Summer is here

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."

 -Cicero

This is what my garden looks like to far this year. It is one of my happy places. There is something wonderful about being outside, working your hands in the dirt, and seeing the results of your efforts come to fruition fairly quickly.

I planted some new things this year. Things I haven't planted before, including: spinach, crenshaw melon, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, broccoli, and tomatillos. I planted a few things I have tried before, but have never grown successfully, including: watermelon, cantaloupe, and cucumbers. And I planted some old standbys that we love, including: tomatoes of all varieties (I think I have about 15 plants this year!), bell peppers in 4 colors (green, red, orange, yellow), jalapeno pepper, zucchini (but only one plant this year, I learned my lesson!), and peas. I expect in a month or so, it'll look like a wild jungle out there. The prospect makes me giddy.

So far, the spinach is producing like mad, and the peas are starting to, and everything else is looking healthy. So we'll see how it goes. I love my garden! I go out there to escape from my children, or my messy house, or from life in general. I go out there a lot. ;)

It's been hot out, so we've been looking for ways to beat the heat. The sprinkler under the trampoline seems to be a huge hit with the kids and their neighbor friends.

We've also been to the Splash Pad a couple of times. Ollie isn't sure how he feels about it yet.  He's very cautious, and startles easily. :)

And even when we aren't getting wet, we still like to check out the local parks.

One of the big projects going on at our house right now, is Operation Get The Chicken Out of the Garage. Aaron's been spending his Saturdays trying to get their chicken coop penthouse, up and functioning. Almost there. 

Ollie likes to sit and watch Daddy work.

My older kids have just started swimming lessons. This is Adelia's first time doing it, and she is so enthusiastic about it, I just love listening to her tell Aaron (and every stranger we run into when we're out and about) how she learned to do a bob, and play fish in a basket, and kick her feet, and blow bubbles, and so on and so forth. It's adorable.

And we've been working on some summer science projects too, but I'll have to post about those another day. :)