Me

justmeee2

Our Baptism

 

On Sunday October 18th, 2009 My three children and I were baptized. (my husband Mark had already been baptized)  Here are the pictures he took of us at our big event!

 

Christian:

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Isabelle:

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She was so excited and happy!

 

Seth:  (the water was Cold! you can tell in this photo!)

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And Me:

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YAY us!

Seth’s 11th birthday party

This weekend we had a party at the local skate park to celebrate Seth’s 11th birthday. He had several kids from school and from church come and join the fun. The skate park is huge and luckily INDOORS! Here are some pictures of the kids skating. The lighting was Horrible for taking photographs, and I didn’t have my flash with me. That paired with all the fast paced movement made it difficult, but here are some of the best ones.

 

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Our Sk8tr Boi. He’s had a toy with wheels in his hands every since he could grap with his little baby fingers. It was great to see him in his element

 

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This is quite possible the cutest skateboarder on the planet. She’s so talented she can even skate in a dress!

 

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If you get tired, no problem! Just sit!

 

 

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This was his cake that I made him. His favorite, lego men, with an ipod

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the cake got a bit wet in the rain

 

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Seth opening his very own highly anticipated green Ipod nano.

We all had a great time, especially seth, who declares this was his most awsomest birthday ever ;)

 

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First day of school ‘09-’10

Well today was the big day! The first day of school!! The kids have been sooo excited! all three of them! That was a nice change. It’s fun to prepare for school when everyone is happy about it. No one had any problems getting up this morning (ok maybe I did) and they were all dressed in about two minutes flat. I made everyone pancakes for breakfast, and then we went out to snap some quick first day photos. They climbed on the bus , and all too soon they were gone! I stood there waving at the bus as it pulled away and then thought, wait a min., they’re gone! Thats when the sadness hit. I miss my babies already. We had a lovely summer together and I’m sad to see it end. Now I have to share them with the rest of the world again. Siiigh. Soon I will start making our traditional first day of school chocolate chip cookies. (mark’s favorite part of the day! lol) I can’t wait to hear all  about their day! Here are the quick snapshots we took this morning

 

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Lake Vacation

This past week we were on vacation at the lake. I journaled a bit everyday to keep tabs on what we did. I am just going to paste it all here with pictures of the trip. Fair warning, as usual there are a TON pf photos. If you get any red X’s just right click on it and click “show photo”  I promise they are all there, but different computers quit loading at different times, so yours may not load them all the first time.

 

Day one – saturday- June 27

Today we Went to walmart and stocked up on food and goodies. Bought a book and Got minnows for fishing and we bought me a hammock!! Marky set it up for me as soon as we got to the house. He put it in the most perfect place under the trees at the edge of the water when I can read my book and watch the kids swim! It was heaven. It got to 106 degrees today so I soon decided that i needed a dip in the water myself!

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(photo took on my iphone of my car’s thermometer)  

 

So mark an I joined the kids in swimming for a few hours. It was really nice. The water was like bath water on the top and cool a few feet below the surface, so we all Swam around searching for the cool spots :) .

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 Mark took the boys knee boarding after awhile. They are really getting good!! They can turn side to side and one handed. Isabelle took her a nap in the hammock and I swam out a bit towards the middle of the lake. I think I’ve decided to attempt to swim all the way across to the other side of the lake before the week is over. I’ll let you know how that goes! I got pretty far today , even after swimming with the family for an hour And a half .  After watching the boys for awhile I decided I wanted in on the action too! We stuck isabelle in the boat with the guys, I grabbed on to the board and away we went! I had originally told them that I just wanted to body board. The water felt really funny on my legs while we zoomed across the water! Not long after we started I decided that I was going to try to knee board myself. It took me two or three times to figure it out but I actually got myself up and strapped In! I was so proud :) so I got up, strapped in, grabbed the handle, pryed it off the board, and the boat pulled me so far forward I knew there was no way I was going to be able to lean back and essentially attempt to pull the boat in reverse by hand as it was hauling butt down the lake in the other direction! I was way too weak after all the swimming I had done as well the previous attempts at hauling my full body weight against the G forces mark was putting me through :) not to mention I’ve never had ANY sort of upper body strength. I’ve never done a single pull up in my life! Yea let’s hope I’m never stuck on the side of a cliff somewhere! (no pics of my ride unfortunatly!)

