Spring Garden

Every Spring and Fall Todd likes to plant a small garden. I love homegrown tomatoes and green beans and this year Todd is also growing some pepper plants, eggplant and probably a few other surprises.

Evan has been very interested in the garden and even informed me a few weeks ago that in addition to helping with the family garden, he was going to have his own "private garden." A couple of weeks ago we had a beautiful Saturday so Todd got the tiller out and prepared the garden for planting. He made some nice rows and he and Evan planted and watered the plants and seeds that they had gotten from the nursery.

Evan found some leftover boards and made a rectangle frame. He filled it with dirt and planted his own garden of sunflowers, corn and green beans. He also planted a grapevine near the fence. You can see from the photos below that he has his daddy's green thumb!

 Todd and Evan working in the garden.

Evan helping with the planting.

 Evan's private garden 3-15-12.

Evan's garden 3-27-12. 

 Evan's grapevine 3-15-12.

Evan's grapevine 3-27-12

Green With Envy

Todd had a couple of vacation days that he had to burn from last year, so he took off on Thursday and Friday. One thing that he decided to do was adjust the scope on Evan's .22 caliber rifle that he bought with his Christmas money. I had never been to the rifle range, so I decided to tag along. 

 Todd getting ready to shoot.

Since Evan is getting into shooting as a hobby, I registered at the shooting range just in case I need to bring him. What won't a parent do for their child? After Todd set up a target and worked on the scope, he asked me if I wanted to shoot. I am not that experienced with guns, but thought that now is as good of a time to learn as ever, so he showed me the basics and put up a new target.

Ear protection, check; Eye protection, check!

I do have to say that shooting is pretty fun. After I got done, Todd took a few more shots and I have to say that for beginners with a new gun, we did pretty well. 

Needless to say, Evan was very jealous when he got home. We have promised to take him this weekend, though, so he will get his turn on his new gun.

Summer - Almost Over?

The boys continue to enjoy their summer. They only have three weeks left until school starts so we have been stocking up on school supplies and buying uniforms.

Here are a couple of random photos from this weekend. Chad isn't in any of them. All his free time has been spent in a dark room playing his Harry Potter game. He already went through the whole game once. Hope it has a lot of replay value!

Evan with the creation he made at Lego Club.

Evan and Todd goofing around.

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Spring Garden

At our previous homes, Todd always loved planting a vegetable garden. We moved to this house about 4 years ago and Todd finally decided it was time to start a garden again. 

On Friday he borrowed a tiller from a friend and got to work. The ground was very hard and he tilled for a couple of hours. Evan helped him make some rows the next day. The ground is fertilized and the planting should commence next weekend. 

I will keep you posted on how things go. I am hoping for a juicy homegrown tomato soon. They are my favorite!

 The plot of ground that Todd is going to use for the garden.

 Getting ready to till and fertalize.

 A good start.

 Making some rows.

Ready for planting.

Rest In Peace

Todd's Aunt Dolores passed away this week after a long illness. What I loved about her the most was her sense of humor and laugh. Godspeed Maw Maw Doe!

Fall Break

The weekend was gorgeous here and the boys were extra excited because they don't have school Monday or Tuesday due to Fall Break. 

We had a busy Sunday. In addition to the Saints game, Todd decided what he wanted for his birthday...a new grill (now, isn't that really a present for all of us?). Anyway, since his birthday is next weekend, he decided to go ahead and pick out his grill this weekend. While he worked on putting it together, I took the boys our for Baskin Robbins ice cream. Every time we go there I have to tell them about how I worked at Baskin Robbins in Victoria when I was 16 years old. It was my first job and I have a lot of fun memories of my time there.

The Saints ended up losing, and we ended up with some sausage cooked on the new grill. You win some, you lose some, I guess!

I'm glad Todd is handy at putting things together!

"We love ice cream!"

 Why Todd needed a new grill.

Happy Birthday, Todd!

Father's Day Weekend

The weather has been really steamy, so we did a lot of "inside" activities this Father's day weekend like watching movies. On Saturday, the boys and I ventured out and went to see The Karate Kid. It was full of action and we all loved it. After the movie, I did my "mom thing" and pointed out some of the lessons in the movie like the importance of following your heart, showing determination and having persistence when working toward a goal. I can only hope that some of it sinks in!

