S U M M E R running

I just LOVE summer... but, not driving so much! Driver's Ed, swim lessons, T-ball, blast ball, basketball camp... too much craziness! I put 100 miles on my van the other day in just one day driving back and forth to town. We love living in the country, but are thinking living in town might simplify things...

H O T date

In college, speech is mandatory. Usually three speeches are required one being an informative speech. Yes, I chose the topic of Tim McGraw. OK, without blabbing on and on, I like him that much. He just has SO many great, great songs that never get old. Last night, Jim and I had a hot date- Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw in concert. We had a wonderful time- can't say enough... Jim planned dinner out at a new spot. Fabulous concert. It was a much-needed Friday night out!

D a n d e l i o n s & C l o v e r s

The thought crossed my mind this week... I wonder if this is the last summer I receive sweet dandelions & wildflowers from my little guy? They all did it, Caden just happens to be my baby! The smile on his face when he empties his pockets with the scrunched up flowers he collects is just priceless! As tough as some days are... I know I'm going to miss these times with my little guys!

Trip to Granny's

Playing outside at Granny's... the yard, the pond, chasing frogs.... so fun!

Shooting at the Complex with Grandpa Mike...

our L O N G weekend

We took the long weekend and made a much needed trip to Illinois for time at Granny's house. Family, cousins, Granny's cooking, Aunt Patti (& Aunt Dawn's) desserts, catching up, shooting guns with Grandpa Mike, visiting, fishing, resting... it was, as always, a nice break! So nice to be around family!

G R O W garden G R O W

SEVEN zucchini plants, 8-10 cucumber plants, Alaskan peas, green beans, two spaghetti squash, four cantaloupe, two watermelon, a row of beets that only I'll eat, red and green peppers, two broccoli plants and more seeds in the ground, two types of lettuce, cauliflower, a row of carrots thinned already with room to grow, three rows of sweet white corn that better pollinate each other and 24, yes, 24 tomato plants each in their own little cage! All I can say is... it better GROW!! Caden also planted a row of pumpkin seeds that will grow hopefully in time for Halloween!

I can already taste the fresh veges that should last a good part of the summer and fall. The goal is to have enough to put some up for this winter. Yummy salsa, tomato sauce, green beans... I hope to have Granny's mason jars covering every square inch of our kitchen and dining room... full of yummy, healthy homegrown goodness. For now, we'll keep our milk cartons on making little greenhouses, and baby it until the S U N gets a little warmer.

ALL 3 of my DISC throwers

It's so hard to take photos of Justin doing disc... he's always behind the chain-link fencing. But, I can get photos of my little guys doing their disc in the grass behind the big guys. Caden's our "mini Justin" and has meets just like his older brother. Both Justin and Caden walk around the house spontaneously practicing their form.

With back pain since football season, we finally took Justin in to the doctor last week. He's having to sit out a week (no track, no weight training) and it's killing him. That kid LOVES weight training. As we were walking out of the doctor's office, he was already trying to figure out what weights he could lift that wouldn't hurt his back... Hopefully, he just needs a little rest and he doesn't have a major injury. We'll see... Best part of going to the doctor... he measured 6'4 3/4" with his shoes on, so he's now a solid 6'4"... that put a smile on his face!

Ty running (or jumping) H U R D L E S

I sit on the edge of my bleacher chair as I watch my Ty run hurdles... it's a stressful race, but I'm so proud of him! Mid- season last year, he decided to try hurdles and fell in love with the sport. This week, he's gone to two varsity meets as a freshman and while ending up at the end of the pack, is only getting better. Yesterday, he shaved about 3 seconds off his time on the 300 hurdles, so he was pumped! I know this photo is blurry, but it's hard to get a clear action shot with them running so fast and also with it being almost 8:30pm... those track meets are LONG!

*click on photo to enlarge it

new T U L I P S

I never get tired of tulips! These are new ones I put in my pots- I'm so happy with how they turned out! LOVE them! Happy Spring- Sorry, m & d... your Spring is on the way, I'm sure!

candid C A D E N

I just love it when I download pictures and find little surprise snapshots left on my camera...

PLAYING in the DIRT

What a good day- we played in the dirt ALL day today... loaded a truck of {beautiful} cow manure, tilled up our garden again and plotted our rows. I don't think I've ever been so THRILLED with poop in my life! I'm so excited to get our little plants in the ground! We did put peas in today, we'll finish most of it tomorrow with exception of tomatoes! It's like a huge playground to me!

Coleman D A N C I N G

Coleman had his first Kindergarten music performance this week. It was perfect- 20 minutes long! So cute- we especially loved learning that our little guy likes to dance! As you can tell from the end {huge yawn}, it was past his bedtime!

S P R I N G calfs

I love just about everything about SPRING... tulips coming up, warmth, track meets, thunderstorms, getting the mower out, planting seeds, kids playing OUTSIDE... But, I think one of my very favorite things this time of the year {especially living here} is new baby calfs. They're so cute, so wobbily, so new. One of the simple joys of living in the country- they're all around us!

Coleman v. Caden

It's impossible not to compare my boys- personalities, size, likes, dislikes. Justin used to love broccoli even as a toddler, when most that age are picky. He still will pick real food over sweets any day, but he's also (along with Caden) my most impatient. Coleman is for the most part mellow and plays so well by himself as he has since he was walking, decision making is tough. Ty has been on Tyler-time (no concept of time) since he was little, but is also very loving. Don't rush him! Caden- fiesty since he could scream (birth), but so sweet as well. It's crazy to me how even as little packages- they're total individuals, but also completely opposite!!

I was reminded of the extreme difference between Coleman and Caden as we went to the park the other day. There were orange cones set up around the merry-go-round. Both boys noticed them, but as we were leaving, Caden {H A D} to go through and knock them all down. Coleman was already in the van and we were waiting to leave and couldn't believe what his brother was doing. I didn't think it was that big of a deal- maybe, I should have stopped and made him stand them up again. On his own, Coleman jumped out of the van, ran over to the overturned cones and set them back up. To Caden, the cones were meant to knock down, rules to be broken. For Coleman, it's a big deal for the most part to follow the rules. Oh, Kindergarten's going to be {fun} with Caden... I'm kind of glad he misses the cut-off date and I get him home another year. Oh... to channel his will and energy...