Decisions, decisions

What shall I make with my garden goodies? 

Pasta Primavera, Spaghetti Sauce, Zucchini Bread… 

Mountain Climbing

Saturday morning, we decided to take a walk. 

Up Pinnacle Mountain in Little Rock.

On the trip we saw these guys,

and these guys,

and this guy (Hi Grandpa!)

The view from the top was incredible.

         

 

This post brought to you by the letter ‘B’

I was driving through a beautiful neighborhood in town and saw the coolest door hanging.  The house had this beautiful moss-covered ‘M’ hanging on the front door.  I LOVED it.  So much that I made a block, drove past the house again, and took a picture with my cell phone.  Yeah, I know. Creepy, right? 

When I got home, I looked online.  I found these beautiful letters here and here and here.  But--$50 or more.  I don’t think so.

Enter my father-in-law.  The jack-of-all-trades.  The only man brave enough to teach me how to use a jig saw.  He also brought plywood.  He’s awesome like that.

I (with a teeny-tiny bit of help) cut out a B.

I painted it with Elmer’s Glue and covered it with moss.

Perfect

 

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Some sappy thoughts about the 3rd grade

My Big Girl is finishing the third grade. 

I remember the 3rd grade.  The math tells me it was 26 or 27 years ago, but since I’m only 29, that' can’t be right.  That was back in the Zwolle season of my life (as opposed to my LSMSA season or my college season or my wife & mother season). 

I remember being in the old school building, at the base of the stairs in Mrs. Hall’s class.  I remember Angela and Terri and Robyn and Debra and Carla and Shelly and Jana.  (I really wish I could find a picture to share.)  I remember vinyl records singing out multiplication facts and individual old-school desks lined up in rows.  I remember the chicken pox.  Those little red bumps just moved their way systematically down our row.  My biggest concern was which doll I played with and I had no idea that other people wouldn’t always like me.

I wonder what my daughter will remember about the 3rd grade.  Will she remember her devestation when she got moved to a desk between the boys?  Will she remember the games of tag, all the books she read, and those pesky timed tests?  Will she remember the hours at the pool or at the piano?  Will she remember the learning carnival or her first pedicure?  Will she remember seeing her little brother at school everyday?

It’s funny what we forget 25+ years later, but I know this—friendships find a way to always stay in our minds.  I know that no matter what, she will always have a fond memory of Faith and Eden and Jaycee and Abby and Emily.

Third grade was a big year—straight As, state piano competition, school choir, top reader, swim team.  Wow!

Almost Done

The kids are counting down the hours...

Come on Summer!

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The Mighty Mississippi—a view from above

At our house:  swim meet = road trip!

We tripped down to Baton Rouge two weekends ago.  If you’ve been keeping up with the flooding along the Mississippi River, it was the weekend they opened the Morganza Spillway in South Louisiana.  We drove over the Basin and didn’t see the water, but it arrived a day or 2 later.

Here are a few shots of the Mississippi as it flowed through Baton Rouge on May 14, 2011.  You can see just how high the water had risen.

We snapped these pictures from the top of the Louisiana Capital building.  We took the kids to tour the building and see the view off the top of the 27th floor.

We also walked around the Pentagon Barracks and the Arensal.

…and of course, not trip to Baton Rouge is complete without stopping by LSU to say “hi” to Mike the Tiger!

          

The Easter Dress (from a month ago)

This is (or was supposed to be) my sewing/crafting blog.

But…

I haven’t shown you any sewing for a while.

I have been sewing.

Really, I have.

Lots.

But mostly for my shop. 

I’ve learned that sewing for business severely limits my personal sewing time.

But, I’ve snuck a little personal sewing into my days.

Like for Easter…

My Big Girl asked me to make her an Easter dress like this one. 

We raided the fabric stash and found a polka-dot print in her favorite colors.

I scoured the pattern books and found McCalls 6315 with a similar neckline.

I morphed this pattern marked “for knits only” with a pleated skirt and created her Easter Dress.

It took just a little adjusting (and an invisible zip), but she loved it!

And now for something that has nothing to do with sewing…

Have you ever seen 2 funnier little boys?

I think not.

Goofy Cousins!

 

We have onions

My FIL said it was time to harvest my onions.

So we did!

How long do you think these will last us???

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A Garden Update

**This is all about my garden.  I’m not really writing it for y’all, but to document it for myself!  But, please read if you’d like.  Oh, and Anne, if you see this, please show the pictures to our FIL.  Thanks!**

We’ve sort of finished a phase in our garden.  I guess you could say our Winter/Spring garden is finished.  Here’s the garden as it looked in March:

This was a few weeks ago (before the temps hit 90!!!):

 

Here it is today (after we pulled out all the peas and we’ve eaten most of the lettuce, spinach, and cabbages):

We’ve eaten: lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, cabbage, sugar snaps, broccoli, English peas, carrots and onion tops.

In next year’s spring garden, we'll grow:  lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, cabbage, broccoli, LOTS more sugar snaps, carrots and onion tops.  (and those fluffy asparaguses that are developing great little root systems right now.  (We didn’t find the English peas to be worth the effort.)

Next up:  We are waiting on our tomatoes to ripen and our squashes to get bigger.

Our summer garden has:  some Swiss chard, cucumbers, cantaloupes, green beans, bush beans, cherry tomatoes, Early Girl tomatoes, green zucchinis, yellow crook-necked squash, purple onions, yukon potatoes, strawberries, and sunflowers.  We also have dill, mint (2 kinds), basil, oregano, stevia, cilantro, sage, tarragon.

I’ve also given some thought to the fall.  I think it will look much like our spring garden:  cabbage, broccoli, sugar snaps, lettuces, and carrots.

Artbreak 2011

Each year, our regional arts council hosts Artbreak.  It’s great fun. 

The Big Girl had a piece included in first grade and in second grade. 

This year, her brother did too!  They were so excited to show off their pieces!

We had an additional treat at Artbreak this year.  The EGM choir performed on Saturday morning at Artbreak. 

We had a few minutes before the performance began, so the music teacher asked Addie to play her pieces she was working on for piano rally.  (A totally separate event that she went onto that afternoon.  She also came in 3rd and is competing at state, but that’s another post!)

Here is a clip from their performances: 

Wow! We’ve been busy

Top Row:

Hanging Out at the Swim Team Banquet

My BG showing off her work at Artbreak

Seersucker JonJons!  (We think I outfitted about 100 kids for Easter!)

Field Day

Second Row:

Piano Rally

My LM showing off his work at Artbreak

Our Easter picture

Third Row: 

Our Garden

Kindergarten Round-Up

Fourth Row:

Artbreak Choir Performance

Ryder and the LM at Easter at Nita’s!  (Yes, they are nuts!)