How Does Your Garden Grow?

My tomatoes plants are crazy big and starting to sprout tomatoes all over the place!!!
Even my cherry tomatoes are popping up by the thousands!
And just last week, the cucumbers showed up and are starting to get some size to them! Nick had to reinforce my trellis because they had grown so heavy!

Here are the flowers in my front yard...
And the funny bush growing in the front that started out looking like a hydrangea, but has small different blooms in the middle of the flowers. I've never seen anything like it!
And the flowers in the back.

Aloha

Some friends of ours who we first met while we were stationed in Hawaii have been at HMX for the past 4 years. And now, they are headed BACK to Hawaii again! They have 2 boys and stayed with our neighbors for a short time until they flew out!

Trevor had a great time playing with them. He and Adam and Cameron made quite a team. Here are the boys yesterday on Cameron's last day:

Trevor, Adam & Cameron

I think their grins were extra big because they couldn't wait for THIS picture:

We wish them the best on their new tour in beautiful Hawaii!

Picnic

We've had some really beautiful weather lately. At times is just downright HOT! But the other day Trevor asked me if we could have a picnic outside for lunch. How could I say no?

He wanted to have it out in the front of the house, so that "everyone will see us having a picnic and want to have a picnic too!"

So we set out a blanket just outside the front door on the porch. Even Tyler got to have his baby food outside with us.
Addison was very particular about keeping the corners of the blanket pulled out. If the wind blew your corner back, she immediately told you and bugged you until you fixed it!



It was a fun picnic! Thank you Trevor for planning it all out and picking a great spot!

Grandma's Magic Touch

We took Grandma to the airport this afternoon. She's on her way back to Iowa... But not before enduring another HOT and STICKY and HOT... did I mention HOT softball game of McKenzie's at high noon today. Holy Hotness!!!

We had to bug out a little early in order for Grandma to make her flight, so the outcome of that game is yet to be heard. We were 5-5 after the 2nd inning. But McKenzie played 1st base and had the first hit on her team. The pitcher was walking all the others.

We had lots of fun with Grandma the last few days. We ate watermelon...
And more watermelon...
a little sweet corn, and tried out some cupcakes from a new bakery down the road... as you can see, little hands got a hold of some before I could snap some pics.
Tyler is very good about laying down for naps and bedtime, so we rarely 'have to' rock him to sleep. But when grandma starts humming and rocking Tyler, he just drifts off to la la land.

Doesn't he look so sweet?

Grandma also brought the kids "The Giving Tree" and she has read it several times during her visit. So last night, before the kids went to bed, she read it to them one more time.

With Nick gone on a lift, it's just me and the kids again for a few days...

Fieldtrip to D.C.

McKenzie's 6th grade class took a fieldtrip to D.C. yesterday. My Mom and I chaperoned! It was a super hot day, but we had fun running around D.C. with our 5 kids for the day. Yup! It was just me, my mom, a map and 5 6th graders.... on our own.... seeing the sites. Crazy, huh? At least the kids we had were well behaved!

We started by seeing all the memorials and monuments:

Korean War Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

At the base of the steps at the Lincoln Memorial with the Washington Monument sticking out of McKenzie's head. (One of the kids took this pic for us!)

Vietnam Memorial

WWII MemorialWorld War Memorial

The squirrels came out of the trees practically begging for food. So the kids gladly shared their chex mix.

Lunch Break under the tree by the Washington Monument

Washington MonumentMe & McKenzie

McKenzie & Grandma

Then we walked over to the Smithsonian Museum of American History as well as the Museum of Natural History.

And what's a fieldtrip to D.C. without buying a very important Washington D.C. souvenir... like a cute little stuffed giraffe with great big puppy dog eyes!
Then it was back to the charter buses for the ride home. Mom and I drove up on our own, so as soon as we loaded the kids on their bus (1 of 9), we walked back to our truck and had a nice quiet drive home. :)

Happy 32nd Birthday Nick!

Nick turned 32 today! After he got home from work, we had a quick high energy thunderstorm that caused McKenzie's softball game to be canceled, so we decided to take advantage of that and head to Fredericksburg to Nick's favorite restaurant: Famous Dave's.

Tyler enjoyed gnawing on Nick's BBQ Rib bones.
Earlier in the day, Addison assisted Dad in opening up his gifts, which she was just as excited about as he was:

Then it was time to fan Daddy with Mommy's garden knee pad. The only thing missing was... grapes!
Just before bed, as if we weren't gorged enough from Famous Dave's... we all enjoyed a super delicious Mint Chip Ice Cream Cake Roll with Mint Chocolate Ganache.
Made by McKenzie! (With the supervision of Grandma "Bob") Daddy, you have chocolate on your nose...
Trust me, it was just as good as it looks!

Happy Birthday Honey!!!

Hot Day = Pool

Sunday's weather put us up in the 90's. It...was...hot! So we cleaned up the pool and filled it up for early afternoon swimming.
Oh yes, and XXL giant chocolate chip cookie eating.... courtesy of our baker, McKenzie. And YES, she ate it all...
Tyler wasn't too thrilled about keeping a hat on...
and this is what happens when the stool you are sitting on doesn't quite clear the top of the pool water...
Tyler, nearly falling asleep while Mom dunked him up and down and rocked him in the water...
(i felt the burn!!!!)

Trevor entertaining his little brother.

Addison and neighbor, Ezlahrya a.k.a. "Poochie"

Monday, the boys enjoyed a new slip n' slide next door.
And McKenzie and Maliah watched 2 baby robins hatch in a nest below our deck. They even fed them worms... they were some very proud mamas.

"Aaron" & "Devon"