I will try again though. Who knows I may build me some muscles, lol. Swimming across the lake would help that!

When we got back up in the house. Christian made us all nachos for dinner, which was so nice as I can barely lift my Arms!

After dinner mark set out his trot lines and is gearing up for some nightime fishing. Oh ! He caught the biggest drum today !  It was the biggest one we’ve ever had. It was a monster! I really hate that we dont eat drums!

As for what I’m doing right now, I’m relaxing in my hammock by the edge of the water enjoying the breeze, listening to the birds and waves lapping the rocks , while watching the sun go down. Ahhhh. Peace and relaxation! Gotta go enjoy the moment!

 

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 (pic from iphone)

 

 

Day two (sun) June 28

Woke up this morning to mark holding up the nine fish he caught and kept.

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 I’m glad he had some success today, he loves fishing so much. Mark sat and talked with me as I layed out in the hammock while the kids swam some more. Ah the lazy days of summer.

Today is a day of rest. Mark took a nice nap, I spent the day reading (YES!) and the kids watched movies, read books, and played board games and built things.

 

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Isabelle LOVES to read!

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A rare capture of isabelle in an unposed moment. ( I LOVE this pic!)

 

 

I won’t be attempting to swim across the lake today, I’m way too sore!  I don’t think that knee boarding is going to be the sport for me!

For dinner I cooked homemade mashed potatos and chicken fried steak for dinner. Yummy!

In the evening a cold front blew in and cooled things off to a very nice temperature. Mark and I sat outside for a bit and talked. The breeze felt so good! Then We all snuggled in for the night and watched pirates: at worlds end. Love my pirates!

 

 

Day three - monday-  June 29

I couldn’t have asked for better weather today!! It was absolutely gorgeous from Sun up to Sun down.

Mark and christian got up early this morning and went fishing.  Mark caught an absoultly huge catfish on one of his jug lines, and both caught a few more fish each.

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(mark trying to make the fish look even bigger, lol!)

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Spent a lovely day reading and relaxing. I’m still sore from knee boarding, and bruises have begun to pop up along my arms from it! got a whopper of one on my leg too! A couple of my ribs are still sore to. Thinking I won’t be trying that again. But it was fun while it lasted!

Didn’t attempt to swim across the lake today , the water was a bit rough due to the wonderful breezes. Hope I get the chance to try it before the weeks over!

All five of us hopped in the boat this afternoon and went fishing. Things were slow at first. But after awhile The boys were pulling them out as fast as they could get their lines in! I caught a few fish myself, then layed out on the boat with my book watching everyone else fish. ( I think my arms just got too tired!)

Just anouther relaxing day. I finished the book I was reading, good thing I brought anouther! I’ve been getting so much pleasure out of my new hammock by the water. The kids Are really enjoying it as well. I just can’t believe it took me ten years to get one down here! I’ll always have one from now on that’s for sure!

 

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I jut love this picture of isabelle relaxing in the hammock. (i snuck up on her again) I couldn’t decide which edit I liked best!

 

All of the boys plan on rising early to go do some more fishing. Mark is planning a big fish fry this weekend once the rest of the clan arrives. I think we nearly have enough fish already and it’s only Monday night! We are up to 5 quart sized baggies full of fish fillets!

The one down side Is christian started not feeling well tonight at dinner time. I hope it’s not serious and that he feels better tomorrow. I’m thinking he got dehydrated today With all that fishing non stop. We will see tomorrow. Many prayers that he will heal quickly.

