There are Demons in my Flower Bed

Horrible Weed Demons! They have been plaguing me for a long time. I have been too tired or sick to do anything about it recently thanks to pregnancy fatigue and morning sickness. Wes has said on occasion that I can't blame everything on the pregnancy. Watch me! I decided that tonight was the night to tackle our weed demons. I was afraid that our neighbors were going to kick us out of the neighborhood if we didn't do something soon. Everyone on our street has such well manicured lawns. Even the 80 year old women who lives alone!

I rounded up my girls to their dismay and put them to work pulling weeds. I have decided that my girls need to learn the value of hard work this summer. No, I am not cutting short their precious childhoods and yes, they will thank me some day. I wore gloves to protect myself especially against the cat poop from stray cats! Darn Cats! It can actually be fatal to the fetus if the cats have certain germs. Anyway...I wore gloves and thoroughly washed my hands afterwards.
I saved this particular prickly demon for myself. My gloves didn't protect against its stings, but it is now gone! I first chopped it into tiny pieces and then carefully dug and yanked it out!

The morning glory had found its way and was starting to wrap around the spigot! Scary!

Weeds, weeds and more weeds!!!

This is what it looked like when it was all done. Yes it is somewhat bare, but at least I am free of the demons!!

I am now sniffly and snuffly from all of the weeds, but at least I don't have to be embarrassed anymore!

Our Memorial Day

I decided not to head to the graveyard this year for Memorial Day. I thought about it, but it gets so crowded and busy and I prefer to visit my deceased relatives when things are calmer and more conducive to deep thinking. I spent the early hours putting up flags with the cub scouts. Then I watched an older movie with my girls. From there I decided we should get out of the house into the beautiful, wide world. I remembered a wonderful park that my family used to visit when I was a little girl. I called up my Dad and got the address and we headed out to find it. It took some searching, but eventually my senses led us to the right place. The girls loved playing on the playground. Especially Cinderella's Carriage and Castle. Wes and I hung out and enjoyed some grown up chatting.
From there we headed to Crown Burgers for dinner. Can I say that our eating out has increased expediently since I became pregnant. I don't think the family minds. I am trying to get things back under control. Anyway...back to Memorial day. We ordered our yummy food. The manager then saw my girls and gave them ice cream cones for Free, and I'm not talking about the little kiddie cones. These were CONES. They ate them before they even started their dinner.

From there we headed home to hang out and enjoy the last hours of sunlight before the work week started up again. I zonked out on the couch, no surprise there, while the girls played PlayStation and while Wes played his computer game. It was a wonderful day!

Our Ward "No Talent" Talent Night

Last Wednesday night our ward held a "No Talent" Talent Show. Ever since Adelle heard about it she has been dying to be in it. She decided to sing the Mulan song. Lydia decided she would sing with her sister. Lets just say things didn't go as planned.

Adelle sang the rest of the song solo.

There were an array of other performances. Jello Slurping! Yes indeed, and this guy was good at it!

Piano Playing

Joke Telling

Creative Story Telling

I'm a Little Teapot Anyone?

Juggling. It was a little dangerous for those in the front row.

A very humorous Skit!

Movie Trivia. The Barnums (seen above) did an Amazing job with the activity! Thanks Guys!

Sweet Singing

Singing Like a Munchkin. This was a funny one!

This Talented Young Woman can lick her elbow. I dare you to try it!

We really had a wonderful time...well most of us in the family. Wes also brought his costumes to display and I set up a DVD slideshow of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers that ran while everyone was browsing. It was a lot of fun!

Lydia's an Author, Director, and Actress

Lydia recently has been working on a story at school called the 3 Cuckoos and the Big Bad Eagle. Her teacher then helped her turn the story into a play. The whole fourth grade has been learning about birds thanks the the Tracy Aviary. Last Wednesday each class presented something for the Tracy Aviary employees and the other classes. Lydia's class did a rap and also performed Lydia's play. Here is Lydia's class performing their bird rap.

From there Lydia's class performed Lydia's Play! It was wonderful. Lydia and her friend Nicole, with the help of their teacher, auditioned students for the parts, rehearsed and created sets. It was wonderful!

I am SO PROUD of my girl! She is amazing!! Who would have guessed that at the age of 9 she would have written and performed her very own play! She was quite the cute Cuckoo as well!

Maybe it's the Pregnancy Hormones...

but I was super annoyed when I heard this song today. I like to listen to Pandora Radio when I work. It is great! You can create your own "stations". I have stations ranging from Jazzy, Musical Theatre, Foreign, Classical, 80's and the Beatles. This song was piped into my wonderful noise reducing headphones and I was so bugged! I am so glad as women that we don't live in this culture anymore! Thank heavens those times have passed, well for the most part. Here is the song. Happy reading!

