Little Pumpkins

Last night we headed for the pumpkin patch. We have about 4 pumpkins in our garden, but farmboy's work was buying so we decided it was too good of deal to pass up. So, after a tractor ride {in which we broke down}, donuts, and 3 pumpkins later--- we headed home. Frozen I might add. We busted out the coats and hats for this excursion.

Fruits of Farmboy's labor

Truth be told I do NOTHING when it comes to the garden. I simply walk out and pick the goodies. Farmboy is the one that does all the hard work.

First we had Cherries {a few- like 3}


Then a TON of strawberries


And now....RASPBERRIES


When we came home from Arizona these babies had "popped open" {as the kids call it}. The kids and I go out each morning and find all the sweet ones and eat them up. Mini-e loves them. Sometimes she gets a bit excited a picks the not so ripe ones and says, "SoUR"...



So yesterday we picked a bowl full and I thought it'd be fun to photography these juicy boys. I got a few shots when the kiddos decided to join me. Mini helped herself--HY was a bit shy. I think he knew that I was doing a "project"...


Eventually she got him to partake. Sneaky girl. After that he ate freely. I was just grateful they were sharing.


Next thing to pop open? Grapes! We can't wait.

'Tis the season

I'm not sure I mentioned that we had a garden, oh wait, yes I did. Well, do to the cold weather, we had to take all of the good stuff & not so ready stuff off the vine. We stuck the green tomatoes in our basement on crates to let ripen. It really does work. So as these puppies come ready, we begin the process which my sister CC absolutely hates (Nonna doesn't like it when we use such strong words so in front of her we'd say something like: She doesn't "prefer" ...canning). Well, the last couple of weeks, I've spent a few days helping Nonna & Aunt CC can salsa and tomatoes. We've got over 100 jars and many more still to do as those 300 lbs of green tomatoes in my basement become ripe. Ah! My favorite part is the red gook under my fingernails.

But as the Lord said, If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear...

We've got a busy week ahead of us.

Wednesday:
Visiting Teaching
Temple Sealings with Farmboy (find a babysitter)

Thursday:
Joy School/Daddy's Day @ the Farm
Enrichment, sing

Friday:
Halloween Mini-Shoot all day
Farmboy's family Halloween Party

Saturday:

2 morning shoots in Provo Canyon

Recital practice
Date with Farmboy (find a babysitter)

Find time to practice Flash shooting for Ward Fall Festival! Ah! I'm having the nightmares.

BTW: If anyone is still interesting in the Mini-Halloween Shoot this FRIDAY the 24. I have an opening. Email me or leave me a comment. Here are the goods.

Garden

Yesterday, we (Farmboy & the kids--mostly Farmboy) planted 22 tomato plants, bell peppers, basil, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, honey dew, butternut squash, & pumpkin. And that was all accomplished by early afternoon. I mostly took pictures of all of it. Here are some of my favorites.

Yum, my favorite--basil. My red sauce just wouldn't be the same without it!


Mini-E had to get in on the action. She found herself very busy shoveling dirt & pulling leaves off of the plants. She loves to get dirty.

After all that, Farmboy proceeded to mow the lawn, plant petunias, another lilac bush & help Nonna with her sprinkler system. He's been busy, wouldn't you say? I can't wait for the products of his hard labor.

Seeding

Farmboy promised me that he'd be seeding our backyard by the middle of May. And....he did! Woowho. Do you know what that means? That means that in a few weeks, we might have little blades of grass shooting up in our backyard. Heaven!

I have to admit that one of the things that I LOVE about my husband is that he can do just about anything. If he doesn't know how to do something, he reads about it, figures it out, and then does it. It's totally impresses me. He has done our entire backyard sprinklers, planted rasberries, grapes, an orchard, and hauled 2 truck loads of dirt one wheelbarrow at a time into our backyard to level it out. It blows me away. I am so grateful that he does all of this AND lets little HY "help" him in the process. Kudos to my wonderful, hard working husband. (can't wait to see what you'll do in the garden).

Top Ten Tuesday

Sometimes I get so busy that I don't have a chance to even mention what I did. I'm sure I'm not the only one & let's face it...it's probably best to be busier than your ability to document it. So this post is dedicated to all the things (okay, only 10 things) that I've done or my family has done & was just too busy to post. In the order in which I found the pictures on my computer.