 

 

Day four – tuesday – June 30

Mark and Seth went fishing early in the morning while the rest of us slept in. ( I love summer!) Christian is feeling back to normal again today. Hallelujah. He thinks he just got sick watching all the fish being filleted. poor guy.

Today we took the boat and spent the day on lake P.K. We explored around the lake then stopped at a beach and spent the afternoon swimming and playing in the sand. Hannah went with us this time. Dont think she thinks much of sand!

We wore ourselves out! I think everyone is going to sleep well tonight!

After we got back we grilled hamburgers on the back deck, they were big juicy ones and they were yummy!

Mark and I sat out during the sunset in this most gorgeous weather. Who could ask for any better weather than a High of 85 with a slight breeze at the beginning of July???

Lovely!

Pics of the beach at P.K. -

 

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Miss hannah on the boat

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all smiles

 

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(love the ears flapping in the wind!)

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Hey baby!

 

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relaxin in the raft

 

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playin in the sand

 

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what IS this stuff? ugh, i don’t think I like it!

 

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I love this man. I love this man so much it hurts.

 

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Mark knows how to relax!

 

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Swimming? you want me to swim? seriously?

 

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the only pic you will see of me in this post. see! i was really there!

 

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Ahhhh, this is the life for me, tootsies relaxing in the surf.  (my feet get more exposure than I do!)

 

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hey mom, can we go now??

 

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anyone who has kids and is interested in photography knows the look of “Photographer’s Kid syndrome”  This is it .”Enough pics mom! put that thing away!”

 

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LOL goofy kids

 

 

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alright woman, I demand you take me back home this minute! I am not amused!

 

 here’s a story for ya:

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there once was a cute little alligator swimming along peacefully in a lake

 

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but wait! whats this! she see’s a prey!

 

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Uh oh! She’s locked her sights on an attack!

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She slowly sneaks up on her prey……and……

 

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She attacks!

 

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A struggle ensues

 

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and he’s down! the alligator was successful!

 

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the end

 

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Never fear, he’s fine, see……

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Day five – wed – July 1

Slept in. Had breakfast. Now I’m baking fourth of July cupcakes!

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Mark and Seth are still out fishing. I  hope they don’t get burned! We all got some sun yesterday. It’s nice to finally have some color !

Plan on relaxing more today. Tomorrow is my day on the town, but today will be a day of laziness. Ahhh! Sad our vacation is now half over, but it’s been so relaxing!

 

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Been making plans for our lake house bedroom renovation. I’ve finally got it all worked out exactly how I want it, Inside and out. I am excited to get started on it. But not this week, too much relaxing needs to be done this week! ;)

After marks nap i went and Checked the jug lines with him, caught two catfish. Went over some plans together for a fish cleaning station for him on the dock. sure will be nice for him to have one. It will make things so much easier for him. That way he won’t have to clean fish like this anymore

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 He’s almost got all the fish he needs for our fish fry on Saturday. I’m glad he’s been so successful. carrying on this tradition of his grandfather’s is so important to him.

Had ourselves a nice sun shower when we got back to shore. It was enjoyable and It cooled things off nicely. Which is nice as it warmed up a bit today.

 

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Yikes! My car reportedly got to 111 this week but I didn’t get a pic of it. Scary hot!

 

Watched more movies, kids worked on their knex machine. It’s getting big, not sure how we will get it home!

 

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Day six – Thursday – July 2nd-  Went into town today, got groceries for everyone this weekend, bought a swimsuit for isabelle for summer camp.

Felt the need to be productive today so  isabelle and I scrubbed the kitchen floor on our hands and knees. It’s funny, you could always tell when I was pregnant because I would scrub the floor by hand. It was my favorite nesting chore. now its the only way I do floors. Nothing else works as well. I know I won’t be able to do that forever though!

Mark and the boys caught a ton of fish! We officially have more than enough for the fish fry! Now he’s working on our stock for home.

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so heavy!

