garden death count

so far i lost my zucchini and cucumbers and have already replaced them with new starts.

tomatoes look like they'll put through but the watermelon and squash are questionable. everything else was a cold weather crop or hasn't popped through the soil yet.

it's really sad to have to go buy starts after i grew my own from seed for six weeks.

picture update

not sure why randy was being scowled at.

i love this outfit for many reasons. madeleine had a small hole in her pants because she had fallen and ripped a hole the in knee, so she insisted on getting different pants. these are the pants she came up with. of course, she insisted on putting them on herself, so they were on backwards. and as she was putting them on, she said, "oh! my bottom is getting bigger!" not sure where she got that one.

her nose is healing up nicely.



and i love this girl.

she doesn't talk back to me yet.

fresh flowers

yesterday, i came across some irises in the yard that had fallen over, so i decided to bring them in and have some fresh flowers in the house. and then, i was weeding behind the lilacs and they smelled so good that i couldn't help myself from stealing a few off the back of the bush.

i stuffed a bunch into a few glasses and now our kitchen smells delightful.

metaphors

we were just having family night and were looking through the gospel image library book with madeleine. we came across this picture and had this exchange:

madeleine: it's jesus!
me: you're right, it is.
madeleine: he's knocking on the door.
randy: that's a metaphor.
madeleine: no, it's jesus.

ugh.

woke up to snow this morning.

even though i checked the weather at 11:00 last night and it said that it was just supposed to rain. so i didn't cover my plants. i was trying to be a dutiful gardener.

but the weather report lied.

to say i am upset is an understatement.

i feel so helpless. nothing to do but wait and see what the casualties are.

should have waited to plant until memorial day weekend, like i had planned in the first place.

i had a piece of chocolate cake for breakfast to make me feel better. it tasted good, but it didn't really help.

i don't want to talk about it anymore.

i love to see the temple

madeleine loves the temple. she loves to sing the song, "i love to see the temple." she loves to talk about the temple. in her prayers, she thanks heavenly father for the temple. when randy and i get dressed up, she asks if we are going to the temple. so, now that the weather is finally warmer, we decided that for a family outing yesterday, we would go and walk around the provo temple grounds. madeleine loved it. we will have to go more often.

my favorites. even with scuffed up face and g.i. jane haircut.

it made madeleine a little nervous to sit by the fountain, but after taking the first pictures with randy and diane, we passed another one and she said, "i take another picture." so, here we are again.

madeleine has always been good at snuggling. i don't think diane's as inclined to it.

madeleine following randy around the grounds.

side note: it was really sweet, when i told her we were going, madeleine said, "i put on my dress." i probably should have just gone with it and let her get in a dress, but it wasn't that warm and i had her stay in her sweats. very sweet that she knows that we dress up to go inside the temple though.

sorry, mom, i couldn't help myself

my babies are born with a lot of hair...

madeleine, 1 week old

diane, 1 week old

but then, it starts to thin...

madeleine, 3 months old

so, i knew what would happen with diane's hair...

diane, yesterday

back of diane, yesterday

that it was about to turn into this...

madeleine, 5 months old

back of madeleine, 5 months old

and that's just ugly. so, following previous behavior...

madeleine, 5 months old

diane, yesterday

we buzzed it. g.i. jane style. and although it looks severe at first...

madeleine, 5 months old

diane, yesterday

diane, yesterday

it really is better in the long run and it will grow in better. so, sorry, mom, i couldn't help myself. i saw the writing on the wall.

garden in

my starts have been growing well for the past month or so and i decided that i was finally willing to turn them over to the elements this weekend. the weather report indicated that today was probably the best day to plant, so i got up and started planting first thing this morning. of course, it took a little longer than i thought it would to plant due to a few little interruptions (two little ones, in fact), but it is finally all in.

one of my favorite parts of living at my grandparents house is the garden set up. four large planters. i get to significantly increase my harvest this year: green beans, watermelon, spinach, carrots, basil, cilantro, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, lemon cucumbers, zucchini, squash, peppers, and an entire planter devoted to five different varieties of tomatoes. hurray!

the peppers already started bearing fruit inside.

one sad thing for me about doing starts is that when i transplant them and they go into shock, they always look so sad. deep down, i know they should perk up, but i am always scared for them. i actually just went and checked on them in the dark after randy and i got home from our date.

not all of them are looking bad, though.

sugar snap peas are coming along.

the rest of our yard is also beautiful right now and i love everything that is blooming right now. a sea of purple in the front yard:

irises in the back:

roses on the side:

and a beautiful magnolia on the other side:

and my pots are still making me happy.

sisters and cousins

diane about a week ago



madeleine loves to come up to me and say, "please can i hold my sister?"

madeleine and rachel have a love/hate relationship. mostly they love each other, but madeleine has had a hard time sharing lately and loves to steal rachel's toys. so it is nice to see them play so well together when they do.

park time

the weather was nice last week and we went to the park one day for a playgroup with our ward. madeleine had a blast, especially because her cousin, rachel, came too.