How does your garden grow?

Well ours grows really slow! I guess it did not help that I didn't plant anything until the end of June. I had good intentions but it just did not happen. We also do not have a garden but use the little bits of space we have in our flower beds. So things don't fit exactly right! We are getting our first cherry tomatoes now and the cucumbers are blooming but not growing yet. We did however start the cucumbers from seeds (which grew much better then the store bought seedling I bought last year). We also planted some sunflower seed but they are a little shorter then last years! Oh well at least we tryed. It was good to get out there and plant with Elsie and have her watch the process and see the plants grow. Next year I will plan ahead and plant early. 

Reading

Grandma love to read to Elsie when she comes to visit. This summer we have been doing a summer reading program at the local library. It has been fun and a good reminder to read each day. Elsie got a little prize for very 3  hours of reading and at the end got a free book. She loved it. We will definitely be doing it next year. Hopefully we can keep up the good habit.

Fathers Day

Fathers day was on June 19th this year and we tried our hardest to do some fun things for daddy. We made him pancakes and fruit smoothies in bed to start off the morning. He apparently does not like eating in bed and he definitely did not like being woken up even though we let him sleep in...he never likes getting up on the weekend! But he was a good sport and ate and acted like he liked it for Elsie. After we got him up we had him find his presents Elsie had hid. Then we just relaxed until it was time to go to church. After church we went out to Will's dad's house and had grilled steak and Grandma Mary had cooked lots of other yummy food including a delicious fresh strawberry pie.

The hitting game

Will plays a very bad game with Elsie...the hitting game. I hate it. I try to stop them but they do not listen to me. Just today Elsie said something like "I can't hit mommy but dad doesn't mind if I hit him". I guess this might be good that she can distinguish but at the same time it teachers her to punch back as a quick reaction to someone punching her. Of course they do not hit hard and it is just a game but I still do not like it. They don't play it that much either but when they do it really make me mad.

Riding the new scooter

Here she is in action on her new toy!! She is actually doing quite well I think for a first time and it having only two wheals. Though I am glad we did not pay full price as she still prefers her tricycle. She has also discover the big girl bike (it was not hidden very well) and so now she is endlessly asking for new training wheals for it. I am working on it but it is so small the regular ones you can buy at Walmart do not fit...or so I was told by the people who sold it to me. I am just happy that she likes to play outside.

Happy Birthday to Elsie

So her real birthday came at last and we were very excited!!! Four years old!!! Our baby is growing up and she is wonderful. She has started preschool, made new friends and started Sunbeams at church. Such a big girl. After church we had Will's mom and siblings over for a quite meal and of course a chocolate cake covered in candy (read below for details on its origin)! As you can see she really got into eating the cake with her whole face!

One of the funnest things that day for me was giving her the presents. She has been asking for a big girl bike and then after riding a friends scooter she changed her mind and asked for a scooter. Well it was getting close to her birthday and we had not gotten her anything. I tried to get Will to agree to get her a scooter but he did not want to spend the money. I felt so sad that we were going to disappoint her but I was ok with it after all the kid can't get everything she wants right? Well guess again. I was out on Saturday morning before the party to get some vegetables and fruit and on my way home I saw some signs for yard sales. I stopped at two and nothing...but I kept trying. I went to one street where there where three houses with sales. First I found a little bike I mean really little but its training wheels where broken. It was a dollar. I bought it. Then I walked up the street and there it was, the last of a few the lady said, a Razo scooter! And it was only three dollars!!! I was giddy I had found what she wanted. In a perfect world I would have found one with three wheals for little kids but this was pretty good for a yard sale and so I bought it. The crazy thing about it is she never doubted she was getting what she wanted. She came so close to not getting the scooter but when she saw it for the first time she was barely surprised! I hope this does not spoil her for good! She also got a game for her Leapster bought at half price! I am a pretty good shopper when I try.

Birthday at grandpas and grandmas

As if two cakes were not enough...Elsie got a third cake at grandpas and grandmas house. So in the span of two days she had eaten a lot of cake and so had we. But is was fun to get to see all the grandparents and it was so nice of them to think so much of her. She really had a special weekend.

Birthday presents from afar

We got a package for Elsie on Saturday before her birthday. It was from her best friend in KS. The funny thing with this is they got each other the same present. We sent her a birthday package too because they are a day apart in age. So we could have just told each other that and wrapped them and kept then at our own homes. That is why Elsie has such a funny face in the last picture. It is amazing they have been apart for 2 years and still think the same!

Birthday preparations

In preparation of Elsie's birthday we made a cake...but not just one we made two. She asked for a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting with M&M's on it. Which is almost what she had last year...it was a white or yellow cake and had vanilla frosting I believe. Anyways I was fine with that. It was going to be easy so I bought the round cake pans and we started making it. After about the third handful of candy (we used jimmies and sprinkles too) we put on I remembered that one of the little cousins we were inviting is allergic to peanuts! And yes we were using all three sizes of M&M's (peanut, regular and mini) but either way all M&M's are off limits to this girl. Now the crazy thing is she was not even going to eat it as she was also allergic to eggs and wheat two ingredients that figure prominently in a cake! So the mom was bringing a special cupcake for her. But I did not what her to be around the M&M's and also her two little siblings had never had peanuts so I was not going exposure them if their parents did not want them to have them! So we started all over again this time with a pink cake and pink frosting! We added some writing and a few strawberries to make it look cute. It was fun making both cakes. We saved the chocolate one for her real birthday on Sunday. We had several cousins over and one grandma and an uncle for a nice lunch on Saturday and used the pink cake of corse. It was very relaxed and fun. No games or party favors since I am trying to avoid that for as long as I can! Though this might be the last year I can get away with it. We all had a great time.

Fun at the Farm

This spring we went to a fun farm set up for kids with one of Will's cousins and two of her kids. These are some of Elsie's cousins that live here. She has lots of them but none of Will siblings have kids yet. We still love these cousins and love to hang out with them even if they are twice removed or what ever it is! This is the first time Elsie has ridden a pony as all the other times she would not get on them. She is a little scared of any four legged animal. It was a fun day. We even got to ride in an old fashion horse drawn buggy (sorry no pictures of that).

Summer popsicle time

Just a cute shot of our little angel eating a popsicle!

Traveling to the land of...

Elsie has been traveling a lot lately. Well pretend trips. Recently it has been to Africa but when these pictures where taken at the end of May it was to the land of Gideon. She collects all her stuff and puts it between the couch and the wall and takes off. She makes quite a mess if we let her keep going unchecked so I have been trying to limit the things she can take. She brings everything in her room and from around the house...dressup clothes, dolls, books and even real clothes. But I guess if it keeps her busy for a while and I can chat on the phone or do a little blogging it is worth it right??