 

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Checking the jug lines -

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Day seven – Friday – July  3rd

I officially miss my bed at home!! Marks building us a frame for our lake room bed so hopefully I will sleep better tonight! The clan starts arriving today. Sad our vacation is almost over! 

Got all of our laundry done, most of our stuff gathered up, and Christian packed for camp. We are leaving early Sunday to take Him to church where they will be leaving for summer camp.

Started baking our fourth of July cake. Hope it turns out well! It will look pretty neat if all works out!  the boys wanted to help so I got them to use their muscles and work the fondant for me

 

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We made quite a mess!

Been too busy to attempt my swim across the lake. Not sure I will get a chance to attempt it this go round. That’s a little sad, but the lake’s not going anywhere

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Isabelle with her cousin’s puppy (nope! no more doggy’s for me!!!!)

 

Day eight – saturday – July 4th

got up,  and once mark got back from his early morning fishing he and I cooked breakfast for everyone. Bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy.  Made too much as usual, lol. My stomach wasn’t feeling good so I didn’t eat. I think it’s stress again. Not ready for our vacation to be over!

Finished the fourth of july cake. It’s adorable! my favorite one yet!

 

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Ran into walmart with stacy. Bought the cutest summer dress for Lilly!

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Got back to the lake and crashed. I didnt sleep well last night at all. (bed frame hasn’t been built yet)  I need my bed at home!

After awhile I pulled myself off the couch and started on getting ready for our fish fry. Peeled and chopped potatos and onions for french fries. Got the teens to shuck all the corn for me. I really started to not feel good. I hadn’t eaten anything all day so I think my blood sugar got really low.

Mark fried everything up.

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There was so much fish! it was wonderful. We had too much! We fed 17 people and there was still left over fish, NOT including the couple bags of fish we didn’t even cook! I am certain we caught all the fish in the lake! Mark did such a good job!

 

When it started getting dark the kids got to light their smoke bombs and other little firecrackers

 

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Our little fire dancer (she looks so tall in these pics!)

 

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My baby girl is growing up too fast!

 

  At last it was time for the big fireworks! I ended up with a ton of photo’s as usual, so here are just a few of my favorites

 

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I couldn’t believe I got sunflare on firework pics!)

 

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Hope everyone had a safe and fun fourth of july !!

 

 

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I’m going to regret this

 

Yesterday we spent more time on the lake. It was such a beautiful day I couldn’t resist joining in on the fun. I jumped in the inner-tube and off we went. My stinker of a husband grabbed my camera and snapped away while my son drove the boat. I’m seriously considering posting those pictures of him jumping off the swing right now, but hey I’m the one posting these so I guess he can’t be held accountable, lol. I know that I am going to seriously regret posting these pics, but hey, I’m a fun girl and I gotta laugh and make fun of myself sometimes right.  (this is for you mom)

 

 

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My son drives likes a maniac. He will be learning how to drive my car very soon. I’m even more nervous about that now.

 

And I leave you with one more priceless gem of me……

 

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Ok now that that’s over with, (ya done laughing yet???)  I’ll have you know that both my son AND my husband tried to throw me, but I prevailed! I would not be thrown!  Though my husband did succeed in drowning me a little!

 

Now it was time for the boys to use the Knee board for the first time

 

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We finally found Seth’s Thing. He had a blast and was really good at it!

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He had some great runs. He even starting learning to do tricks

 

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Oh yea, he’s addicted now

 

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Rock on Seth, Rock on

 

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Then it was christian’s turn

 

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As good a ski’er as he is, he met his match on the knee board. Apparently the smaller you are the easier it is to pull yourself up. For a long while we thought he was just going to body board all day!

 

 

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But he finally made it up!

 

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He did an awsome job too. He’s getting good at jumping waves.

