End of July

We came back from vacation and went straight into "Have as much fun as possible with Kate, Archie and Annie because they are moving in 2 weeks" mode.

 We celebrated Pioneer day at Thanksgiving Point with Grandma and Kara and K,A,A.

 The kids sported their BYU hats.

 There were Pony rides, (Heidi rode all by herself and wasn't a bit afraid!)

 We took a wagon ride and got to see a brand new baby goat!

 It was so hot.  This picture about does the temperature justice.  Annie is quite the sport and always being hauled around by the big kids.  We have to keep an eye on Heidi though, because she headlocks Annie and then tries to lift her up.

 It turns out Annie was named after a Belgian draft horse.

 And Kara had the patience for a slow and wandering 2 year old who wanted to explore in the blistering heat.

 After the petting zoo was the botanical garden.  It was pretty neat and huge, but it was far too easy to get lost!

 The kids had a blast!

 And I know that I sure enjoyed the pretty walk and watching the kids go nuts.

  Grandma is very patient with the kids, especially Heidi, and still treats her like a 2 year old instead of a 4 year old like I keep doing!  No wonder she is so independent!

 By the time we got home, I was dead, and the girls went in the backyard and played the rest of the day away.

 The second stop I made the day we got home from Wyoming, was the garden.  A windstorm had come and blown 4 sunflower plants over, but out jungle is still thriving.  The Potatoes have all but died- I'm not sure if it is because of a bug or the morning glory which has taken over the patch.  I also discovered that I'm some kind of allergic to potato plants and possible Tomatoes.  My arms itch like CRAZY for days after I go and weed. I suppose it's time to stop gardening barefoot in shorts and short sleeves.

It took days and hours upon hours to reclaim the veggies from the weeds, but here it is looking pretty good.  We ripped out the dead pea plants so that all looks a lot nicer.  The onions are big and ready to harvest, the tomatoes are starting to produce slowly and the peppers are coming on nicely.  I learned that it is insanity to plant 3 rows of tomatoes so close to each other- it's a jungle in there.  Our bush beans turned out to be green beans and so now we have to figure out trellises.  The cucumber plants survived and are growing all over, but not using the corn to grow UP like I had planned.  The green beans among the corn are wrapping around the stalks nicely and the zucchini are doing great!
   I think my greatest achievement in gardening is getting Alex to sit and talk with me while I do it.  She comes and goes, but often stays and helps me weed.  She is very interested in learning about how the plants grow and the names of things.  She was sad when she learned that the pretty morning glory flowers were attached to the terrible vine that kills our good plants.  She found 4 cherry tomatoes and gobbled them up without sharing and then found a regular tomato and ate it like and apple!  I was so proud of her!
    The garden is less in danger of being destroyed by the kids now, and they love to hide in the corn jungle and look for tomatoes.  I think about the time I leave for Montana in August everything should be under control and producing like crazy, it will be so hard to leave it!