Our First Carrots

I harvested my first batch of carrots yesterday.  Carrots are a favorite in this house.  The kids thought it was really cool to eat them straight out of the garden.  I found the key to getting the carrots out of the ground is to have the ground very water logged. If the ground is too dry the carrots will break at the stem or break further down in the ground. 


I have also started harvesting squash, zucchini, onions and green beans.  It has been a busy week in the garden. 

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Garden Harvest

The above picture is what I harvested out of the garden yesterday.  This was my first bean picking.  It was also the most raspberries I have picked at once.  We have been getting a handful or 2 of raspberries everyday but they get gobbled up quickly between the 3 younger children before they even make it into the house.  Last evening I went out by myself and was able to get half a bowl!

Tonight I picked another large bowl of peas and green beans.  It's a good thing I have such good helpers when it comes to getting the peas out of their shells.

What's been happening.

A lot has been going on this last month.  Summer is in full swing and it has been busy with all the kids being home.  Here are some of the highlights of the last couple weeks.

Jake got his driver's license.  He can now drive without a parent.  It is terrifying and exciting all at the same time.  I love that he can run errands for us but I get nervous every time he leaves. 

I have been busy in the garden every day.  I have been harvesting lettuce, spinach, kale, snow peas, regular peas and as of yesterday green beans!  Emily loves to help.  She is really good at holding the bowl and sneaking bites of anything she can. 
This is my first year growing pod peas.  It is so exciting!  Everything in the garden is doing pretty well.  My tomatoes and cantaloupe are blooming and I have squash and zucchini that has set on. 

Another major event that happened recently was closing ceremonies for T-ball.  At our last game we gave Will this ball.  I had all the kids sign it and present it to him.  Seeing who got the game ball  at the end of each game was always exciting for the kids.  That night they got to give their coach the game ball.  It was pretty neat. 

Closing ceremonies was held last Saturday.  Will thought he was going to miss it because he was taking Jake to Iowa City for a football camp.  He was able to walk across the field with the boys and watch them get their medals before leaving for the camp.  I was really glad he was able to make it. 

Here is Brodie receiving his medal. 

Baseball is officially over.  Football will start here in a few weeks and Will has already committed to helping out with that too.  The fun never ends! 

Poor Emily

Going through some older photos I came across these pictures of Emily.  Poor girl.  One day, she will get all those boys back. 

Summer Fishing

We found some time to squeeze in a little bit of fishing a few weeks ago.  We decided to hit a pond not too far from here and see if there was anything in it.  Right away the little boys starting catching fish.  They weren't very big but when you are 5 and 6 years old size doesn't matter.

There was TONS of wild life to enjoy.  That was Emily's favorite part.  There were geese and ducks swimming everywhere.  You could walk right up to them. 

There was a grandma there with her grandsons feeding the birds and they offered a piece of bread to Emily so she could feed the ducks too.  Instead she decided to just watch and munch on the bread herself. 

It was a pretty successful adventure.  We will definitely be going there again sometime soon. 

Last day of the 2012-2013 School Year

We are well into summer here at our house.  It has been a little crazy not having much of a routine.  There has been a fair share of arguments and whining.  Unfortunately I can't entertain everyone at once.  Thankfully the weather has been good and we have all spent lots of time outside.

We went to the library this week and got the summer reading logs.  The kids are excited to do those.  For every 75 minutes they read or are read too they get a trinket from the library.  We are hoping to hit the zoo in the next couple weeks.  Will wants to go with us for Emily's first trip.  That should be really fun.

We will continue to hit up the parks, play in the pool, craft and whatever else we can do to keep everyone busy.

Here are the kids last day of school photos.  They are all getting so big I can't hardly stand it.  Time really flies by.  I am hoping we can all enjoy our summer break together.