Wives and Lovers

Hey, little girl,Comb your hair, fix your make-up.

Soon he will open the door.

Don't think because There's a ring on your finger,

You needn't try any more.

For wives should always be lovers, too.

Run to his arms the moment he comes home to you.

I'm warning you.

Day after day,There are girls at the office,

And men will always be men.

Don't send him off With your hair still in curlers.

You may not see him again.

For wives should always be lovers, too.

Run to his arms the moment he comes home to you.

He's almost here. Hey, little girl.

Better wear something pretty,something you'd wear to go to the city.

And dim all the lights,Pour the wine, start the music.

Time to get ready for love.

Dim all the lights,Pour the wine,start the music.Time to get ready for love.

Time to get ready,time to get ready for love.

Time to get ready,time to get ready for love.

The Grand Planter Box

Today was an EXHAUSTING day! Remember my first gardening post a few weeks back? Remember how I bought those raspberry and blackberry bushes and a grape vine? Well, we finally pulled our resources today to make a planter box for our plants. Inspired by the Pioneer Women and her post about making planter boxes we set off on our grand adventure. Here is her post on how to make your very own planter bed.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2009/02/build-your-own-raised-flowervegetable-bed/



We decided instead of buying bags of dirt to buy dirt from Aposhian Gardens. It was $49.99 instead of $72 dollars for the amount of dirt we needed. We of course do not have a truck so we asked to borrow Wes' parents van and trailer. First we headed out to Lowe's to buy our lumber and other miscellaneous items including a bird feeder and seed which the girls are so excited about. Anyway, the lumber cost about $54 dollars. We loaded everything up including a brand new (but cheap) wheelbarrow. We went over to Aposhians and got our dirt. They loaded it for us which was wonderful. I even bought a few veggie plants because they were only $1 a plant! Wow!



We started driving home and were alarmed to feel the van lurching and to hear scary noises. Lo and behold the trailer had a flat tire! Just our luck. We were about a mile or so from Wes' parents so we walked over to their home. We spoke to Wes' dad who gave us a spare and a jack. We headed home for lunch (cold, leftover pizza since we were in a hurry) and then drove back to the van to fix the trailer. At this point we had about $200 worth of merchandise including our dirt and we weren't going to just abandon it! Wes started to remove the wheel when suddenly to his dismay he realized that his father has given him a four lug nut tire, when in fact the trailer already has, and requires, a five lug nut tire. One of our neighbors stopped by to make sure everything was okay. Thank you Jeff! You are so kind!!



Well we decided we were just going to repair or replace the tire since the only spare that Wes' dad had was worthless. We headed over to Discount Tire. The parking lot was bustling with people. Wes took in the tire and was informed that they wouldn't have another one for him for 2 hours! This was just to replace the tire, not even to put it on the trailer, but just to hand us one to put in our trunk. We headed home again. Wes in his anger started digging holes in the yard. At first I was alarmed and wonder what in heavens name he is doing. I learned though that he was just digging a new line for the sprinkler system that will go to the planter box (Phew!). In the process of digging though he did manage to bust on of the pipes. Thank heavens he had extras, but when he went to glue it all together he found out that his PVC glue from last year had in fact hardened almost to a solid mass. Nice!



We finally got a call from Discount Tire and we all loaded up in my car to continue our adventure. We stopped off at a small hardware store to get PVC glue, a new sprinkler head, and wasp poison. The wasps LOVE our house. They always have. Anyway, we got the tire and headed over to the van perched which was on the side of a very busy, bustling road. Wes got the tire replaced and who happened to show up again? Our neighbor Jeff! Really he is super! Wes and Jeff rearranged the dirt in the trailer so it would stop leaking out the back. Then we headed home! Finally!!!!!



Lydia and I unloaded the car while Wes finished the sprinklers. Then Lydia and I filled in the sprinkler trench while Wes started cutting the wood for the planter box. Lydia and Adelle ended up being Wes' helpers while he built the box.

Once the box was built Lydia and Wes hammered in the stakes and then screwed on the second level of the box.
From there we all unloaded the MASSIVE amount of dirt. I stood on top and compacted everything while trying to rake it level.

After a SUPER LONG, TIRING Day it was done! YEAH!!!!!!!!! It is so super easy to plant in the box and I think it looks WONDERFUL!

I planted green bell peppers,

Jalapeno Peppers,

the grape vine,

Cilantro,

The Raspberry Bush,

Basil,

and the Blackberry Bush! I told the plants that the need to be fruitful and multiply especially after all of the hard work and money that has gone into building them a wonderful home.