On Sunday morning the boys gave Todd his Father's day presents. A few days earlier I suggested to Evan that he make a card to go along with the presents. His card ended up being a scrap of paper that said, "Happy Father's Day, Love, Evan and Chad." It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but Todd appreciated the effort.

Todd opening his Father's Day presents.

Todd showing off his "elaborate" card from the boys and Chad giving him some love.

I love my Daddy!

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.

Laid Back Sunday

The weather was really gorgeous on Sunday. Todd worked in the yard and the boys were great about helping him.

We played a little basketball and I ended up knocking Evan in the face with my elbow. He recovered after a little ice. He is tied to Todd at the hip and helped him cook some pork chops on the grill. They were very tasty!







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Muddie Gets a New Habitat

As you can tell from my updates on Muddie, she is growing like crazy. Since the day that Evan brought her home, he knew that she would one day outgrow the original habitat that he bought for her. He has been saving his money and finally got enough to buy a larger tank for her.

Yesterday after school, he, Chad and I headed off to the pet store to see what we could find. We got the largest reptile tank that they had and it should be the last one that she needs. Evan was so proud opening up his wallet and giving his hard earned (and saved) money to the cashier.

We decided since the tank is heavy and glass, that it would be best to wait until Todd got home from work to help us get it in and set it up. Evan and Todd used a cart from my office and between the two of them, were able to get the tank in without any mishaps. Now, with all the room that Muddie has, she almost looks small. I am proud of Evan and the great job that he is doing taking care of his pet.

Be careful, we don't want it to fall off!

Getting this thing in takes teamwork.

Evan can't wait to get the new habitat set up.

Now she has lots of room!

Evan's photo of me and Muddie.

Have you ever seen a happier lizard?

More Backyard Progress

Yesterday was a nice day weather-wise, so Todd got some help working on our back yard. Todd finally removed all of the concrete sidewalks and with all of the rain, it was a muddy mess.

Our friend has a gorgeous tractor and spent a couple of hours disking the back and side yard. After lunch, he used another attachment (some type of blade; I'm sure my folks know what it is called) to smooth everything out. The results were incredible. There is a night and day difference in the yard...it is gorgeous!

Yard after disking.

Our friend and his "purdy" tractor!

Todd is pleased with the progress.

Before--A Disaster!

After--- Much Better!

Sunday Afternoon Cooking

Todd typically does his weekly cooking on Sunday afternoon. Yesterday he was making a gumbo and Evan decided to pitch in and help. He had a blast stirring in the big pot. My picky eater said that it smelled good, but refused to even take a taste. Shrimp and crab gumbo...that boy is missing out!

Stirring takes a lot of concentration!

This is a blast!

 

I could just eat this kid up!

Outdoor Project Progress

Todd has been working diligently and has made a lot of progress removing all of the sidewalks from our backyard. He has been putting all of the broken concrete on our driveway, which up until last week, stretched from the front of our drive to the street. It looked like this:

 No, we aren't building our own levy...

A gentleman who needed the broken concrete as filler for some of his property removed a little every day and now our driveway just has one small pile left. It is a relief to have it almost gone!

The rubble is disappearing!

Now, Todd is working on the backyard. It used to have a watering system, so there are lots of pipes and other treasures that need to be dug up. With all of the rain, it is still very muddy, so Todd is waiting for it to dry out some before he continues leveling it out and fixing our drainage issues.

The mud pit!

Go Saints & Crafty Evan

Everyone at our house is rooting for the Saints today. Todd has a life long love of the Saints and both of our boys are very aware of that.

In honor of the game today, Evan made Todd a Saints necklace. Todd is wearing it up until game time but then has to take it off because it isn't part of the lucky outfit that Todd wears for every game. I'm sure the team appreciates Todd's consideration!




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Backyard Progress

Todd has been working like crazy (in between the rain) to finish taking out all of the concrete pathways that were in our backyard. They have been causing us drainage problems since we moved here and we are anxious to get this project finished.

Todd working hard on removing the concrete.

 

Almost gone!

 

This side is done!

 

The rubble pile that extends down our driveway.

 

Chad practicing his basketball.

 

Taking a break on the rubble!