Now that it's been nearly 2 months since we planted our garden, daily trips are almost necessary to check things out, weed (which Matt has done about 95% of), and water (it's also been super hot and humid lately). But, the results have been lots of yummy veggies on our table. I didn't take pictures of everything, but so far we've eaten about 5 meals of green beans and frozen 3 meals worth (with more still on the plants), and we've had about 2 weeks worth of sugar snap peas for snacking, but I think these are pretty much done now. Also in late June and early July we enjoyed a nice harvest of lettuce...which unfortunately we just pulled out when we picked it, so there will not be a second harvest...oops (we're learning as we go).
Nathan was super excited to pick carrots, and since the tops were peeking out, I let him pick some last week. Since then, both of our mothers have told us that you're not suppose to pick them until fall, so we'll wait to pick the rest of them. But, the ones we did pick were yummy and are already eaten!
Our two little love carrots:
Last Friday we grilled pizzas, so we picked our first green pepper of the season to have as a topping. It too was super yummy, though the kids wouldn't eat it. There are still 3 left on the plant, as well as 3 red peppers on the other plant. (I didn't tell Ella but she stepped on the red pepper plant tonight, so those may need to be picked sooner rather than later).
Our tomatoes are a complete jungle. It's a big tangled up mess of our 5 plants, or is it6 plants-no one can really tell. But, there are LOTS of tomatoes on them. We've already picked about 50 cherry tomatoes, and I'm guessing there will be 50-100 more, and that's on one plant. Here are some of the "big" tomatoes that we picked tonight, mainly Early Girl and some Better Boys. I'm looking up recipes for spaghetti sauce and salsa, and may need to call my Aunt Margie to come canning! Most of the tomatoes on the plants are still green-but I'm sure soon will have tomatoes coming out of our ears! (not complaining though...this is what I wanted, right?)
I forgot to give mention to our zuccinis, which we've eaten 3 of and have 3 in our fridge, with hopefully more to come...tonight we discovered the plant was covered with squash bugs, so I think we either have to get rid of the bugs quickly or get rid of the plant so they don't spread. We've also enjoyed about 4 cucumbers with at least 3 more on the plant that we'll pick soon. And our pumpkin plant has lots of blossoms, but many have been eaten by something, and the leaves are looking a little sickly, so we'll see if we actually get a pumpkin or not.
OK-that was a lot of detail-but mainly we are loving to watch everything grow and change so quickly. It's so amazing to me that what started as a few bags of seeds and some tomato plants has turned into this overgrown garden bursting with vegetables. It feel so worth while. I'm so thankful to our Wonderful Creator God!
OK-it's probably not a man thing, I think it's just a Matt thing. 
Last Friday we grilled pizzas, so we picked our first green pepper of the season to have as a topping. It too was super yummy, though the kids wouldn't eat it. There are still 3 left on the plant, as well as 3 red peppers on the other plant. (I didn't tell Ella but she stepped on the red pepper plant tonight, so those may need to be picked sooner rather than later).
Our tomatoes are a complete jungle. It's a big tangled up mess of our 5 plants, or is it6 plants-no one can really tell. But, there are LOTS of tomatoes on them. We've already picked about 50 cherry tomatoes, and I'm guessing there will be 50-100 more, and that's on one plant. Here are some of the "big" tomatoes that we picked tonight, mainly Early Girl and some Better Boys. I'm looking up recipes for spaghetti sauce and salsa, and may need to call my Aunt Margie to come canning! Most of the tomatoes on the plants are still green-but I'm sure soon will have tomatoes coming out of our ears! (not complaining though...this is what I wanted, right?)
I forgot to give mention to our zuccinis, which we've eaten 3 of and have 3 in our fridge, with hopefully more to come...tonight we discovered the plant was covered with squash bugs, so I think we either have to get rid of the bugs quickly or get rid of the plant so they don't spread. We've also enjoyed about 4 cucumbers with at least 3 more on the plant that we'll pick soon. And our pumpkin plant has lots of blossoms, but many have been eaten by something, and the leaves are looking a little sickly, so we'll see if we actually get a pumpkin or not.
grandkids with Nana & Papa
This is the best I could get at Mt. Rushmore (which Mayah called Money Mountain) ...sometimes it's better to just enjoy life and not photograph it:)
(breakfast of choice: pancakes)
Wow, really? 5? How can it be? 5 is such a big boy age, it seems like just yesterday...
Grandma Jan and Grandpa Joe were able to join us for Nathan's actually birthday.
We did Nathan's choice lunch at our house (Hotdogs and fruit), then we went off to Peach Wave for a yogurt treat!
Grandma and Addie watching...though Grandma also took her shot at it, and ended up having one of the most successful flights of the night.
The thing about planes made of styrofoam is that they often require repairs!
Following flight time, we went in for Nathan's fave activity...watching a video (though I don't even remember what we watched)-complete with Puppy Chow, per Nathan's request. It was a great day filled with lots of fun and lots of food!
1928-2011
