July in a Flash...

July....your passing me by so quickly, I don't know if I have had time to absorb you!! Can we please slow down?? Life is moving so quickly, I can't really remember what was so important about yesterday??

4th of July.... watched a few fireworks with friends. So low key that this day almost blended into the next!

A day trip of adventure and culture..... this was a great day..... a day sent to me from a loving God who knew I needed a break.

My boys with their Great-Grandfather. He is a piece of living history....his (my) family lived here on this waterfront property for over 100 years...seriously! When I was a little girl he used to fill my swimming pool with Minos and soft shell crabs....one of my most vivid childhood memories. I love this man.....

An AWESOME concert....in the words of my 13 year old...

Where will this month take us next???

Flopsy, Mopsy and Peter...you need a new home!!

Let's talk about the garden again....Not only has the garden taken on a life of it's own, it has even taken on NEW LIFE!!! We have found a little family of bunnies in there buried among the squash and zucchini! The first time my husband found the mother...it was really funny, she scared him. He's a city boy...

Then...I found the babies!! Four of them to be exact. I was picking some beans and saw two little eyes looking at me. At first, I thought SNAKE but then I saw the fur..

And yes, they are adorable...but they are EATING MY VEGETABLES!!!! I mean, I don't want to be greedy....but grow your own!! They have made a serious dent in my Butternut squash...and my tomatoes are never going to ripen if those little buggers don't stop eating them off the vine!!

Bree seriously thought that I couldn't pull one of the zucchini's out because the bunny was hanging on....I am supposed to let this girl date in a few years????

So what happens when you express your concerns about Vegetation Depletion by such cute little bunnies?????

Well, first your HUGE - OLD (this is how Lily has started to refer to her daddy) husband decides that he is going to take on the bunnies....

Then, your youngest daughter has a conniption and starts talking in a different language about what is going on....older sister tries to calm the situation...

While also trying to point out the location of hiding bunnies....

Three year olds take on the situation....not good, pretty sure she said some naughty things about her daddy!

Lacrosse sticks, Crab nets and other crazy paraphernalia came into this equation, but never fear...those bunnies showed that big guy who was boss!!

Then today, I found this....I think I understand why they have taken to my garden....

That baby is 14" long and 13" round!!! And I am not talking about the cute little Princess with the garden gloves on!!

Piles of Work

The Piles of work and stuff that crop up in my life seem to take on a life of their own. At times there are the Laundry piles, to be Filed piles, put this in so-and-so's room pile, call this person pile, and the list goes on and on....and on......but lately I have been growing piles of things I love...CREATIONS!!!

This lovely little pile contains a shawl that is almost complete. It just needs the edge finished on it, and the lovely orange there...that is a tube top in the making. A fun little project that involved re-purposing old tshirts, love it!

Some of my projects don't get completed before I move forward to another...I always come back to them, but sometimes I need a change of scenery. I work well this way..or so I tell myself!

And this pile...this pile makes me sooooo excited because that means that my garden is GROWING and feeding my family. It also means that I have some canning and freezing to do...

Nature's Bounty

In a matter of a few short months our garden has gone from a blank plot of dirt and seeds to a Bountiful treasure chest. I have ton's of lettuce, beautiful purple beans that turn green when cooked, squash, zucchini and even potatoes!

Before....

After....

The tomatoes are growing fat and juicy but just haven't turned red yet! Notice the zucchini are starting to come out into the lawn.

And for some reason no matter what other flowers bloom, these are my favorite...every year. They have changed shades a few times, I think I love that surprise just as much.

Now, off to find more recipes for my squash. Time to break out the canning equipment.

Summer love

Some of my Many Loves of Summer....

Fresh Vegetables from our Garden...

"Fresh" Smelling Linens....

Picture Perfect Burgers from the Grill...

Fresh Flowers on the table from MY bushes and Gardens...

Fresh Fruit turned into a Yummy dessert!MMMMMM.....goood!

If Life could just slow down a bit so we could enjoy the long days of summer even more.

Time Warp

I am living in a time warp...and not the cool fun kind where you get to dress in fun period clothing! The kind where Life and everything else takes place~ moves so fast you wonder when did that happen??? ~ The kind where your "baby" turns 13 and you have no idea where the time went????

My beautiful daughter turned 13! I can't believe it!! 13....how does that happen???? Where did that time go??? This was the hardest birthday for me, I didn't get all weird about my 25th, 30th, or 35th birthday! But, my baby turning 13...that did it for me! It also reminded me not to take time for granted.....easier said than done! I could go on and on about the reflective thoughts that I have had since this particular birthday but I won't do that to you!

Among other things she is becoming a beautiful Young Lady...so many things to be proud of. She became a member of the National Junior Honor Society. Finished up her school year as an Honor Roll student - all four quarters, and made us SO Proud!



She Played another AWESOME season of softball. Her athletic talent, combined with her work ethic I am hoping will pay off in the form of an athletic scholarship.





Simple things make her very happy, little cake, a few presents, her family and she is a happy girl!





Hopefully it will be a little while before she becomes a total teenager...we are dealing a little with the attitude, but so far that is the only thing surfacing. No Boy craziness, no Fashion craziness...just a little attitude. Or BIG attitude depending on the day. I will take it over any of those other options.

I love you baby!

FULL....

I can't believe that I haven't posted in a MONTH!! A whole MONTH!! I love my blog and the blog world and yet I have sorely neglected both! Life has been so FULL over the past couple of weeks that there has been barely enough time to breathe much less create and or post about it!!

In fact I have just returned home from our second appointment in Philadelphia in 2 weeks. You can catch up on that progress over here. However, I warn you it won't be updated until tomorrow...what can I say, I am trying but I feel my time here is going to be cut short!
I hear the kids all rustling around in the next room, they are supposed to be sleeping...but you know "liter mates" just want to roll all over, cuddle and annoy each other. I have come to decide that my kids are like a liter of puppies...

I can happily say and will say, that after this week our weeks and weekends will no longer be packed FULL of baseball games...YIPPEEE!!!!

My camera is FULL of pictures to post to my blog....my blog has been on my mind you see!!

My garden is FULL of growing vegetables...and except for a few patches of bush beans that the Princess decided to wreak havoc on.

My Staff is FULL at the store leaving me with some free time to be home with my family...as soon as I get them all trained and feel like I can let "go" for a few minutes.

Life is a little stressful when it is FULL, but without a FULL life where would we be? BORED!

I can't wait to be bored....