 

Mark did attempt the kneeboard, but I was too busy driving the boat to take pics. Maybe next time. (he wants a month to pump iron first anyway ;)

 

I forsee a nice long water logged summer for this family! ;)

 

 

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Memorial Day Weekend

 

Last weekend we spent Memorial Day Weekend together as a family at the lake. We had the best time! It was such a wonderful weekend full of play time and relaxation. The weather was absolutely perfect! We couldn’t have hand picked better weather. I of course took tons of photos, so this post is going to be FULL of them! (if you get any that fail to load due to the amount on the site,  just right click on the red X and click “show picture”, and it will reload it for you)

So here are some snapshots of how we spent our three day holiday weekend! (I’ll tell ya now, there are none of me! (sorry mom!)

The boys played a lot on their Skim Board (that they received courtesy of their Mema and Pepa last year!) They had a blast. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more them or me! They just loved showing off for the camera ;) and I loved that they were showing off for the camera :)

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Staying on is really hard!

 

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Here he looks like a real surfer!

 

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He made it all the way down!

 

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Whoops!

 

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After awhile of skim boarding they decided to turn it into a good ol’ slip n slide!

 

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I love the water in this shot!

 

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After a good run of splashing

 

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He’d probably kill me for posting this one, but I love it! he was sliding on his knee’s

 

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break dancing?

 

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another one of my favorites. Love this action shot! notice his brother in the background cheering him on for nailing the move, lol!

 

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HI there!

 

 

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Whew! what a ride!

 

 

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rolling?

 

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haha great pose

 

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silly boys

 

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My rock star guitarist

 

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the water is this big!

 

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a genuine smile before he spun around and ran away from me, lol, can’t remember why, I was chasing him or somthing.

 

For an interesting twist, the boys went with me to my most favorite Tea Room for lunch. Isabelle wanted to go with her daddy to go get minnows (she loves her animals no matter what kind! lol)

 

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(Pics taken with my Iphone) I know they don’t looked thrilled here, but they were both trying hard not to look like they liked being in a ladies “tea room” , lol, but we all actually had a great time, and the food was amazing as always! It was great for them to get a little culture in their lives as well, lol.

 

 

We also spent some time at the park. I love this park. it’s gorgeous, and we always have so much fun!

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my youngest and oldest! Wow can they really be mine??

 

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 the boys proceeded to challenge each other by jumping off the swings. Half the time I was probably pressing the shutter button with my eyes closed! Thank God for good health insurance!

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My hubby got in on the action. This is him right before he jumped off the swings with his son. I will tell you now that he did NOT nail the landing. I will also tell you that Yes, I do have fast action photos that sequence his one and only jump, and No, I can not post them because he has threatened me if I even thought about it, lol, so those aren’t going to be added here today, sorry. You’ll just have to take my word for it that they are freaking hilarious! lol! Oh and yes, he is fine ;)

 

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If it wasn’t already, it’s now official, I have the most gorgeous daughter on the planet!

 

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hiya seth! are ya teeterin or totterin?

 

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Isabelle set up this shot,  and wanted me to take her pic here. lol. think she’s used to posing for me? ;)

 

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Hi baby! see he’s alive and well :)

 

 

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Love this fountain. Love my kids. ;)

 

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And isabelle LOVES to pose! lucky me!

 

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Funny story. The kids wanted to go up and see the goose

 

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where the goose promptly turned and attacked! and the kids then screamed and ran away. only to repeat the process at least two more times. We then had to explain that they were too close to the momma’s nest. They had a light bulb moment, lol, it was so funny

 

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Hiya handsome

 

After the park we did some water skiing! Christian is our pro ski-er, lol.

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gettin the ski’s on

 

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and he’s up!

 

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isabelle watchin her brother

 

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Daddy drivin the boat, his happy place

 

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Ohhh I could just kiss this face all day! My brown eyed teddy bear.

 

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Back to the skiing

 

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here is his reaction to mark making him jump waves

 

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He’s not sure how he feels about going over waves, lol

 

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Hi gorgeous! come over here,  I need to kiss your face again!

 

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Now it’s seth’s turn to ski!

