In Memory of our Tomato Plant

This year we Summer and I decided we would try planting some veggies in our little tiny 8 x 2 area on the patio. Summer is at an age where she can help take care of them and hopefully see the fruits of her labor.

Here she is holding her first little cherry tomatoes.

These are the only ones we got because the plant got spider mites and I had to pull it up before they spread to our other plants. I was really sad because it seems like every plant I have ever tried growing has died. I am determined to prove that I can keep one alive.

So, I am doing all I can to keep the nasty bugs away from the others. I really hope that they survive and that we can finally be true gardeners and not just pretend to know what we are doing.
We are happy that we got at least four little tomatoes, and that so far our other plants seem to be healthy.
This is our cherry tomato plant just before we dug it up. See how it is super yellow and dead on the bottom half. They spider mites just eat it up I guess, then they move on to the other plants.

We went to a gardening place and they helped us identify what they were, and what to do to get rid of them. At this garden center we learned we would loose our plant, however, Summer gained some tadpoles from the trip.

I will blog about that later. She is trying to take care of them and keep them alive. Lets hope they don't end up like the tomato plant.
This is our yellow squash plant about a week ago when we dug up the tomato plant. It is starting to bloom male flowers, and in about a week I think the female ones will start to bloom, and then I can hand pollinate them in order to get them to grow. I have learned these things from some great friends who have had more luck with growing things. We will see if I can get them to grow.
Our red pepper plant and basil are having no problems. I finally used some basil the other day since my plant was looking a little large. I needed to harvest some. It smells so good, and I think it is great to eat right out of our own mini garden. Hopefully we will get to eat more than just basil.

It has been fun so far, and it makes me really look forward to having my own house with a back yard for growing a large garden. This is great for learning though. It is not as much work as a huge garden will be.

Keep your fingers crossed for us, and in a couple weeks you may see pictures of some yummy squash.

Happy Birthday Summer!

Happy Birthday Summer

Five years ago today Summer was born on her aunt Leanne's birthday. We are so lucky to have Summer in our family as healthy as can be. Of course we are super grateful for her aunt too. Happy Birthday Leanne.

Really, where has the time gone. I can hardly believe that she is five already. She is so excited to start kindergarten. While I am excited for her, at the same time I am still a little sad that she is not the tiny little toddler or baby I remember. She is a little girl who is growing fast, and I want to enjoy every moment with her along the way.

I was going to post a picture of every year, however, I didn't prepare for this post in advance, and I need to search for them all. So here are a few of her first year, the only ones I actually did scrapbook.
This is when her dad was still in School at BYU-Idaho. We use to walk to the Hart building and meet up for lunch. Sometimes Phil and Summer would play while I went downstairs to work out.
Summer was so entertained by the ribbon on her 1st birthday present. She played with that thing for a few weeks before I finally threw it away.

This was in the summer when we were here in Houston doing Phil's internship with Merrill Lynch.

I could not keep Summer out of the drawers. She would climb in any drawer she could find including the oven drawer (when the oven was off of course).

Summer has had all of her birthday's here in Houston. What a lucky little lady.

And, now we skip all the way to the present, or at least more recent photos.

Summer is four here. We had just been playing in the splash fountains at Discovery Green. She sure does love playing in the water. She is getting pretty good at swimming and is learning every day.
Summer blowing out all five of her candles for her 5th birthday. Notice the leaning tour of cake. I forgot to put the egg in and so it just wanted to crumble. I am obviously not meant to be a pastry chef.

I will add however, that the cupcakes you see do have the egg and turned out nicely. Head over to my craft blog to see more about the rainbow cupcakes and party favors.

Summer loves going to playgroup now that school is out. Again, she also really loves water, so what better fun than running through the water.

So, there you have it. A little bit of Summer's life and the fun we have had. We really do love her so much and are so proud of her. One very rewarding thing about being a parent is to see them learn, grow, and achieve different milestones.

And She's Off

We have been trying to convince Summer to let us take her training wheels off for a few months now. She was pretty hesitant to let us do so. When she learned that one of her close friends learned to ride her bike I guess she was a little more excited and confident about doing it.

It took about two days for her to really catch on. She was attracted to all the buildings at first and was like a magnet heading right for them. Finally she got the steering down and can go in a straight line and even turn.

She loves riding her bike even more than before.

She does wear her knee pads and helmet to keep safe, but I am tempted to take them off sometimes just because of how hot and humid it is here. I will keep her safe though, and she will just have to sweat it out.

I am so glad she has hit this milestone. It is nice to see her find another form of entertainment.

Missing Teeth

The last few days Summer has been thinking a lot about her teeth. This is the common discussion.

Summer: "Mom, When do I get to have a missing tooth?"

Me: "Well, I don't know. Someday soon I think."

Summer: "well Brinley and Lizzy both have a missing tooth and I want one too."

I think it is so funny that she is so excited about losing a tooth. She did ask me if it will hurt, so I wonder if she will think it is just as fun when one actually does fall out.

It will be so funny to see her smiling with a hole in her smile. Until then I will enjoy her smiling with all of her baby teeth.

Breakfast or Fabric??

Breakfast Anyone?

On Wednesday we had a guest speaker at our ARM meeting. She was there to help us learn about saving money in several ways including coupons. My sister has been trying to get me into this as well. However, I have always thought it was over my head and too much work.

I think I needed to see it presented to me the way it was because I left with inspiration to take on the challenge.

