Sweet Sweet SUMMER!!

I have been working on this post for four days now! Hopefully now that things have started slowing down I'll be able to keep up with my blog a bit more!!

Wednesday was the boys last day of school for the year.  Life has been super busy lately, and I have been feeling as though I just can not keep up anymore. The break is much welcomed!

Every year since the beginning of time, our school has a "Play Day." It's pretty much a mini track meet. This year it got rained out right as the running events were starting, so summer got a little extra head start.
It was my very last Play Day EVER. Both of my kids will be in Jr High next year. Weird..

Tristen is doing the softball throw here. He got 1st in it and also in the football throw. 

 

I was afraid we'd be making a trip to the chiropractor after this event!

And this is about as good as the pictures of my oldest get right now. I WILL get him over this anti picture phase.  Anyway, the older kids do not participate, but they  help out with events.

In garden and yard news, things are doing well. The lack of rain has been apparent in the size of our water bill.  The garden is totally newspapered and  mulched in now, and things are really taking off.  Danny's magic potato spot is working it's magic and the plants are getting tall and blooming. All but 5 that he planted came up. He wasn't going to let me take this picture until I told him I was just going to use his leg to show how tall his plants were. Seriously, what IS the deal with men and pictures? Ugh.

 I planted beets for the first time this year. I'm the only one in my family that likes them, and I plan to pickle them and enjoy them all winter.  I also think I will do another crop of them early this fall. They are very satisfying to grow! I thinned them out AGAIN today and found some little baby beets!

Tristen is growing peas and cabbage. Both are doing great!  Hoping the grasshoppers stay away. Last year all he had left was the outline of the leaves or "the bones" as he said.

And I found some little baby tomatoes this morning while we were out checking things. There are lots of blooms on the other plants and the pepper plants as well.

 

The lavender is just starting to bloom. I have a new recipe for jelly I'm anxious to try this year that calls for dried lavender and champagne. YUM!

I call these my flowers from God. I had a pot of these over by our bunny barn last year and they had self seeded and ended up growing in my flower bed. Well, they came BACK AGAIN this year, only bigger and better.  They are staying.  I'm find comfort in them.  It's a good reminder that sometimes we just do not understand things, or the way life is, but God is in control and has a plan. It's our job to sit back and let things bloom.

The water plants are taking off and the fish have caught on that when the human looks in, she usually has food.
Anna, the kitty, really enjoys it. She thinks it's a giant bowl of water filled up, just for her. So far she hasn't paid too much attention to the fish.

The bird sightings at the water fountain have picked up! There is always someone out there getting a drink or taking a bath. We have a family of squirrels who have even gotten brave enough to come up for a drink.
I've also been tickled to have 2 different kinds of hummingbirds here this year. One I haven't been able to get a good look at.  Just as I see he's at the feeder, he flies away.  I'm happy to be their "Quick Trip" for a snack on their journey and hope they tell their friends about our full service station!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend!! We are going to enjoy a full 3 days of ABSOLUTELY  NOTHING!