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big brother’s gonna help you out. Whoa look at the size of that ski! I don’t know about this!

 

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ski’s up! ready to go!

 

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and he’s off!

 

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Glub glub glub!

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unfortunatly this is how seth water ski’s. LOL! he need’s much smaller ski’s, so we’re gonna get him some before his next go round! (this shot just cracks me up!)

 

Time for fishing!

 

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Christian caught the first one.

 

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He’s a bigg’un! unfortunatly he’s a drum, and drum’s taste yucky so back he went.

 

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Hi purty girl, catchin anything? Isabelle and I have pretty matching pink fishing poles. Every girl’s gotta have a pink pole! :)

 

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Seth snoozing while his pole is being set up for him, lol

 

After fishing we went riding around the lake. It was so gorgeous!

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goin through the channel

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I love seeing all the lilly pads and Cat tails

 

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oh and these guys were on the lake too! lol

 

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Isabelle loves to ride up front like her daddy when he was little. She was just a bucket up giggles up there.

 

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Big brother joining in on the fun

 

At night we would do some more fishing. Isabelle caught the prettiest catfish I’ve ever seen!

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love the color

 

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Seth was the fishing rock star at night. He caught several HUGE fish.

 

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one of seth’s catfish. The Drum’s he caught were even bigger!

 

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He was pretty overwhelmed with his success and needed a moment after pulling hard to reel them in!

 

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Ok, here is the bass that I caught, I SWEAR it was bigger in person! It was THIS BIG! lol ;)

 

And of course we can’t forget swimming!

 

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Christian fished some more. (yes, ladies and gentleman, the seventies are back, lol)

 

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Not the best action shot but notice the rainbow on the left! too cool!

 

So there’s some photo’s of some things we did last weekend. We truely couldn’t have asked for a better weekend!

 

 

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Renaissance Fair

 

 

The hubs and I went to the  Renaissance Fair two weeks ago.  I just now FINALLY got through all of the pics I took. There were a lot more than I thought! We rode the motorcycle down as it was such lovely weather. It was a great day!

 

First up was  a show called “Last Chance Forever”  It was bird conservationist’s giving flight demonstrations, as well as important information on bird conservation. I worked with a wildlife rehab center for about two years so I took great joy in seeing this show.

 

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This was one very well trained buzzard!

 

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This owl was my favorite. Just beautiful!

 

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Prey demonstration

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Getting ready for another flight. His eyes look so sad!! But he was very focused on dinner!

 

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He caught it mid air!

You can find them here:  

 http://www.lastchanceforever.org/

 

 

This show is called Cast in Bronze. The masked man plays the most amazing music through this instrument called a Carillon. You really have to hear it. He’s one of a kind, check him out here http://www.castinbronze.com/

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I couldn’t decide between color & B&W!

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Some plays of a pretty window

 

The hubs needed a potty break so I hung with the elephants

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“Hi, how are ya”

 

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A really cool spiral staircase made out of branches

 

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And again in color

 

Now this next show was somthing else!  These guys are called “The German Brothers”

 

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They have a German rap show

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Which is also audience participation

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They were absolutely hilarious, but we hadn’t seen anything yet…..

 

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Because when one of the brothers picked an audience member for part of their gag, they soon found out that they picked an openly Gay man. And their once PG show, quickly raced toward rated R, as they jokes now took on…….

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a WHOLE NEW meaning! lol. 

They quickly lost contolof the show, and we were all laughing soooo hard I couldn’t take any more pictures, because I was shaking so hard with laughter I couldn’t hold the camera still. No matter how many times they’ve done this show, they will NEVER forget this one! Not sure they can ever yell “It’s WEINER MAN!” again with a strait face!

This show alone was worth the entrance fee to the fair!

 

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A pretty castle

 

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Love the old world look

 

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This guy is a glass blower. He made us a pretty bowl. Can’t believe that little bit will soon be a bowl!

