9! Next year will be double digits!!!

Sometimes it seems like just yesterday and sometimes it seems like we've always been together!

Mike and I met in a drawing and painting class our last year of college. We were both artists and had a lot in common. Soon the main thing we had in common was that we really liked each other. We started hanging out every spare minute of every day. We had PB&J picnics while playing games in the park, we hiked up Provo Canyon, and listened to Dead Can Dance while painting each others fingernails with glow in the dark nail polish for a trip to the Nutty Putty caves (Mike's tricky way of getting to hold my hand). I learned that Mike was an amazing dancer, and he thought I looked cute dancing even though I wasn't so great at it. We talked, made art, and made out :) We got to know each other pretty well... Then we got married. You think you know a person! Just teasing! Well, obviously, we got to know each other even better! We've been through really good times, and really hard times. We've seen each other at our best and at our worst, always loving each other. We've shared our dreams and worked through conflicts. We've become parents together, and experienced many new challenges side by side. Sometimes one of us is stronger than the other one, or wiser. It's nice that were usually not down at the same time! We respect, comfort, and encourage each other. We are better for being together, and for being united in an eternal goal. We are family!

Getting married to you is one of the happiest days in my recollection. You are my best friend and a true companion. Thank you for lifting me up when I'm down and for loving me always!

Happy Anniversary, Mike! I love you!

News from the Garden

Well, here's another look at our garden! Things are growing pretty well. We put up some wildlife netting and now our tomato plants are no longer being eaten alive! I feel kind of bad because I seem to remember something connecting the wicked deeds of Sodom and Gomorrah and netting trees so the birds wouldn't eat the fruit. Well, I don't feel that bad -- because I can't find where I got that anywhere... and the birds around here are getting plenty to eat without eating my tomato plants before they are even able to bear fruit! We want to get something for all our labor for goodness sake!

Here's a peek at some of our tomato plants. Really wishing we had gotten started sooner. I can't wait for those Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes! Tiny, but with intense flavor! I just throw them in with my calzones and they become 100% tastier. Come on babies, grow!

Mike also moved one from some of the tomatoes that still had two growing into some buckets over by our other garden spot. (Lovely Home Depot orange.)

The spinach is out of control! We cannot eat it fast enough. And the zucchini are starting to send out little squash - check out this huge blossom!

I am hoping our carrots will do ok under all the shade the zucchini leaves are giving them. 

Our potatoes have surpassed the tops of their buckets and are starting to blossom! I am thinking about buying more buckets and cutting holes in the bottom to stack them so we can get even more potatoes, but I think Mike wants to see how they do like this before making another investment.

Ever wonder what a potato flower looks like?

Even potatoes can be pretty!

I am excited that one of the sunflowers I planted is sprouting! The birds can feast on those when they're grown and I won't mind!

I just like to have some flowers around amongst the vegetables. Here's Lily admiring the marigolds. Or the funny grasshopper scarecrow :)

I'm excited that our white Marguerite daisies are blossoming again. All the flowers died after we planted them and we thought maybe that spot was too shady, but what a comeback. I still think the purple flowers will need to be moved.

Well that's it! Special thanks to my lovely flower model. Here's another picture of her just because I think she is so cute! :)

Yard Work

Just after finishing trimming the hedges. For some reason this is a type of exercise I enjoy. Probably because I am accomplishing something in which the improvement is immediately obvious at the same time I am getting a work out. And it's outside in the sun. Plus it's kind of relaxing working with your hands and letting your mind wander - similar to sculpting. Every summer I get a longing to give these bushes a much needed haircut, every summer I have lived here and not been pregnant that is.

Curb Appeal

Well the whole family got into the spirit this past weekend and made-over the front yard! This is a picture taken in 2007:

The palm tree (which was not exactly welcoming you to the house) was removed last year and the front yard has been a mess of dirt and weeds since then while my mom and dad tried to decide what they wanted to do with it.

Well, we all finally got motivated enough looking at that unsightly mess that we worked like crazy all day Saturday removing weeds and laying down weed cloth. Notice even Lily got into the action!

My very happy husband. An unfinished project does not a happy Mike make! He is such a hard worker. He kept us motivated. We worked into the night until we ran out of bark! Luckily my mom called in my brother Andrew for reinforcements.

I wasn't so sure about the bark plan at first -- We were joking about putting a spot of lawn within the circle under the tree... but it looks so much better than I imagined. It's a definite improvement! It doesn't need watering, and it looks clean and weed free. We still plan to put in plants and flowers, and hopefully a curvy sidewalk in the future, but until then... it looks neat, and it's easier to remove the bark than weeds or rock when my parents decide they want to change it up.

Now! -- I just need some extra long pruning shears for the tree, and to power wash the roof tiles and the house, and paint it, and... I won't go on. :)

Sweets for the Sweet

Here's a little something I made Lily for her birthday. 