Adelle was a wonderful helper and especially filthly!

Lydia was the dirtiest! I am so proud of my girls being such wonderful helpers. Wes was amazing!! What would I do without him! We are all so tired and I don't know how much longer I am going to make it despite being covered with a layer of dirt. Pregnancy sure doesn't help the energy level either. I was thinking that the planter box will probably be wonderful for my growing belly as I won't have to bend as far to weed or harvest. As I sit her aching from head to toe I am imaging fresh salsa from my tomatoes in the regular garden, my jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, and cilantro. YUM! Also I can imagine wonderful salads from my fresh spinach, basil and tomatoes. I know it will be worth every ounce of sweat and hard work. I hope we get bountiful crops this year. If not, the plants will be hearing from me!

Happy Pictures of the Week

These are the presents we gave to the moms for Mother's Day. Can you figure out what it means? Word seems to be getting around so we thought we'd share.

Having a Bad Day?

Looking at the cat made me laugh. I swear she can scowl more than any human sometimes. You would think that her life was so hard!

My Mother's Day

My girls were wonderful yesterday and made me a yummy breakfast; eggs and toast. They set the table with my best tablecloth and runner and even picked some wild flowers from the backyard which blossomed throughout the day. Lydia also made me a special picture at school. It is a tulip made with thread. It is beautiful. I really should frame it.

Wes gave me the "Anne of Green Gables" DVDs which I was so EXCITED for! I enjoyed watching them in the afternoon. I visited with Wes' mom and my step mother earlier in the week and gave them a fun surprise. I have made it a tradition these past few years to make Mother's Day as relaxing as possible and to take time to enjoy my family.

Topaz Mountain

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed to Topaz Mountain. It is a mountainous area located near Delta, Utah. You can sift in the dry stream beds and find topaz gems. Topaz is generally clear. At times it can be pink or brown. The girls had been looking forward to the trip for a while and were excited to head out. We went with Wes' family and one of his mother's co-workers and boys. After a 3 hour drive (some of it scary I might add) we made it to our treasure hunting spot. It was busier than I had ever seen it before, but still very fun. The only downfall to this area is that there are NO facilities whatsoever. You learn to get close to nature and make do.

Supplies needed: small shovels and screens for sifting the dirt. From there you pick through what is left to see what shiny thing awaits you. Some of the gems are of better quality than others. The sizes we found ranged from an inch to teeny, tiny bits. They aren't super valuable gems, but it is still fun. The last time we went to Topaz Adelle was just over a year old. She loved digging this time on her own and discovering things. Lydia was quite self sufficient as well.
A lot of family members also went hiking.

Devin, Lexi and Jeff camped out overnight and Lexi remarked how cold it had been! The girls are scared to camp out there since they heard a story from their Dad about a scorpion that hung out under his tent once while camping at Topaz. I was more than happy to just make Topaz a day trip :) We didn't see any scorpions, but we did see a lot of lizards which I enjoyed. Lizards are one of my favorite animals. It was fun to see them sunning themselves on all of the different rocks. They were small, little things less than 6 inches long.

Wes' Dad was thinking of taking Devin and Lexi's engagement photo out at Topaz, but that was quickly rejected after a night of camping without any facilities.

After a full day we headed home with our little, Ziploc bags of Topaz. Adelle totally zonked out while eating Cheetos.

It wasn't long before both girls were out. After a restroom stop, and sugar though the girls were wild and hyper the rest of the way home. We had fun telling jokes. Adelle's are especially silly because they don't make much sense. Sometimes it just makes us laugh harder. Here is a classic Adelle joke. "Why did the egg cross the road? It didn't it got chopped into sevenths!" Like I said, they don't make any sense, but they make us laugh. Poor Lydia also got nicknamed "Lydia Chicken Butt" at one point which sent us girls heartily laughing. I think Wes and his Dad thought we were nuts!

We didn't apply sunscreen as well as we had thought. We entirely missed the back of Adelle's legs and they are bright red. Just call us the parents of the year. Wes' legs were quite toasty red as well as his ears and the back of his neck. Because I burn so easily I purchased a LARGE sunhat which I wore the entire time and I slathered myself in sunscreen. One of my socks shifted though and I ended up with a burn on one spot on my ankle. I looked pretty silly at church the next day and I did get a few remarks. Lydia was the only one that didn't burn which is pretty regular for her. She has her father's complexion. After we all got baths it wasn't long before we all headed to bed because our fun day had completely worn us out. Even though we enjoyed Topaz it was good to be home.