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First day of second grade

Mackenzie's big time now. In the second grade and apparently very fashion forward :) She was a little bummed because her best bud Shannon isn't in her class for the first time, so we'll see how today goes. I have a feeling she's going to love it, though.

Soccer

Better Late than Never! 4th of July Vacation Notes

Our trip didn't get off to the best start - there was a little bit of car trouble. But the minivan got on the road, the kids, mom, Mooch and I - with Jason not far behind pulling the camper. We had a little scare with Mooch - he got some sort of bug bites that caused him to start swelling - I tried to take a photo, but apparently I was shaking too badly to get a clear shot. After some Benedryl - which in case you were wondering the correct dosage for dogs is one mg per lb - he ended up being ok and by the next day the swelling had gone down. We spent the actual 4th at Lake Michigan watching the fireworks - the kids were troopers. We were at the beach all day, fireworks at dark, then the long walk back to the car. Another day trip was spent at a local (well, an hour away) dairy farm. Fresh ice cream - mmmmm. Finally, we spent a day in Traverse City at the Cherry Festival. The kids and I talked Papa into a cherry pie eating contest - he gave it a good try but got beat out by a local news reporter and was on the local five o'clock news! It was a really fun trip, but boy did we appreciate our air conditioning when we got home!

The Big One

Here's what going on in my garden:

First box: mystery gourd(s) - one bush one vining, red onions (x2 squares), carnival blend carrots - they're different colors like the purple one in the photo (x2 squares), green peppers (x2 squares), green onions (2 squares, 2 varieties - neither is doing great), cilantro (x2 squares), green beans, summer squash (taking over the garden - I didn't know that I needed to get the vining type), zucchini (same story as the squash, but it's not producing as much just yet), peas (starting to sprout a second set of peas!), three tomato plants

Second box: popcorn, sweet corn (already forming ears of corn!!!), jalapenos (x2 squares), cayenne peppers (x2 squares - they're getting huge), hyacinth bean vine (very pretty and supposedly you can eat the entire plant - we'll see...), red potatoes that already have baby potatoes ready to pick, but we're going to let them get a little bigger (x3 squares), basil (x2 squares but one isn't doing so great), two different tomato plants, two pickling cucumbers, and three regular cucumber plants - all of the cukes are growing like crazy - I've already made three jars of pickles, one jar of refrigerator pickles, and a jar of dilly beans. But of course I didn't grow dill or garlic, so I guess I better start taking notes for next year...

Garden Pots

I have some lovely neighbors. When they saw all of the effort I was putting into my square foot garden, there were many seedling offers, and how could I refuse??? A few didn't make it, like the purple basil, some I planted in my garden (hyacinth bean vine) and some had to go into containers - there just was no more space. So far the containers are doing great! In the purple pot I planted a yellow pear tomato plant. It was only about 3 in tall and rescued from a crack in my neighbor's driveway. It was a shoot from the enormous plant they had last year. It's still tiny, and it's just now getting flowers. I also have three cucumber plants in the big pot, and two Sweet 100 cherry tomato plants in the other pots.

Lulu Turns One!

Luciana recently celebrated her 1st birthday. Seriously, where does the time go??? Anyway, this little one is a hot mess! I mean really, what one year old, while in the middle of trying to figure out what this yummy gooey stuff on her hands is, picks up her WHOLE cake?!?! It was a pretty memorable cake eating experience :) She had a ton of fun with her little friends and especially with her big cousins. She got a lot of cute gifts, including not one but two new purses (a girl can never have enough bags, right?). We got her a water table that all of the kids were drenching their party wear in. It was pretty funny from where I was standing. I'm now the mom with the older kids in this equation, which means I've already learned that what gets wet will dry, but the parents with the younger ones haven't figured that out yet- muahaha.

Anyway, as you can tell by the photos, Mackenzie and Cameron are very good with her, and very patient. They love spending time with our little Lulu. Cameron always tries to make her laugh and Mackenzie always wants to teach her. We get her for a few days next week and we can't wait!

Characters

The kids got their caricatures drawn recently - Mackenzie is on a horse in hers and Cameron is a Detroit Tiger. A little reminder on their walls of when they were little, since they're growing up SO stinking fast!!!

Farm Camp 2010

Another fun week at farm camp! This one was even a little more special for Mackenzie because on the first day she met a bff that she hung with all week (see photo). Of course she got to take care of the babies (one piglet got smooshed by his mom - I guess that's the reality of farm life), ride the horses, and see her counselor from last year, too. It was really great seeing my newly confident little girl have such a fantastic time as an old pro on the farm - I can't say enough great things about farm camp!!!

The Beach at Grandma and Grandpa's

During Farm Camp week, the kids and I had a great time at the beach that was right around the corner from Joy and Randy's house. It was clean, not crowded, had restrooms and a few playgrounds, and it was free :)

Mackenzie's Last Day

First grade is over! I can't believe my baby will be in second grade next year! She's reading chapter books, friends with everyone, and always wants to learn. She received quite a few awards at the ridiculously long awards ceremony on the last day, including being awarded the most responsible one in her class (many children received many awards and it was sooo boring, but I couldn't miss Mackenzie getting her awards - nor would she let me miss it). I am really proud of how well she's done this year and how hard she's tried. We're looking forward to a great school year next year (and a fun summer)!

Cameron's last day of preschool`

Cameron had a great last day of 3 year old preschool. They had a potluck picnic at a local park. He got to play with all of his 'best friends' and they had a great time. We had to bring honeydew to the potluck, which was Cameron's request. And, my little ham got embarrassed when mommy tried to take his picture with all 'the guys' so I was only able to get a picture of him with Bree, one of his many girlfriends. According to the teacher he's quite the ladies man :)