10. Here's a video of a toy that I found at DI for only a couple of bucks. Not bad for something that cost 10x as much new. This was the day that I brought it home. HY is lovin' it. Of course, it's currently outside with melted snow surrounding it. This was taken Halloween Day.

9. These are HY's church shoes. He loves loves loves them. As you can see, they are used for a lot more than just Church. They are even being warn in the previous video.

8. In October, we took a tour of the Sweet's Factory in Salt Lake City. Here we are sporting our attractive hair nets & free taffy sample. It was a delicious day! Even Mini-E thought so.

7. Also in October, all of us girls were treated to "The Secret Garden" at Hale Theater. As usual, the play was fabulous, but the company was the Most fun. Thanks Nonna for such a fun treat.

6. Here's a little something I did for all the nursery kids. It's a placemat that they are supposed to use for treat time. I'm the nursery coordinator in our ward so I get to play with all 3 nurseries in our ward. I took each child's photo & then made up this template. Now I just need to print them all out & lamenate them.

5. This particular picture I love. Not because we all look fabulous but because we are singing "Arizona, zona...sunshines above us---darling, I love it! Woo! Arizona's home to me!"

4. A trip to Wheeler Farm all the way back in October. HY & Farmboy checking out the ducks.

3.I took a picture of this house because it so stinking awesome. It's locted in Midway & I love to drive past it when we visit Grandad. It's designed after a Swiss home. It's so beautiful...and the roof is incredible. How I'd love to take a walk thru this one.

2. Here's a LO that I did last week with some of the pictures that I took of my kids in front of the Christmas tree.

#1: All the way back in July, Miss Sparkle surprised me for my birthday by coming to visit me. I always meant to put a few pictures up of these 2 cuties. I'm not really sure why I love these pictures so much. I was actually quite sad when I took them. She was getting ready to leave. And we were saying goodbye. I didn't want her to go. What a great friend to come & spend a day or two just with me. And what a great mom! (with fabulous hair).

The overachieving mother

I believe that I should get the "mother of the day" award! Why you may ask? Because I turned this...into this...Yep folks that's right. BABY FOOD. Homemade, Gormet Baby Food!(thunderous applauding). Thank you, thank you very much! I'd like to thank my own mother who grew such a wonderful garden this year (since we did not) & donated a beautiful crop to make this baby food possible. Mini-E thanks you as well.

It's all about Family

We are back from Colorado. It's great to be home, but it's hard to beat this kind of fun...

{Garden of the Gods; Colorado Springs}

Birthday gifts, swings & one mean kick ball game.

Cutest little Family!
Games Galore:


Everybody loved Emi. She loved being held by all the cousins, aunts, & uncles!

Kissing Camels {Garden of the Gods} These 2 love birds are getting married in November. Gotta love being engaged.

All because 2 people fell in love.

Grandma & Grandpa Great F's posterity (at least some of us).

Top 10 Things we are doing this Summer...

1. HY will turn 2! We are so excited for HY to turn 2 this month. The kids, the fun, the presents...and the CAKE. Can't wait to dig in.

2. Spend time with Grandad. Summer means that Grandad Grey and Grandma J will be here. We love seeing them and doing all sorts of fun things. Fishing, Swimming, Eating....

3. Watch my Mini-E grow up: This one makes me sad. I wish that Mini-E would stay mini. She's already getting so big.

4.Fun in Colorado: We are planning a trip to Colorado to see these guys...Can't wait to see all the new babies & old friends.

5. Pictures: I love taking pictures with my new camera & I plan on taking A LOT more. Oh, and of course doing a few fun things with them in Photo Shop.

6. Organize & Decorate: The new home still needs a lot of help on the inside. The basement needs some serious organizing. And we need a few more things on the wall for decor. Any offers for help?
7. Finish Backyard: Farmboy has been working very hard on the backyard---trees, shrubs, garden, grass, sprinklers...hopefully we'll have a fence soon so that we can throw HY back there and let him get out all of his little boy wiggles.

8. ZB Family Reunion: Since Nonna has been back, we have ALL yet to come together. Hopefully we'll see everybody this summer. Can't wait! Oh the fun. Oh the food!

9. Farmboy Reunion : We'll be going to Colorado for this one. Always fun to see Grandma Suz & Grandpa S. The Aunts and Uncles always make sure that HY has a good time.

10. Spend time as a FAMILY: Summer means that we get to spend time doing things as a family. Those are my favorite moments in life.

Oh ya, and I'll be turning 30 this summer. Nothing too special.