Farmer's Market Visit

I had recently read a newspaper article about a farmer's market that opened near where we live. After my morning work was done on Friday, Evan and I decided to head out there and see what they had to offer. We got there about 11:30 only to realize that their operating hours were from 7 a.m. until 11 a.m. 

Not to waste a trip, we decided to get out of the car and look around. The farmers market not only sells fruits and vegetables, they also had tomato plants, flowering plants and fresh eggs. In back of the market is the chicken house and coop where all of the chickens are kept. Evan walked up to the coop and all of the chickens came up to him, wanting to be fed, I am assuming. He walked around the fence and the chickens followed him wherever he went. He loved it and wished that he had some feed to give them. I had to drag him away from those chickens after about 15 minutes. I had the feeling that he could have stayed there all afternoon.

Evan talking to the chickens.

"Mom, they are following me wherever I go."

Evan's Last Day of 3rd Grade

Evan woke up on Thursday in a great mood. With a big smile on his face he said, "This is the most wonderful day!" Yes, it was his last day of school until next year and he didn't hold back on the joy. 

In there morning there was a ceremony where all of the children got their report cards and awards. That was the only activity so it was a very short school day and we were out of there by 9:15 a.m. We said good bye to his teacher and friends and then we went to Michael's to find some craft supplies to keep him busy for the next few days until day camp begins next Monday. After about 15 minutes of searching, Evan decided on a model car and three bags of rocks. I questioned the rock selection since we already have lots of rocks at home. He said that he thought these rocks were a lot prettier than the ones we already have. Makes sense, I guess.

After all of that activity, we had worked up quite an appetite. So we went out and ate a nice lunch. Thus, it turned out to be a wonderful and fun day for both of us!

So happy with his rocks and model!

Evan the Gardener

Evan and Todd planted a salsa garden about a month ago and it is finally paying off. Evan was excited that two of his jalepeno peppers were ripe. He picked them, washed them for about 10 minutes and was very proud of his accomplishement. I ate one with supper that night, and it was delicious!

Washing these babies up!

"I am going to get these really clean!"

The proud gardener!

On the Brink of Summer

The weather is warm and sunny and we are all ready for school to be out. Chad's last day of school was on Thursday, so he was very happy. He is going to go to day camp next week, but had a free day at home on Friday. He kept busy reading, playing basketball and playing with Riku and Leon. He even gave them a bath and they really enjoyed the love.

Chad drying off his guinea pig.

Evan's friend from school invited him over for a sleepover on Friday. On Friday afternoon they went blackberry picking and built some Lego creations. He was tired on Saturday because he went to bed late and woke up about 5:00 in the morning. He promised his friend that he would wake him up when he got up and he kept his promise. Why is it so easy for kids to wake up early on the weekend and so difficult to get up during the week? Evan has a few more days of school, so the countdown is on!

Evan brought home some of the blackberries that he picked. He wouldn't eat any, but I have been putting them in my yogurt and they are sweet and delicious.

Evan got the Lego bug after playing with his friend. When he got home on Saturday he couldn't wait to build something!

Rainy Weekend

Part of the process of getting our back yard into shape included pulling out a lot of old drainage and watering system pipes. These pipes, in addition to the leaky water heater and other assorted "stuff," has made our driveway yard look like a junk yard. 

Todd's plan for Saturday was to start cutting up the pipes so that they would fit into our garbage cans. The day started out overcast as Todd got the boys to help him gather all of the pipes for cutting. Getting their cooperation was like pulling teeth and I think Todd ended up moving most of the pipes himself. He made quite a bit of progress and filled two trash cans before the weather turned rainy in the afternoon.

Junk pile of pipes.

Progress!

Tuesday is Todd and my 17th wedding anniversary, so we decided to go to our favorite restaurant in New Orleans for lunch on Sunday. It was still raining and we didn't realize that many of the streets were flooded as we made our way to the restaurant. Todd tells me that New Orleans is like a bowl and that the water has to be pumped out and doesn't just drain away. The boys were interested in seeing all of the flooded streets and we even saw some cars that had water up to the windows. We had to make a couple of detours, but finally got to the restaurant and had a great lunch.

In the afternoon we hung out with our pets and each other and had a nice, lazy day.

Evan giving Muddie some attention.

This kid loves his lizard!

Mother's Day

The weather was terrific this weekend and I had an incredible Mother's Day. The day started off with breakfast and church. Our new bishop made his first trip to our church and there were tons of people there. It was nice seeing all of the friendly faces and visiting with my friends.

After lunch I got a little nap before we went to visit with Todd's mom. Stefan is down visiting, so he came to our house to spend some time with us and our animals. Chad and Evan love his visits and all of the attention he lavishes on them.

 Stefan and Chad feeding mustard greens to the guinea pigs.

Evan inspecting Muddie's leg.

I then found out that Evan had been conspiring with Todd all week to make me a special dinner for Mother's Day. He brought home a cookbook from the school library and picked out a recipe for Spicy Chicken. He knows that I love spicy food and Indian food and this recipe covered both bases. In the morning Evan had gone to the grocery store with Todd and purchased all of the ingredients as well as some basmati rice. They marinated, stirred and baked all evening and the house smelled wonderful. Thanks so much guys for a terrific day and meal!

Evan mixing under Todd's keen supervision.

Weekend Fun

Now that the end of school is near, we all have spring fever. Not much has been happening during the week but we have enjoyed some nice family time on the weekends. Last night Todd got some bar-b-que and we invited our friend, Coach, to eat and hang out with us. She is a science and p.e. teacher at Evan's school and loves sports. That is great for Todd as they can talk Saints football and great for the boys who love to play Wii sports with her.

 Todd showing Coach some highlights from from the Saints championship season.

The boys getting the Wii sports game warmed up.

Today they boys participated in a karate tournament and both won 3rd place in their divisions. Way to go guys!

Sunday Derailed

As usual, Todd had lots of projects on his list for Sunday afternoon. That was until I went to put clothes in the washing machine and saw water along the wall of our laundry room. Todd came in and quickly diagnosed the problem as a water heater leak. 

We proceed to mop and use the wet vac to get most of the water up while we drained the tank. After that was under control, Todd headed off to Lowe's to get a new water heater. Fortunately for me, he is very good with electrical, plumbing and other household maintenance projects. I would have had no clue what to do.

After about an hour, Todd came home with the new water heater. I help him unload it (it is not light) and we got it in the house and out of the box only to discover that it had a big dent in the top and side. We repacked the water heater, got it back on his truck and he headed back to Lowe's to exchange it for an undamaged one. About an hour after that, he returned home with the second water heater. We went through the unloading and unboxing process once again.  Luckily, this one was in good condition.

Todd hooked everything up and about an hour later we had hot water and no leaks. Needless to say, it was almost 6:00, so it was time for dinner and baths. He will just have to save that project list for next weekend. Thanks for the good work, honey!

Chad offering Todd some assistance with the hook-up.

Happy that this project is almost over.

Next time I ask for something shiny and expensive for Mother's Day, I will be more specific.

Date Night

Todd and I are going out to eat and to a play tonight. Evan was on his fifth piece of pizza when we left. Both boys love it when we go out because they get to play video games and watch t.v. all evening.


Please leave so we can play!



Ready for a night on the town.

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