A Raft Trip

Reading and a Trip to Hyalite

Madigan liked to read books with her Nana while she was visited....Nana has a nack for making them way more interesting then the print does...and for making scary fire truck stories not so scary.
One of the last days, we took a picnic trip to Hylaite Canyon.



And then we went for a walk to the Falls.

Sweet Pea Festival 2008

Kyle's parents arrived the second day of the annual Sweet Pea Festival. On Saturday we packed some dinner and went to the concert. On Sunday we hit Church in the Park and the Children's Activities. Madigan got her face painted for the first time and she LOVED it. It was funny because she remembered she had a cat face whenever we talked about it. She also got a pretty bracelet painted on, but it didn't last too long. She also got to paint (always a favorite), make a flower tutu thingy and play with some bubbles....then it was nap time.

Weekly Veggie Delivery

We joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) this year. So, once a week we get a box of locally and sustainably grown produce. Our folks just got a new piece of property and won't be truly organic for a few years. I'm loving getting our fresh produce every week -there's lots of stuff I wouldn't usually buy at the grocery store. This past week we got a bag of fava beans. They're a little bit of work, but very yummy to keep in the fridge and add to salads, etc. I'm also really enjoying talking about the veggies and the farm with Madigan. She likes to help to just about everything so shelling beans is right up there in her book. See below:



And yes, she's sooo big these days! In a about 6 weeks she turns 2! Where did the last 2 years go?? And she's also choosing her own clothes and in these pictures, her own shoes (or boots).

Oilcloth Lunch Sacks

I have the crafty itch this week and needed to make a few oilcloth lunch sacks for a Tart drop off. Generally I made these (and another style with a strap) and magnets. The owner is pretty into other things but this is what I am getting pretty good at. And it also allows me to do the other sewing, knitting, crafts stuff for my own family; rather then worrying about mass production.
Kyle's parents left on Sunday morning and we are still trying to get back into a routine. I'll try and post our vacation photos later this weekend.

New Outdoor Furniture

Grandma sent Madigan this new outdoor furniture! We were in between diapers when it arrived-hence the nakey butt.

Landscaping is Hard Work

So, when I set out a few months ago to start this landscaping project, I thought to myself "this will just take a day or two". Well, that was not the case. It took so long! And so much work! But look how beautiful it turned out!
At first I started with my little tool that breaks up dirt, but it was clear it would take forever to do the whole section like that. In addition we had a huge dirt pile from the egress excavation and I didn't want to add to it (Kyle hated that pile of dirt already!). So, we rented a rototiller- and we found the earth was hard as rock and it was still super hard to get the dirt out. So, together we rototilled and shoveled a truck load of dirt out of there. Then we leveled it and I began the edging and landscape fabric portion of the project. I don't recommend using that black plastic edging -ever. In the future I'll be using the aluminum edging that you just hammer in (had I known that made this I would have got it from the start). When I went to Murdoch's Ranch and Home Supply this past weekend to get a couple of shrubs and more edging, I ran into a big sale- 30% off all trees, shrubs and perennials-just what I needed. So I bought a few things and headed home to start work. After working all day Saturday and for 3 hours on Sunday, here's the completed project:






I'm so happy with the finished product. We're going to add another potentilla shrub towards the end by the garage and then maybe a plant or two each year. I'd also like so more little rock temples and maybe a gnome or two... But this is what we wanted for now and it looks so nice compared to the compacted dirt landscape that was there before.

Note: In addition to the landscaping, I also had to spend time tamping in all the dirt around the egress window this past weekend. We got hurricane-style storms last week and our egress window well filled up with water and went right into our new bedroom downstairs...twice...ugh. It's all dried out now and we think we have solved the problem of the well filling up, but only time will tell. Our wool carpet is okay for now, but probably needs to be replaced sooner then later....