Hannibal Cavemen

The raccoon ruined our picture- he snuck up in the back and scared Grace!
Running the Bases

This summer Hannibal got a prospect league team. My sister actually got a job working with them in guest services. So one of the fun things this summer has been having her live with us part time. It has been a little more interesting since our basement flooded. Instead of her having the basement to herself she has been sleeping on our couch & we have all been sharing one bathroom. But, she has been a trooper and other than my kids waking her up with excitement at 7 a.m. its really worked out fine. The girls love running out to the couch each morning to find Aunt Jo Jo (since she is usually at work when they go to bed). And I've enjoyed being able to sneak away and do girl stuff with her like going out to eat & to the movies.

We have been wanting to take the girls to a game all season. Well, kind of last minute it worked out for us to go on Sunday. My parents were coming to the game and someone from church offered to share their season tickets. Free tickets + extra helpers = perfect opportunity, even if we were tired from our trip! The girls really enjoyed it. Grace loved the "funny men." Her name for their two mascots, Rascal & Shoeless Joe. They also loved waving to Aunt JoJo (even though she didn't dance). And they ran the bases after the game. Faith was determined to walk the entire thing all by herself, even though we walked all the way around the outfield and then the bases. It wasn't even hot & the Cavemen won! (both of which haven't happened recently)

Summer Fun

This past week has been full of fun things! Last weekend our small group had a Progressive Dinner. I didn't get many good pictures except of the kids. At our first stop we had a fruity red drink that was very yummy. (Did I mention Faith dumped hers on the light carpet?) Then at the second stop we had appetizers. Finally, we had a taco bar. The family who hosted the main part of the meal decorated with Mexican decorations. Above, Faith is sporting her hat.

Well, it has finally gotten hot this week. Our air conditioning has been on the fritz and officially broke this week. So we had a summer fun day when my daycare kids were here. They all played in our tiny pool, ate popsicles, & watched Dora's Summer Adventure movie. They had a lot of fun.

Then on Thursday we had a true ADVENTURE! One of our family's closest friends (The Terrill's) are temporarily living in Galesburg, IL. They are there for Shane's job, working on the railroad. We decided to go visit for the day. To make it more fun we decided to ride the train! So, we got up very early (5:15 a.m.) and got on the train in Quincy. The ride was only supposed to last an hour and a half. Little did we know a huge storm had moved through the area just hours earlier. It took us almost 5 hours to get there!!! Needless to say I was out of movies to watch on the portable DVD player and snacks. But, the girls just thought it was fun to ride the train. When we got there they didn't have any water or electricity due to the storm. So our day didn't exactly go as planned. We ended up taking the kids to the public library to play and read books. (Yeah-air conditioning!) Then to a local ice cream shop. We didn't get to swim, but the kids had fun playing at the little park where they are staying (in their camper, with 3 kids!) Then we had to go out for dinner. We caught the train home at 8:45. I was hoping the girls would sleep. No such luck!! It was a LONG day, but I am so glad we went. It was great to visit friends.

This week I am at CIY in Omaha, NE. I brought my computer so I can SKYPE with the girls. But, I probably won't blog.

My "Garden" is Growing!!

The Beginning- small plant, and seeds planted.
A week or so ago...
Today- Look at those seeds growing into actual plants!!

Original Picture

My Plants Now

So, I am totally excited. My garden is growing! Even the seeds (I'm still a little shocked on that one). Its way more exciting to see though than to try and describe it. So just to confirm I am a big novice here are some of my beginner's mistakes:

-My pepper plant had a beautiful white bloom. I was very excited. Then it died. I was so sad. I couldn't figure out what happened. So I went to pinch off the dead bloom (this is what you do with flowers). I pinched it off and discovered I had killed my first produce. Inside was a tiny pepper emerging. The flower has to die for the vegetable to emerge. Duh!!! I totally knew that. 

-I didn't buy soil with fertilizer in it to save money. So I ended up having to buy some organic fertilizer you mix with water. So I mixed it all up according to the directions and watered away. Then I went on to read one batch should water 20 sq. feet of your garden. I had made like 5 batches! Luckily it didn't burn my plants. Opps! 

-I haven't been sure how or when to harvest my herbs. I did cut off cilantro and use in a new dish I tried, but other than that I just let them grow, grow, grow. Well, my beautiful herbs are now blooming. And everything on the internet says they should be harvested before blooming because it alters the flavor. Not sure what I'm going to do on that one. Probably use them anyway??

This has been quite an adventure. But, I have to say at this point I am pretty hooked. Even with my mistakes I think I will do it again next year. Grace loves to look for Topsy Turvey planters when we drive around Hannibal. Its like I Spy. She will yell, "Mom there's a mato!" And she has been faithful to check for growth & remind me to water. I'm definitely not a gardner...yet...