Family Time

It's state testing this week, so our classes were cancelled at our school. Perfect timing 'cause Dad's leaving us for a while...we decided to check out the children's museum over on Bainbridge Island and enjoy the sunshine, baked goods and ferry together!

Her name in Lights

E Swing

His Name in Lights

N Swing

Very Windy Ferry Ride

Girl Scout 100th Birthday Party

Puyallup Spring Fair 2012

Alright, it's a tradition now! Our family + the Halls. Animals, food, rides and load-o-smiles all day. The weather was outstanding, and it was more fun than I can say to watch the kids moving through the fair together.

chicken bench

waiting their turn to milk Mable the "cow"

team effort

the group

this may have been my favorite moment

girl canoe

boy canoe with escort

we didn't investigate, but gross!

roller coaster

They liked it

Sidelines

buddy swing

cluck

everyone won a frog!

:::::

(whew)

Thank you to all of those that have shown your support in my near catastrophic day Monday. After watching those seedlings under the cloche for the last few days I do believe everything will be fine. I lost a few, yes, but enough survived to have a really nice and plentiful garden. Jen came to help sort out the starts yesterday and to ease my mind; I will be able to eat from my garden earlier than I had feared on Monday.  You know you're kindred spirits when your friend comes to walk along side you and treat your seedlings with such loving care it makes you cry. My zucchini's did make it, and I'm now busily planting them out in my covered raised bed!

Also in other bandwidow garden news I was given another wonderful gift 2 weekends ago! My dad came over once again and skirted 2 more huge firs to give way for more sun, it's made a huge difference already. Thanks dad, you're the best!

before

after

(sigh)

At first I thought Molly or a raccoon got a little rambunctious out by the garden, then I was leaning toward maybe some stupid kids on their way to school walked through my yard with a mischievous mission...but then it struck me:

high winds + a small greenhouse (made of materials not unlike that of a winged box kite) = one heart sickening moment.

My future veggie garden cartwheeled across my yard at a surprising speed. 3 weeks of careful watering and monitoring heat levels inside were turned on their head. Delicate seedlings were littered all over my front lawn. The raccoon and hoodlums were subconscious wishful thinking...it was all my fault. I had moved my little veggie hothouse this weekend to take advantage of the gorgeous sunbeams and left it out in the open. I salvaged what I could, but I'm not holding out much hope they'll survive their trauma. It's difficult to tell the difference between brussel sprout and broccoli seedlings in the maze of soil and shoots. The sunflowers and corn fared well, but my zucchini seeds were crazy expensive I didn't see any survivors. My hardy cucumbers and pumpkins had just poked through this week so they were still relatively packed in tight, but the spinach and romaine starts were like replanting wet toilet paper in soil.

To make myself feel better I planted all my sunflower survivors in the proper garden, got all my bush beans going and redid my brussel sprouts and broccoli this afternoon. I anchored my tiny classroom-style greenhouse to the fence, and fingers crossed I'll have better luck this time.

** Thank you for the grace you gave me family, and for letting me vent, Jennifer I was in a very bad place this morning and doing better now.

Time Capsule

Little Explorers

S-P-R-I-N-G

Fun with acrostic's

Can you tell we have gardening on the brain?

Garden Tootsies

The sunshine kept me out in the garden all afternoon, N loved this little patch of sun heated earth right next to my garlic and would slid down the tarp covered mound and do a little jig before doing it again and again.

Spring Break Re-Charge; cold weather camping

1000th post!

on the drive

Tho we don't fall into the typical Spring Break needing family, we did decide to take advantage of the week off our parent-participation school offered and made a 2-night reservation at the Cape Disappointment State Park located at the furthest coastal SW tip of Washington. The weather didn't promise sunny warm breezes so a 13x13 pet-friendly rustic cabin seemed like a good idea. We all piled in the bunks (and floor) cooked outdoors on our stove, explored the beaches near by, roasted marshmallows, and hiked to both lighthouses that bookend the cove.

The exact opposite, in every way to Hawaii's version

Waikiki Beach

the boys by tide pools

drift wood

the gals

she just couldn't resist

playing it safe

hallow tree

Bunker on the way to a lighthouse

The Moll-Doll

Sooo happy to roast

hand grinding our morning coffee

a truck kite?

overlook

lighthouse

Oh Deer!

3 grazing by our cabin during dinner (3rd is just to the right of the large tree trunk in the distance)

First Kite Flight

A spring ocean vacation offered much wind

Paw Prints

E and Molls at the seaside...apparently 40-some degrees and whipping wind isn't enough to deter bare feet in the surf