 

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Into the fire for more liquid glass

 

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shaping it

 

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adding a ridge

 

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Oh look! Eye contact! Hello Mr. Man!  (name that cartoon)

 

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Hot stuff! It could never get below 1,000 degree’s or it would shatter

 

 

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Adding more glass to the rim. it now has an opening

 

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Amazing how gravity does all the work! the bowl opens right up

 

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Spinning the bowl to make it wider

 

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hanging it upside down creates these beautiful petals

 

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Almost done! when it cools it will be green. The orange is all heat

 

 

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A funny little singing hobbit. A pretty tall hobit at that.

 

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This here is Doktor Kaboom. He  is also German, and likes to yell a lot, (in a nice way). Like that man in the wall behind him.

 

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He also likes to play with non dairy creamer

 

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And fire. Doktor Kaboom says we need to stop drinking non dairy creamer!

 

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Here he teaches us to only buy our latex Gloves in Texas

 

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And not in Oklahoma, or this will always happen

 

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And that made Doktor Kaboom very sad that all his gloves popped

 

 

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So we played with somthing else! 

 

Doktor Kaboom is a very funny  comedian/scientest and he has a website and is creating a club full of fun things for parents and kids to do together to enjoy science

http://www.doktorkaboom.com/

http://www.doktorkaboom.com/join.html

 

An onery Leprechan

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watch out for his flying insults! Luckily I didn’t get any ;)

 

There were all kinds of craft demonstrations

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This man made knives

 

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Here you got to pick a geode and crack it open and take home what was inside!

 

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A potter

 

 

 

 

And now for the people. There’s always going to be some interesting characters at a Reniassance fair!

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Look closely. That tree is a man! See his head at the top? (And the fox is a woman, we’re going to assume!)

 

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A drum group. Gypsies perhaps?

 

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People on stilts

 

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What is a scotch egg? Hmmmm.

 

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Uh oh ! Looks like they might dual!

 

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I really liked this mans outfit!

 

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This guy balances on his head! Yeouch! (oh and kudo’s to the guy in front of me with the film Nikon! I still have mine too!)

 

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Some of the outfits just made you wonder!

 

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I Swear I know this guy, I just can’t place him! He’s in front of my favorite shop. Chainmaille! They had great stuff for nice prices

 

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And he’s one last one. If any of you love Jeff dunham as much as we do, you’ll get the hilarity in this photo. Mac n cheese…. on a Stiiiiiiiick! That joke is big between my oldest son and I , it’s kind of our thing ;) And my dear husband does his best to get in on it too :)

 

Hope you enjoyed the photos! We had so much fun, I hate to have to wait another year to go! If you’ve never been, please go and support your Renaissance fairs! they wonderful!

Ok one more photo, this is a n old photo from Ren fest three years ago, and it was taken with a crappy point and shoot, but I still love it because it’s me and PIRATES! I love going to the ren fest during pirate day! Unfortunately we weren’t able to go  at that time this year but I still cherish this photo!

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Happy Ren Fest!

 

 

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Kittens

We have some new faces in our house this week. Over the weekend we had a litter of kittens. It was a very stressful and intense time. This was the hardest delivery I’ve ever assisted. It was a LOT of work and stress.  It literally took two days for her to deliver three babies. That makes one of the kittens a whole day older than its two siblings. It doesn’t need to be said that we had one very TIRED momma on our hands. Thankfully after much prayer all three babies made it out alive and the momma survived as well. HORRAY! Momma and babies are thriveing beautifully. She’s such a sweet girl and being an excellent mommy. Without further ado, here is some cuteness overload!

 

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Does it GET any cuter than this????

 

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One tired momma!!!

Let the planting begin!

 

Spring is here! Even though its actually in the 90’s today we still have to call it spring ;)   You know what Spring means! Flowers!!!  I have been so anxious to get started on my gardening, and yesterday I took the plunge!  I bought several bags of good soil (cause ya know here in texas all we have is clay clay and more clay!) and a whole variety of flowers and plants. I even got veggie  tables! lol.  I’m so excited to finally have a vegetable garden this year! it will be small since I wanted to get my feet wet, but thats ok, because it will be full of stuff we eat pretty regularly and that excites me!

