Justin the Artist

Justin is so creative and sometimes he amazes me. He went online and watched several utube vidneos on how to make your own Halo helmet. First he took paper and made a pattern and then he cut the pieces out of cardboard from old shoe boxes. Then he taped the pieces together, found some plastic from his predator figure box to make a shield and then he spray painted it red. It looks really good and he spent the whole day working on it. He loves to draw and create things and he has real talent. Marcus loves to draw too and so does Breanna. They get that from Bryan's side of the family.

Pumpkins!

My volunteer pumpkin plants bloomed while we were in Maui and now we have a few little pumpkins forming. It' s fun to see them grow and I keep checking for more. I've been soaking a plant in the yard each day and it's really starting to show. I know my pumpkin grew overnight and I see new growth on all the plants. The plants haven't been wilting in the afternoon like they usually do either. I need to cage the tomato plants and the pepper plants that I got from the organic farm that we toured in Pleasanton two months ago. I planted them really deep like the guy told me and they took a while to grow but they look really full and healthy after a few days fo soaking them. The other tomato plants are doing okay. The leaves are turning yellow and getting crispy but we do have tomatoes on the vines and a couple are starting to turn red. I've harvested 3 cherry tomatoes and 1 little roma tomato. They sure were good. The grapes are still growing strong but they aren't ready to pick yet since it hasn't been warm enough. The corn didn't do so well. I have one really good stalk and everyone who grows corn knows that you have to have several stocks close together so they can polinate each other. My watermelon plants are the same size as the day I brought them home from the nursery and planted them in the ground. I have been soaking them too everyday and I think I see some growth. My lettuce plants are huge and really need to be harvested. Those were volunteer plants too so they aren't spaced correctly. The pumpkin plants are taking over and I love seeing all that green in my garden.

It's Summer!

I finally feel like summer is here. We left for Maui June 9th and came back June 24th. We had a great time and it was so nice to be on the beach and stay in a condo and not have much to do. As soon as we came home we went to an A's game, went to the fair, bought a new car, saw friends, did laundry and got the house and yard back in order. Then we had the 4th of July weekend to get ready for. Justin went to church camp last week and since one of the boys was gone I didn't feel like I had to do school with them. We're doing school through the summer because I feel behind on things. We got so busy during the school year doing other educational things that we never got to the things I had planned. Anyway, I've been able to stay up late, sleep in late, move slowly during the sunny day, clean, organize, sew and run errands. We even had a garage sale today and I finished a book I had started a while ago. It feels like summer. Marcus left for scout camp today and I miss him already. He does so much around the house and he doesn't need that much from me. He's fun to have around and that boy grows every day. I'm enjoying watching him grow into a young man. He's forming his ideas and opinions and is willing to listen to what I have to say. He joined a boy scout troop in February and we've really been struggling with some fo the issues that come from a group like this-communication, organization, expectations, disappointments, confusion. We're making progress and Marcus said he would give it until after camp to decide wether or not to stay in scouts. I hope he has a good time. The weather was strange today-well, hasn't it been strange for a while? I was sitting in the living room and the school house out back looked pink so I looked at the sunset and it was beautiful . Here is a picture.