Blog Catch Up!

We are at the end of the first two weeks of summer and my how they've flown!
It's all been fun - and I will share it on the blog over the next few days, but I think we are all looking forward to a quieter weekend and an upcoming week with no predetermined activities.

This post is for the moms!  Cooking and gardening updates that I know they've just been dying for!
:)

First of all, I made kolaches for Donald.
He had mentioned them a while back and I put it off because I expected a lot of work and just couldn't carve out enough time.
I finally set aside some time on a weekend and found a recipe in my Texas Highways Cookbook that was quick and delicious!

I made cherry and apricot kolches and they were a hit!

Earlier in the day, the girls had their birthday treat from Renee...a mani/pedi!
Pretty results!

And finally - a garden update (current as of today!)

This little area has herbs (oregano, thyme and basil), strawberries and two little blueberry bushes.

An overview of the vegetable part of the garden.
Hola Sanchez!

 This is a cherry tomato in the corner and two tomatillo plants on either side.

We've got two rows of green beans and a yellow squash plant.  The rows behind the squash have green onions, spinach and beets.

This picture shows the carrots, Loretta the Cabbage and our onions.
I only ran out of last years onion's about a month ago.
Looking forward to more!

And here's Loretta's close-up.  

I included my foot in the picture to give you perspective.

She's no dainty lady - that's for sure!

Next are an eggplant and potatoes.

 And in the back, Donald planted corn, pumpkins and watermelons!

If all goes as planned, we should definitely eat well and inexpensively!

And finally, here's the garden frog keeping an eye on everything!

Later folks!
I'll be back sooner next time!

Number 43

Last Tuesday evening we celebrated Donald's 43rd birthday!
I got him a nice case for his new iphone and he really liked it!
But I think the gifts from the kids was more his style...

We celebrated with a carrot cake...

And then gifts...

 Jenelle is gasping at the size of the bag of m&m's that Hannah bought him.

Ivan is explaining all the ingredients of the Take 5 bar.
Thank you Ivan.
:)

Best presents!!

But we actually sort of celebrated for the whole previous Memorial weekend.
Donald spent a lot of time with the yard, garden and the BBQ - three things he really loves to do at home.
Needless to say, we ate well...
BBQ chicken on Sunday and brisket on Monday.

We added mulch to some of our flower beds and it looks so great!!!
We had helpers to spread and shovel...

Mom and Steve gave Donald an Ace gift card and he bought a flag for the house!
It looks great and must be very inspirational as you can see.

Hannah made her dad some cookies to top off his chocolate special weekend.
She bakes very well and does it all by herself.
YES!

Tired, but content...a perfect combination.

Cowiche Canyon...again!

Donald suggested a family hike yesterday and I suggested Cowiche Canyon.
We haven't been there yet this year and its so pretty and so close.
We'll choose something different next time, but it was just right for the nice weather and perfect temps we had yesterday.

The hike starts out as usual - with Ivan and Jenelle taking off and the rest of us catching up...

Before we left the house, Hannah and I recalled a hike we took there last year.

You might remember it too because I blogged about it here...

We decided we would recreate her "dead face behind the rock" picture.
If you don't remember the picture, here is a reminder...

February 2011

Here's our reenactment...

But thankfully, this is how she really felt about being out on a hike with her family...

Hannah is approaching 13 years old and she is an amazing girl!
She looks back at the pictures from a year ago, when she had what we call the "dead face", with regret.
But I am so proud of her!
I tell her that it was just a part of her changing and growing and I'm so grateful that she is mature enough to recognize it...and move on from it!
That beautiful smile is quite the reward!

Along the way, Ivan found a unwrapped package of bubblegum on the ground.
Weird.
He gave it to Jenelle who pleaded for us to let her eat it.
We told her it could be a trap and she would be taking a risk...
Well, she ate it anyway and while Donald and I walked on, she fell ill...

At least that's what the kids wanted us to believe.
On the way back they spotted ANOTHER piece of gum.
Weirder.
She ate that too and pretended to die again.
This time we all left her where she lay and walked on.
Not sure how long she would have carried on with it because a couple was walking her way and when she saw them, she got up and bolted after us!
Pretty funny!!!

A great way to spend a couple of hours getting out of the house...

Oh hey!
There I am!
I'm real and not just pretend!
Ha!  I'm deciding to try and get more pictures of myself on the blog!

Cave exploration happening here...

Lots of throwing rocks in the creek.
I'm not sure why that sound of the rock hitting the water is so satisfying, but it really is.

We'll be baaaaack!!