Summer Jack-O-Lanterns

This is why we don't carve pumpkins in July:

I asked Gavin if the pumpkin was just sad because there were no trick or treaters coming around, and he said, "No, its just hot and it needs water."

I guess Gavin is getting a little old for the pretend stuff.

Gavins Post

Gavin is going to have a go at writing the blog today. Enjoy:

The leaves were dying, so it was time to pick the pumpkin and the watermelon because they looked ripe. We used a knife because the pumpkin was too hard to cut with scissors.

Today what I want to do with the pumpkin is carve it into a summer jack-o-lantern.

We are going to share the watermelon with our neighbors Mrs. Dailey, Mrs. Smith and our family.

The pumpkin is 10 inches tall and 23 inches around. I wanted it 23 inches tall and 30 inches round, but I am still happy.

The watermelon is 29 inches round and 10 inches tall. I like it that size and it look delicious.

The Storm

Last night we had a huge storm. It was full of all of the fun things like thunder and lightning and even hail. The incredible winds even knocked the power out for about an hour and a half. But that is not the only thing that the wind knocked out... my sweet little garden is ruined. 15 foot sunflowers broken, tomatoes falling off of their vines. We got some pretty neat video though:
(warning: TURN VOLUME DOWN!)


This second video is a lot shorter.. I thought that the storm was basically over, so I went outside to check out the damage.



The highlight of losing the sunflowers that we grew from seeds is that we now have a beautiful bouquet on the table... there was so many that even our neighbors have bouquets too!

sibling rivalry?

I love the fact that Lily and Dean are getting bigger and are just so full of personality. The way they interact together is pure comedy.
Here is today's lunch time comedy:

Silly Lily

This morning Lily was being especially silly.. I mean she's always cracking me up, but today was over the top. After we saw a commercial for "America's Got Talent" in which someone was singing opera, Lily said she wanted to be a singer and to be on camera, so here are the results.

Silly Lily, I love you!

Running

Finally, after about a month of feeling weak and not really wanting to do this marathon training I feel better and stronger. The muscles classes I have been taking are making me stronger and I have kept up my base mileage even though I really wasn't feeling it.

For those of you who don't know, a marathon is 26.2 miles of running fun. A feat that seems impossible, which is why I want to do it...to accomplish something that I never thought I could do.

Today I pushed the running stroller (with the babies in it of course) a little longer than I normally do, faster than I normally do, and in more heat and humidity than anyone should... and I feel great. The marathon is in December, plenty of time to get even stronger and faster.

This mornings nonsense

This mornings nonsense included sweet Lily "feeding" Dean some of her yogurt. Really it looked more like she was doing his makeup. Either way they were both laughing their heads off so I had to grab the camera and capture the moment.

I've also gotten a few requests to see what the garden looks like, so here are today's pics after I added a little patriotic decoration to celebrate America's birthday.

I agree with everyone who has been telling me to add some more color, problem being that funds are tight at the moment. I will be heading to a nursery sometime this weekend to find some bright, discounted flowery things. If you can see in the pics my gladiolas are almost gone for the year, and the corn is already half picked and will be ready to be ripped up soon.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!

Say What?!!?

I did not win June's Yard-of-the-Month Contest. I really don't understand exactly how. Well, maybe I understand, but I'm a sore loser so... whatever, here are the photos.

This is a pic of the "winning" yard. This is the sign that belongs in front of my yard.
The winning house has a beautiful patch of green grass, and some flowers and flags.
This is my neighbor Susan's house. Gorgeous full flowers, patriotic decor. I think her house is MUCH better than the so-called winner.

But really, I think the sunflowers I've grown I should be at least in the running.

July's judging starts on Monday, so hopefully my neighbor or I will win. There are a total of 4 chances to win, I guess June just wasn't my month.

Thank you God

Days like today I really would like to thank God for. Just when I was starting to get the dramatic "baby fever", I had a day with the kiddos that makes me realize just how overwhelming motherhood can be. Today was hot, humid and NO ONE napped! Dean was awake off and on all night with teething/poopy problems, Lily woke up WAY too early, and Gavin just had way too much energy for me.

I would like to thank God for the miracles that are my family, I would also like to thank him for allowing this day to be over (and that I did survive).

Amen.