Let me show you what I will be planting this week…… (as in my usual fashion this post will be pic heavy! my apologies for anyone with slow internet! I think their worth it though ;)

 

This year I wanted some plants to go in with my Flowers for a little variety.

 

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This is called Wizard Scarlet Coleus. I got two of these at my local nursery

 

 

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This one is in the same family and is called Wizard Jade Coleus. I just love two toned leaves! Also purchased at the nursery

 

 

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A pretty pink geranium found at Home Depot

 

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this is a Pink Petunia. I got this one at Wally World

 

 

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A pretty purple Petunia from Walmart

 

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A nice dark purple Petunia from Walmart.

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And some white ones

 

Now on to the really pretty stuff!

 

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This gorgeous guy is an Evolution Blue Sage purchased from our nursery. I love the height, the colors, and the different shape

 

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A spider plant for interest. I got this one at wally world, they were a fraction of the price my nursery wanted for them

 

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These are called Celosia Plumosa. I got a pretty mix. I plan on creating a colorful border with these babies.

 

 

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This is a Nymph Coral. It hasn’t quite bloomed yet. when it does it will be nice and full with these pretty and unusual flowers. love the pink and white together!

 

The next three are called Ranunculus, but I can’t help but call them cabbage roses just so I know what I’m talking about

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Gorgeous unique purple and whites

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bright yellows

 

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and hot pink ones

 

I got them for a steal at Home Depot, and even better, they are perennials! See ya next year “cabbage roses” !

 

 

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I found these beauty’s hiding at walmart. its the only one I saw, and was a bit pricey, but well worth it to me. its in a big bushy hanging basket, at the moment, but its going in the ground by my doorway tonight! I just love the shock of purple in the centers of the Bright yellows.  Oh yea, its called Osteospermum, I call them GORGEOUS yellow daisys, lol!

 

 

 

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And I truly think that these are my favorites this season. They are tall and just a lovely shade of blue. I’m a sucker for wildflowers, and these make me think of them. I got them at my nursery and they are called Plumbago. I want lots more!

 

 

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these funky things are my climbing roses that I planted last year. My roses had a rough time last year, but I think this year will be better. I LOVE the colors in these. My other rose bush hasn’t quite bloomed yet, its *almost* ready to

 

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these beauty’s truly are wild flowers. They are peaking out of my walkway and I don’t have the heart to pull them so they are gonna stay. They are really cute, as they close up at night and then re-open in the morning.  Very pretty color combo, and they are tiny

 

 

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This interesting plant is called fuchsia. It stopped both me and my mother dead in our tracks when we saw it. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and had to have it. So sneaky with its bright pink bulbs, that when they bloom, reveal shocking purple inside! I also like how they grow both Up and Down. I had to have one for my hanging basket this year. I think its super cool ;)

 

So that’s whats going in my flower garden so far. I was not able to find pansy’s which are one of my favorites, so I am going to plant some seeds and see if I can get some to grow

 

Now on to the veggies!  

 

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these babies started the whole thing. I passed by them and instantly knew what they were. And that I HAD to have them!  Then I had to bury my face in a few bunches. Can you guess what they are? My All time favorite CILANTRO! that’s what! mmmm mexican recipes here I come!!

 

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I also grabbed a couple of these. They are Fat Boy Bell Peppers. mmmm mmmm mmmm

 

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And watch out! I’m attempting some tomatos. hmmm with all these plants, I’m thinking large bowls of salsa are in my cooking future!

 

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And for the seed catagory we have these

 

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Green beans. I’m already researching some yummy recipes for these puppys

 

And there you have it! 

 

I would LOVE to hear what others are planting this season!! Leave me a comment and tell me all about your plans!

 

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