha hasn't mastered quick wit yet, she is becoming much more communicative. She is learning to say "all gone" while doing the ASL sign. The other day she tried nursing and I guess there was nothing there. She looked up at at me and gave me the sign and said "ahh goh!"

Some Gardening Notes

Not to bore you. This post is merely so I can keep track of what's going on in the garden so I can refer to it next year. Ok, and it is so I can brag about my gardening adventures. But just a little.

In my raised bed, I planted early blooming sweet peas, beets, and carrots from seed. I did this late April/early May. A few weeks ago I transplanted some basil and oregano. Last week I stuck in some late blooming bulbs. I can't remember exactly what kinds, but they are all orange. I did this because I got tired of all the veggie planning and wanted something that, after it bloomed, wouldn't need quite so much maintenance. Plus, I had no other place to put the dang bulbs.

So, after I had planted all the veggies seeds, Desi promptly got up in the garden and started digging. I was thoroughly expecting nothing to grow. But the things are growing great! The basil doesn't seem quite as happy about its lot in life as the oregano plant does - that thing is crazy!

Now I have to figure out when I'm supposed to harvest these things....?

As for the new garden spot I dug out next to the shed, everything I planted there seems pretty happy about life. The Rhubarb has always been insane. It produces faster than we can possibly eat it. I put in a Hydrangea (endless summer). It is partially shaded, but unfortunately takes a lot of late afternoon sunshine and tends to droop in the evening. An evening watering usually brings it back to life. I put in a Lily of the Valley and some annuals. I'm going to have to put in some more annuals to keep the weeds at bay until the hydrangea starts to get fuller.

The tomatoes, as always are growing like mad. Soon they'll be threatening to take over the house. I went with small fruit varieties in all three planters this year, since the bigger fruits tend to get eaten by pests before they can fully mature.

I've been spending all my time in the back yard and veggie garden that I haven't done a lick to the front yard other than mow. It needs a lot of help!