Official 2012 Garden Outline

Thanks to my awesome mother-in-law I have my garden plans down on paper. I will put this into a clear plastic sheet and add it to my household binder. I love having my ideas on paper and using it as a reference. I have my garden sheet from last year as well. I can double check where things were planted, that way I can make sure my crops get rotated properly.

I am anxious to get in the dirt and start planting. I just finished cleaning out the garden bed this week. Now I just need to get the dirt tilled up. I am thinking of going ahead and getting some lettuce and spinach planted in the window boxes that we keep on our deck.

Here is my garden plant list for 2012:
Snap Peas
Regular Peas
Kale (new for us this year)
Variety of Lettuce
Spinach
Carrots
Onions
Jalapeno Peppers
Bell Peppers
Tomatoes
Cantaloupe
Zucchini
Cucumbers

Well Hello...

It's obviously been a struggle to keep up with this blog. I have good intentions. Every night I feel like I want to get on and write something and then I don't. Life has been busy. Very busy.

We survived Spring Break. We didn't do a whole lot. The weather was rainy most of the week. Jake was in and out with his friends almost every day. The younger 3 boys did well playing with each other. Emily was happy just to have everyone home and follow them around.

We ended the week with a trip to Nebraska to visit some of our dear friends. We had a really great time and the weather was perfect. Everyone is back to work and school now. My afternoons are quiet (when the baby sleeps that is). I always struggle during the afternoons when it is quiet. Do I nap? Do housework? Have computer time? Work on my never ending to-do list? If only there was time for it all.

Playing Super Heros

This is how Emily plays super hero's with Drew and I. Only she can get away with sitting in his super hero bin.

Spring Break 2012

This week is Spring break. Last week the weather was beautiful. Warm, sunny, highs in the upper 70's. Unbelievable for the middle of March. This week is still warm but has been full of rain, clouds and more rain. I kinda had a feeling it would turn out this way. The kids have still spent a good amount of time outside which is a relief.

Last weekend we spent some time up at my in-laws. They live right next to a school with 2 playgrounds. Talk about perfect. This playground is designed for younger kids and is wonderful for Emily to climb on. She had a great time.I had to keep reminding her 2 older brothers that she could climb and slide by herself. They were always right behind her though in case she needed them. I made the boys pause for a picture.
And of course we had to have a silly picture. (Drew is actually pretending to kiss Brodie. Brodie was quite embarrassed by that and told me to "not put that on the blog". I told him I wouldn't.)
I was eventually able to get all my kiddos grouped together for a family photo. It's been a long time since I have been able to get them all in one photo, actually looking at the camera. You can tell they are all related.

Early Morning

If only everyone was this happy in the morning.
She smiles so hard her eyes are closed.
She loves her brother!

Update

The weather has been really nice the last couple days. Enjoyed some time at the park yesterday with the 2 youngest children. It was fun watching Emily play on the playground. She was busy climbing, running and swinging. She is going to have a blast this summer.

We have been busy attending kids events, visiting family and doing some DIY projects. Jake has finished basketball. He had his awards banquet on Sunday. The coach had lots of nice things to say about him. That's always nice to hear. He has moved onto track where he will have his first meet next week. It is an indoor meet at Iowa State. Looking forward to this. He will be running with the Varsity and he plans to run the 4x800, 1600 and 3200. That's 3 1/2 miles!

This last weekend Tony had an all day band camp up at the highschool. He is trying out for the marching band. He is pretty excited about this. Looks like he may be in the pit playing percussion. He is pretty excited about the uniforms they get to wear!

Brodie and Drew got signed up for T-ball. They were short on coaches so they asked Will to be the coach. Apparently he is pretty popular because they told me his name came up a few times at the board meeting when they were talking about coaches. The boys are pumped that their dad is going to coach them this year. I get to be the team mom and help in the dugout, with treat tickets and all the other fun stuff that goes along with it. Our team name is the Cubs.

This is gonna be a busy Spring with all the kids being involved in something. I am happy though. It beats sitting around at home in front of the TV.

Emily's Hair

I had to snap some pictures of the baby's hair. She is 16 months old now and her hair is starting to get a little thicker. She has some great curls in the back when she gets out of the bath.
Still not much on the sides or the front. Guess that will come later.

Blueberry Girl

I had frozen a bunch of blueberries this summer that we picked at a local U-pick farm. While making my smoothie the other day for lunch I gave some to Emily. She loved them. She gobbled them up and followed up with an "eh eh eh". I finally had to cut her off!