Monday, June 1, 2009

School Ends...Summer Begins!


"It's summertime,

summertime,

sum-sum-summertime..."

Get out your sandals and flip-flops...
School is officially out...Summer vacation has begun
and boy have we had an enjoyable week at our house!


(this is a favorite photo of mine...
it is Tracy's and my feet in our Chaco Sandals...we took this photo because our feet were VERY dirty after a LONG summer trip, but that is another post altogether).


(Our "Prairie Fire Crab Apple" Trees)
Some more gorgeous photos of the last of our blossoming trees! It was wonderful while it lasted, but the last of the blossoms are falling off and we have to wait another year to experience that again!

(Our "Madonna" Crab Tree)

We have had "Humming-bird moths"
flying all around enjoying the nectar of our flowers!


Bleeding hearts...
one of my favorite plants in our yard!


Jade at his last track meet...
Here are his stats for the last track meet of the season...
this was a Conference that included 5 local schools (in fact, one run they had 67 runners and they had to split them up into 3 heats because they kept on having kids get trampled)
1600 Meter Run---7:46
800 Meter Run---3:40

He did AWESOME and he improved his time every race! I am SO proud of him for having so much dedication and determination! I was quite "hoarse" through the track season as I was YELLING and cheering Jade on the whole time...Jade is usually one of the last runners to cross the finish line and I am always amazed as he has more people cheering for him than most of the winners! It touches my heart as a mom to have such a support system for Jade. It has brought tears to my eyes on many an occasion!

TRADITION!!
We made caramel apples
for the kids teachers to give them on the last day of school! It is something we have done every year since the kids have been going to school.
(We also got to enjoy some caramel apples ourselves as a treat for working hard in our yard and garden)

This is what they looked like all wrapped up!

May 29th, 2009...
my handsome boys on the last day of school!!

I LOVED being able to send my kids off to school on the last day and helping with Ethan's Field Day and after school got out I took them to lunch at "Craigo's" Pizza.
It was a wonderful day and I definitely treasured it!
The last day of school is definitely a
bitter-sweet thing for me and I get "teary-eyed" because it is hard to say good-bye to the teachers and friends of my kids!

YEA!! We got our garden all planted!!
We have added on to our garden this year. It used to just be the 3 raised beds in front, but we are in the process of putting landscape timbers s around the large section and this is where we plant a variety of different kinds of Squash, Red Potatoes, Beets, Carrots, Corn, Beans and Tomatoes. The "horizontal" raised bed is where our Strawberries are and my the two vertical raised beds are where I plant Spinach, Swiss Chard, Salad Greens, Radishes, and more Beets and Carrots.
Crossing our fingers that the garden grows well this year!!

BTW...our back yard is definitely a WORK in Progress as you can tell. LOTS of work to be done to get it landscaped and looking nice!

YES, anyone who LOVES "Idaho Spud" candy bars
enjoys this time of the year VERY well, because they go on sale for .25 each and we always buy a case of 120 of them to enjoy all through the year!! (except, with the economy they were .28 this year instead of the usual .25--but that is still a great price!).
BTW...if you don't think you like Idaho Spud bars you really need to give them a second try...
Tracy and I
fell in love with these a few years ago...the consistency of the center filling with the dark chocolate and coconut makes them a very yummy treat! I can't imagine anyone not liking them.
As Dr. Seuss says...
"Try them you will like them you see"!


Summer is my FAVORITE time of the year because I get to spend every afternoon with my kids and ALL DAY most Wednesdays with them.

My summers are for teaching my kids to work and doing lots of fun things with them! I treasure this time of the year and I am looking forward to
LOTS of "Porch time"...
T
alking and Drinking Lemonade and Smoothies,
MANY bike rides,
LOTS of
camping and hiking
Our YEARLY backpacking trips
and MANY
picnics at the park
and also
enjoying time on the lawn/trampoline looking at the stars and moon!!
***********
Just as my blossoming trees only come around once a year so does all of the summer time I get with my kids only come around once a year.

Savoring every moment of it!!

6 comments:

  1. Dirty feet and all, I enjoyed your post today. The blooming trees are beautiful, and I'm sure they smell GREAT!!!!!! I'm thinking a small breeze in your yard is heavenly.

    My mom loves Idaho Spud candy bars. I didn't know this was the month for them. Must not be in Utah. I ate them when I was small. I'm thinking I need to pick a few up for my family.

    Have a great day today.
    Sandra

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  2. Loved all of the pictures!

    Your trees all look so pretty..

    School won't be out for us for another month, and we are BUSY!

    Your garden looks AMAZING!!!!

    Hope your week is great!

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  3. Wow you have been super busy!

    My daughter graduated but my boys have one more day of school tomorrow then we can jump for joy with you screaming "Yayyy it is summertime!".

    Yayyy for Jade on his track season. Love the picture in his track outfit. It is a great sport. Now that I know about his seizures I am thinking it is extra great for him to be so involved in a wonderful sport - with his big smile, of course!

    Your pink trees are amazing. I can almost smell the blossoms through the computer screen they are so abundant.

    yayyy for your garden - It looks wonderful and I for one, look forward to all the recipes you will share as you cook and freeze things from what you gather there!!

    Have a wonderful week!!

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  4. P.S. YOu had so much I forgot to say that the Caramel Apples for the teachers not only look great but are a great idea!! I bet they love them!!

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  5. Found you on Small House and have to tell you, I love the pictures on your post! Lots of them and quite a variety.
    That crab apple tree is gorgeous! The carmel apples are a great idea for the end of year, or Christmas or Halloween, or any time of the year!
    Idaho Spud candy bars are delicious! We moved to Utah from Meridian, Idaho. Ate them alot. We would send a case of them home to the family. They're good just out of the freezer too!
    Enjoy the summer!

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  6. I love all of your popcorn trees. The pictures are beautiful. It is sad when the flowers are gone, but it is one of the reasons spring brings such happiness to my soul.

    The last couple of years I've had a humming bird/moth around my house. When I am out on the patio, it is buzzing around. I couldn't figure out what it was and had to ask a couple of people. I'd never heard of a humming bird/moth or whatever they are called. It is a great picture of it - wow! I love the pictures you take.

    I loved your painted toe nails and a ring on your toe.. soooo girlie.. I love it! :-).. I never paint my toe nails or finger nails.. or wear jewelry. I'm not very girlie...

    I love track! Brady does cross country and loves it. He doesn't come in at the top - somewhere in the middle. He does increase his time each race and I love that he enjoys it. I used to yell at him too - but I think those days are gone now that he is in his teenage, I don't have a Mom mood *wink*.

    I love your garden. I need to get pictures on my blog of my container garden. It isn't doing too well - the bugs eat them as fast as they come up. I need to replant. I keep trying to put bug killer around the containers, but it doesn't seem to be working much. arrrgh! Hopefully I'll get if figured out.

    BTW, thanks for your very kind comments - it made my day!

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