Tea Party is one of her favorite things to play. I made her an apron, tablecloth, 2 oven mitts and 2 grocery bags because she has one of those little grocery baskets and likes to checkout her groceries with a 'beep beep!' - but then doesn't have anything to put them in. 

This has been in planning mode for sometime, but I just finished it. I've been working on it like crazy the last few days because her birthday is coming up really soon and I knew we were going to be too busy over the next couple of weeks to give me time to work on it much. I'm so excited it's done! I set it up in the yard while Lily was napping to take pictures so I can put one in with her present and she can see what the folded up fabric in the box is for when she opens it.

I also made her a little purse that I've been saving to give her since I finished it last month. I think it turned out pretty cute. Maybe I'll make another for myself.

It has a zip top and pink silky lining inside. She can practice on her zippers and snaps. I wasn't sure if I liked the strap that thick or if I wanted to alter it so I let her try it on. She loved it and went off modeling it about the house. That and her dad's hat.

 I love having a girl!

For the Birds

I'm feeling Discouraged. We got this cute little clear bird feeder that suctions to the window so that you can watch the birds as they eat. 

It's so fun - Lily loved watching the birds at the "bird seeder" eating seeds while she ate her breakfast or lunch. Eventually even squirrels or chipmunks (I can't tell the difference) started scrounging around on the ground - then actually trying to climb up the wall of our house to get to the seeds in the bird seeder. 

It was fun to watch all these animals at close range, but there is a downside. A lot more of them started seeking out our yard - birds were pooping all over our patio - and they don't just eat the seeds. We have a garden. Birds or squirrels are eating entire tomato plants. 

 poor little tomato

They made off with whole tomatoes (ripe and unripe) from a plant my mom bought that was already bearing fruit. An large flat of seedlings either didn't come up, or got eaten by something... 

In addition my To Do List has become categorized in an attempt to prioritize it - and it's ridiculously long. And I don't really want to remove anything off of it until it is actually completed - they are legitimate things to do! 

I've been trying to sew on this little gift for Lily's birthday that I feel needs to be done before Mike's brother and his family come visit us in early July....and I just can't get it or anything else done fast enough. I just don't feel like I'll ever be able to do as much as I want to do or become the person I want to be. There isn't time! That's why I haven't been blogging as much lately, but it helps to vent a little here. Any tips for keeping animals from eating your garden are certainly welcome! I think we aren't going to buy another bag of bird seed, but I debate about it because maybe they'll just eat more of my garden...? We'll see...

Loving Watching You Grow

Together - or as Lily would say: "toeachother!"

You are an amazing Dad, Mike! Thanks for all you do - you help me be a better mom.

We love you!

Lissy and Lily

Gardening Philosophizing

A friend asked me after my last garden post if gardening was hard. I'm certainly no expert, but I've been thinking about that question. I think gardening is a lot like life. It's work. Some things are hard and some things come easy. You have to keep at it and be pretty consistent in caring for it. People can tell you things that can help you, but there are always things that turn out differently than you expect. It can be frustrating, but really fulfilling too. It's definitely worth doing. And everyone should try - there is so much we can learn in working closely with the earth. Prophets are always using metaphors from gardening to teach life lessons. And the prophet President Spencer W. Kimball said: 

  “We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments … can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods. Make your garden … neat and attractive as well as productive. If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with assigned responsibilities.” 

Mike and I have tried to garden to some degree ever since we've been married. He actually had a blessing for his health which encouraged him to keep a garden and we've seen it help. I think besides the obvious benefits of the harvest and learning how to work and be responsible...gardening is good for the soul!

Here are pictures from our garden today:

Here's a similar shot just 15 days ago:

Here's where our tomatoes and peppers are planted on the other side of the yard:

Mike put the tomato cages up even though they don't really need it yet - we had them and they might as well be stored where they'll be needed. We still have clear containers over some of the smaller ones so the birds don't eat them while they're young and tender and not big enough to make it if leaves get chomped. Helps keep the moisture in too. Those are Simply Orange and Lemonade containers if you're wondering - love that stuff.

Some close-ups:

Tomatoes

 We planted: Black Cherry, Black Prince, Brandywine, Red Tall Vine, Matt's Wild Cherry. Mike likes to plant from heirloom seeds and collect the seeds to plant the next year. We should have started our seedlings earlier, it seemed like they were stunted there for a while, but they're growing now and we're hoping they'll take off. Mmm... can't wait to make homemade salsa and BBQ chicken calzones with Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes!

Zucchini

(the same dinky one pictured in the left corner of the picture above just 15 days ago)

Some of them didn't come up or else birds ate them so we've been replanting.

Spinach

Taking off like crazy. We need to get eating it before the bugs do.

Onions

Mike planted tons in a couple varieties. Not sure how long these will take to reach maturity.

