The Garden Chronicles, April 27, 2009

We've decided to use one raised garden bed instead of several ground level beds. We figured our veggies will have a better chance of growing in soil that isn't so clay-like and hard. On Sunday the whole family took a trip to the lumber store to round up our supplies. Once we returned home, the children took naps and Justin whipped this garden bed frame up. Once it was built, I helped him move it to the choice location and then he leveled it and attached steaks for added support. It turned out beautiful! Our seeds are doing great! Although some of the labels were washed away and we are not sure what is growing in some of the trays (note for next year, use waterproof labels...duh). I'm going to have to identify them with pictures. But fortunately most of the labels are still intact. Justin did an amazing job designing and building the garden bed, we love it!

The Library

On Saturday, Lane and I visited our local library for the first time. I explained to Lane how the library works and all the rules on how to act in a library. He loves the concept of borrowing books, reading them and then returning them so other kids can borrow them and we can borrow more. He did an excellent job of staying calm and quiet while we were in the library. At one point he was whispering so low that I couldn't hear him. He checked out seven books, which we have been reading everyday since Saturday. I love reading to him and answering all his questions. I'm so glad he loves books! He is very excited about the library and we will be returning there often.

Strawberry Fields

Today we went strawberry picking. We got an early start to beat the crowds and the heat, temperatures reached near 90 degrees today. Once we arrived at the farm , we got our buckets and began picking. Lane did a great job filling up the bucket, he was very enthusiastic and at one point he turned to another boy and said "hi kid, I'm picking strawberries". Evelyn was eating them as she picked them, I can't blame her, sun warmed strawberries freshly picked, I could barley wait myself! Once our buckets were filled we loaded up the van and headed home. This farm is very close to our house, less than one mile :) Once we got home we immediately washed and enjoyed our berries. They were still warm from the sun. Wow, these berries are so juicy, plump, sweet and ripe. We could barley contain the juice in our mouths. We enjoyed our freshly picked berries all day and tomorrow we will continue to enjoy, possible with some strawberry short cake and smoothies.

Friday at the Park

Today was another gorgeous day. The car thermometer read 88 degrees! It was beautiful, although we were not expecting temperatures that high and we dressed a bit warm. We spent part of our day at the park with friends. Lane was non-stop playing the whole time we were there. He only stopped for a quick bite to eat and then he was off. He enjoyed the sandbox mostly and the company of other children. Evelyn was loving the swing, at one point she was just sitting in the swing drinking her and Lane's water. Lane's friend Audrey was there and they paled around a bit. On our way out Lane and Audrey were intrigued by the tennis players and they had to stop and watch. Those two are always so cute when we are leaving. They walk out together laughing and giggling.

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! Today is absolutely beautiful. We have temperatures in the high 60's getting up to 70 degrees today. The sun is shining without a cloud in the sky. Lane and I decided to make an Earth Day craft out of things we had around the house. We ended up making a rain stick out of a cardboard paper towel tube, tin foil, pastini and some decorative items found in Lane's art supplies. The craft project was simple and fun. We kind of just made it up as we went along. When we finished, Lane immediately ran and shook the rain stick enthusiastically. Hopefully the rain will hold off until tomorrow.

Happy Easter!

We had a lovely Easter filled with lots of sweet treats and precious moments. As soon as we all woke up we came down stairs and began the egg hunt. Lane and Evelyn did such a great job finding all the hidden eggs. During this egg hunt the children also found their baskets, which were filled with goodies and treats.

Lane did a wonderful job dying the eggs this year!

Daddy makes sure all the eggs were found.

Lane finds his basket first and immediately pulls out the cars.


Evelyn finds her basket too. She really liked the bunny. It was adorable when she pulled that bunny out of the basket and gave him a big kiss complete with the "mwah" sound effect.



We hope everybody had a wonderful Easter!

Cherry Blossom Tree

When I was a little girl, there was a small tree just outside my bedroom window. Every spring the tree would blossom with the most beautiful pink flowers. I enjoyed this spectacular view every spring and felt blessed with it's beauty. Over the years I've grown a fondness for blossoming trees and this spring I was thrilled to discover a Cherry Blossom Tree in our front yard! Our Cherry Blossom Tree blossomed beautifully this spring. It's just lovely and has been a large source of creative inspiration.








The Cherry Blossom Tree is often used as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of life because the blossoms bloom and fade so quickly. Our tree has already lost all it's blossoms, but it was spectacular while it lasted and we had a front row seat.

Coloring Easter Eggs

Lane colored Easter eggs for the first time. He did a great job with minimal cracking :) He enjoyed watching the eggs go from white to bright vivid colors and he was fascinated with the little wire dipping tool. We are all getting excited for Easter, especially Lane. He asks to play with the colored eggs everyday and is anticipating the Easter Bunny will hide them and bring him and Evelyn lots of treats and goodies. Hope everyone is doing well, getting ready for Easter and enjoying Spring.

Hope

In February Shutter Sisters introduced The One Word Project. Each month we are assigned a new word to inspire our photographs, the word for April is hope, inspired by Shutter Sisters Picture Hope Dream Assignment. We then upload our images to the group pool. Everyday one photograph is chosen from this pool to be featured on the Shutter Sisters website, and to my surprise one of my photographs is featured today! I'm honored and thrilled to have my picture of hope posted among other inspiring photographs that convey the beautiful and essential message of hope.