The Garden

We worked on our spring/summer garden Saturday. We even added a Topsy Turvy (to Kyle's delight...he loves everyone you see sold on TV). This year we planted all our herbs in a pot so they wouldn't take over the garden. Next we planted strawberries, green peppers, yellow peppers, more tomatoes, eggplant, cucumber, honeydew melon, pumpkins, watermelon and a lot of asparagus (per Tripp). We have a few more items that we'd like to plant over the next few weeks then it will simply be maintenance until the fall. The lettuce I planted in the fall is finally coming up nicely (Yippee for spinach and butter lettuce!) so we are excited about that...well me more than anyone else. In the fall we plan to plant a few more fruit trees and in the winter we hope to start our apple trees. Someday we hope the yard is full of some kind of produce all year round.

The girls favorite part (outside of the fish and turtles at the nursery)...the worms and ladybugs we added. The 600 worms made a pretty quick getaway but the ladybugs are staying around. Ruby enjoyed catching them all in the butterfly net Monday morning.

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Wednesday: Baked Ziti with Sausage, Tomatoes and Spinach

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Abbie & Daisy get to eat with Nate. The rest of us will pick something up on the way home from Kyle's appointment.

Saturday: Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and Veggie Tray

Sunday: Italian Sausage & Tortellini Soup

Monday: Grilled Chicken and Veggies

Tuesday: Salmon, Veggie & Polenta with Mushrooms & Leeks

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A day late but here it is....

Thursday: Angel Hair Pasta with Tomatoes

Friday: TBD

Saturday: Grilled Pork Chops, Rice & Salad

Sunday: Cowboy Steak Sandwiches & Salad

Monday: Salsa Verde, Rice & Salad

Tuesday: Leftovers

A New Best Friend & A Night of Seuss

Abbie's found a new best friend. My friend Katie came down for a weekend and Abbie fell in love. We've seen her many times before but never when she didn't have kids and a husband and dog to take care of along side the visit. This time, she was able to really chat and play with Abbie and Abbie was in heaven. Daisy too for that matter. She spent time reading to Abbie, playing princess, and anything else you can imagine. When we dropped Katie off at the airport yesterday Abbie couldn't say goodbye to her. She wouldn't talk or look at her because it was too hard. Her eyes were welling up. As we pulled away Daisy started crying and saying, "Katie, Katie".

Their reactions pretty much sum up my feelings for Katie. We've been friends since middle school and no matter how far the distance or how busy our lives have been, we've always remained close. She has always been there for me. What's great is that neither of us love chatting on the phone or being in touch 24/7 so the friendship really has worked for us all these years. We decided in the fall to plan a yearly long weekend to get together and rest. This year, I planned a stay-cation of sorts at Mandalay Bay. We ate out, hiked at Red Rock, spent time at the spa, rested by the pool, saw The Lion King, read countless magazines and books and simply relaxed together. Both of us have wonderful husbands who agreed to stay home with the kids one weekend a year so that we can get together. We'll see Katie and her fun family this summer while visiting Reno but this time for just the two of us was fantastic. Thanks Tripp & Martin. This would never have worked without your generosity.

Thank goodness for Aunts as well. Last night some great friends planned the most amazing Dr. Seuss themed party for a Relief Society Birthday Party. With Tripp out of town I just couldn't be home with Daisy, waiting for Kyle after scouts and with Abbie at the party all at the same time. That is where Lindsay comes in. She was going and so kindly agreed to take Abbie along with her. Abbie had the best time at the party and with her Aunt Lindsay. I'm sad I had to miss it but thankful Abbie has such a sweet aunt to hang out with (having her as a sister is pretty great too).

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Here is what we have scheduled for the next week. Even the best plans must sometimes be altered as were our Carne Asada plans last time around. All the ingredients are still fresh so we'll try it again this week.

Wednesday: Taco Salad, Refried Beans & Tortilla Chips

Thursday: Grilled Chicken, Salad

Friday: BLT

Saturday: Daddy takes his kids out to dinner night.

Sunday: Breakfast for Dinner (Pancakes, Eggs, Bacon & Fruit)

Monday: Carne Asada

Museum Friday

It's been a long week (the first of many) without Tripp. By the end of the week the girls especially are done with me and my nerves are starting to get frazzled as well. Spending long portions of those Fridays at home is a recipe for disaster so we headed for the Discovery Museum. Lucky for me Lindsay has a membership as well and is usually up for going. It gives the girls someone else to talk to for even a couple of hours.

Here are some photos of our morning adventure....

Meal Planning Wednesday

Doesn't have quite the same ring as "Meal Planning Monday" but I do my shopping on either Wednesday or Thursday. Again, this post isn't for many, or probably most, of you. But if my kids look back someday and are able to use it for their families, than I'd say it will be worth it.

Wednesday: Spaghetti

Thursday: French Dip Sandwich & Green Salad

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Chicken Enchiladas, Refried Beans & Green Salad

Sunday: Carne Asada & Refried Beans

Monday: Chicken Noodle Soup

Tuesday: Leftovers

I will probably try to fit in some lemon bars this week as well. We are on candy overload still so maybe something fresh baked with distract the kids long enough for me to toss some of the Easter candy.

Easter

We spent the end of Spring Break in Cedar City. First off, Grandma Sandy arrived Thursday and played lots of "Elefun" with the girls. She spent the night at our house and the next morning the girls woke up to a visitor on their floor. Abbie opened her eyes and didn't wait half a second before climbing out of bed and joining Kyle on the floor with her blankie.

We left for Cedar Friday afternoon. We spent the late afternoon and evening hanging out at MamaThom & PapaThom's house. After dinner and some cards, we made our way to the hotel for some swimming. The kids love to swim at the hotel pool while in Cedar. Kyle and Abbie headed back to their grandparents' house for a sleepover while the rest of us hit the sack at the Holiday Inn Express.

The next morning while the boys went with PapaThom to the "Trap Club", the rest of us got together with Jenn, Saige, Garrett and the Randalls. We spent the day off and on with them including dinner at Pizza Factory for PapaThom's birthday, the boys heading off to Priesthood Session then more swimming later that night. Kyle and Daisy returned to their grandparents' house for a sleepover with Saige.

Sunday morning the Easter Bunny visited us in the hotel so Daisy got to see her basket first. We took Abbie & Kyle their baskets and enjoyed pancakes courtesy of PapaThom. Then, we all settled in to watch the morning session of conference. It was interesting with five kids and seven adults but we did our best. Conference packets are always helpful (Thanks Grandma Randall). After the session ended we had a quick lunch (Egg Salad of course) and packed up for the journey home. We needed to make sure Grandma Sandy got back in plenty of time to have a little dinner before she went to the airport.

We came home to this...a ceiling full of water and the dining area flooded. Oh dear. We happen to have the plumber on speed dial now (don't ask) so he showed up and ripped a huge hole in our ceiling but fixed the problem. Now we have to repair the hole (it's larger than the photo below - that was only half way through the demolition) and wait to see how much of our floor warps and will have to be replaced. Ugh. Not a happy end to our Easter. Abbie and Daisy don't mind the hole (Abbie loves to eat under it) but did mind Grandma Sandy leaving.