Carrots

This picture is deceiving. Looks like more than it is close-up.

Here's a shot from above:

Still need to find room for my peas and birds ate my watermelon sprouts so don't know if the little part they left will survive. 

Potatoes

Mike has added several layers of dirt and manure. They are growing faster than anything. Hopefully the potatoes under the dirt are growing well too. We haven't tried this successfully before. We are learning.

 That's our garden update!

Showers of flowers

Not many women are lucky enough to get flowers almost every day. Check out this little collection from the other day. I thought maybe I should get a miniature vase to keep them fresh in, but Lily hasn't really figured out that she should pick the stems too. Sometimes they are tiny little things, sometimes dandelions, sometimes roses. Even if I can't keep them fresh - I get them almost every day. It sure is sweet to get them from a cute little girl who says, "Flower for you, mom. I found a flower for you!" Over and over. The sweetest part is the girl who picks them for me. I am definitely one lucky lady.

Yosemite

So this is probably the most photos I have ever put in a blog post, but Yosemite is absolutely beautiful and we had a blast - and this is my blog so I can do whatever I want. It's been over a month since our little camping trip I just haven't had much time to go through my photos - yes I took even more than this. These are just my favorite 50 or so... Since it has been a month or so I am letting my pictures do most of the talking. I'll just write a little intro.

I had never been to Yosemite. We went in early May and planned to camp in a tent with our friends, but some snowy weather reports in the weeks leading up to our trip led us to reserve a little cabin instead. The weather ended up being pretty great - cold at night, but nice in the day. May is a great time to go because the snow is just melting and there are waterfalls all over the place. Also from what I heard there are not quite as many tourists as later in the summer. A lot of our trip was driving, but it was worth it. There are not a lot of wilderness places to go around where we live - sometimes it feels like endless suburb. Our escape is the beach, but we were hungry for trees... We were not disappointed. What a beautiful forest! I think I could live there, though maybe I should visit it in the winter before committing to that. There are people who live there all the time. There are houses and a school, but I imagine the jobs there have rather tough competition - the guy at the sandwich shop said he had been running the cash register for like 10 years! Anyway, I highly recommend visiting Yosemite, and we do plan to go again except after a drive like that - next visit we'll be staying longer!

Entering Yosemite:

Lily's first marshmallow

Yosemite Falls

I kept trying to capture the scale and beauty of the trees, but couldn't really do it. I'd probably need a much larger lens, but photos can never do it justice.

Mike with our friends looking at a model of where they hiked up the falls the day before we came.

Up by the falls trying to get close, but keep dry.

Where we stopped for lunch.

Me being dorky. Cue "The Hills are Alive!"

My cute kid and husband.

The girls: TaLyn, me, Apryl with Lily

The guys (and Lily): Abraham, Mike with Lily, Mikey

I almost didn't post this because I didn't want to embarrass them. They were trying to look tough. Then I thought: This is too good not to post - they can only blame themselves. So I posted two.

Our good friends Apryl and Mikey.

Lily had a blast climbing all over everything.

Mike helped her out on the big stuff. Check out these huge trees!

Can you believe she is only going to be 2 in July!? She is getting tall!

Lily scoring some snacks from Mikey. Her eyes look as blue as his shirt!

Lily walked the trails with us a long way! I was amazed at how far she went and she was still super happy. Ooh - another good reason to go early in the season: No mosquitoes!

Along the trail. There was a road following along this trail right near us the whole way, but hiking the trail was far prettier and much more fun!

Lily mooching some more snacks from Apryl. The snacks are tastier if they belong to someone else.

Lily trying to scoot down the trail - she must have been getting tired.

Taking pictures through my sunglasses. A rosier view.

Our group heading into the sunset from down the road.

Lily with her souvenir forest friends on the porch of our cabin.

Making the eagle fly.

My current desktop wallpaper. Love this photo - this was right near our campsite.

Mike checking out the falls to see people climbing them.

All tuckered out as we head back home.

Mike can tell you I even took lots of pictures as we drove away. I wasn't ready to go, and the surrounding area outside of Yosemite is quite pretty too - with smaller trees and green rolling hills. I imagine the rainy spring weather is what made it so green. If it were like that year round I would so want to live there!

This is actually one of my favorite photos from the trip. Now that is traveling in comfort. Thank goodness we borrowed that portable DVD player from Andrew and Rebecca. It definitely kept Lily entertained as I'm sure I couldn't have.

Lily trying on her Princess crown. She tried it on Lamby too. Her first Happy Meal toy ever. (We are not generally McDonald's eaters) It might very well be the last because she threw up and Mike credits it to McDonald's - as if watching TV on an 8-10 hour drive could not make you carsick alone!

My adorable and total TV enthralled princess. (Mike would say puke-princess.)

Survivor of her first camping trip.