We were running low on cereal and I noticed a sale at Randall's this week. I was planning on buying some of it anyhow. Then thanks to Amy our wonderful speaker, I was able to get some even better deals.

My very first coupon excursion brought me all of this above. I paid $9.58 out of my own pocket, and then got a $3.00 & $4.00 on your next purchase. 3+4=7 off my next purchase. Subtract that from the amount I paid out of pocket and it looks like this 9.58-7=$2.58. So, for all of this stuff above I really only paid $2.58 which equals out to .23 cents each. That is a good deal if you ask me. For one spaghetti sauce alone it usually costs at least $2.50 for that brand.

Day 2: This is what I brought home today on my second coupon excursion. Do you think you can guess what I paid for it? I should have thought to do a giveaway for the winner. However, I will do that on my craft blog in the next week or two.

Anyhow, I did four different transactions and the lady at Randall's couldn't figure out why the coupon kept coming up in the negative. I don't know either. The first transaction was the two bottles of scrub bubbles Which I ended up owning $3.98, but paid with it using the $4.00 catalina from yesterday.

I also think I messed one of the transactions up, but still came out on top. After all the coupons and catalinas used I ended up paying $3.08 for all of this out of my own pocket. I also left with another $3.oo and $4.oo off next purchase catalinas. So when you take the $3.00 + $4.00 from today and subtract the $3.08 I ended up making $3.92. What a steal, so everything was basically free.

I hope I can score on some other awesome deals as I continue my venture with coupons. Have you found any awesome deals?

Fabric Steal!

At Summer's gymnastics center they had decorated for the mini olympics that they do every spring. They purchased two bolts of nylon chiffon to decorate with. I must tell you that it is not easy to find this stuff in stores. When I saw it hanging up I asked the owner where she purchased it. It turns out that there is a store here in Houston called Southern Imports that does costumes and some other weird stuff, and they happen to sell it in all sorts of colors. It is sort of by Herman Park.

Anyhow, she told me that she would be willing to sell it to me when she was finished with it because she would not be using it again. So, she paid $170 for all of it. I got all of it for $50 which I think is pretty good. As you can see there is a ton.

Luckily my friend is going to go in on it with me and buy half so that I don't have so much fabric sitting around. I have some plans for it, and if there is any left I might just do a giveaway or something.
This is all the folding I still have left. It is a lot of work to fold it nicely, but will be easier to work with when finished.

Some other great places to go for fabric discounts are www.etsy.com, and www.fabric.com, usually I can find good coupons for 20-30% off plus if you spend $35 or more you get free shipping with fabric.com

Good luck to all of you trying to find great deals.

Being a Mother Couldn't Be Better

How could I not love being a mother?

Seriously, when I look at these pictures and see these beautiful little creations I just melt. Really, how can I not be in love.

The blessings of motherhood are so special to me. The idea of what motherhood would be like quickly changed after having Summer our first. I learned that it is filled with love, laughter, crying, discipline, and a life filled with joyful memories.

The primary kids sang My Mother Dear in sacrament meeting today. At the end when it says mother dear they held up a picture of their mother that they drew last week. Here is Summer's picture of me. She even drew earrings.

This is my first year receiving a Mother's Day gift that she made at preschool. She was so excited to give it to me. I love seeing her face light up like that with so much love, and excitement. We really are so blessed to have her as a part of our family. I am thankful that I have been given the opportunity to be a mother. Hopefully I will be able to be a good one.

This is my mom Karla.

Don't you think we look exactly alike? Most people probably thought I was adopted when I was little. But I don't care. I think we must resemble each other in some way or another.

My mom has been such a great example to me. She has always taken care of us girls, and done all that she could to give us what we needed. She loved us, provided for us, nurtured us, had fun with us, laughed with us, cried with us, and of course taught us.

My mom's mother left when she was young, and never came back. I can't imagine how that must have felt or how she moved on to be such a wonderful mother who was always there. She was, and is so involved in our lives. Growing up I have always thought of my mom as a hard worker. She is happy and lives a good life enjoying her three girls, and 12 grandchildren. She also loves to work in the garden. Something else that requires nurturing and care. I love my mom so much. She really is the best.

My mom does not own a computer, so I will have to let her know that I shared her with everyone. After all, she is a good example and a lovely woman in my life.

I am glad to be a mother and to share parenting with my husband Philip who is an excellent father.

Finally a Trip to Idaho!!

Finally I am blogging about my trip to Idaho. I thought I had already done it until today when I saw the ducks from my last post at the top.

Anyhow, we were able to go to Idaho for two weeks to visit my family. It was way past due, and I am so glad we finally got to see them. I would say the only real challenge about living in Houston is that it is so far away from family. Good thing we have such awesome friends, and neighbors.

Phil was able to come to Idaho for a few days, but then he rode back to Vancouver, BC with his family. He wanted to go to the temple open house since it is just a few streets over from his parents house.

Here are some of the things we were able to see and do while visiting family.

WARNING: Lots of pictures.

At Broulim's grocery store they make this colored bread for all the different holidays. My mom saved some from Easter so Summer could enjoy it too. She thought it was so fun.
Summer enjoying playing with her cousin Guage. He is so hilarious. He is a little smarty pants and a little rambunctious at the same time. I was very entertained by every visit from my little nephew. We sure are glad he is in our family.
I love this picture of Summer with Grandpa Harvey. They look so happy. Philip's family came down for a few days because his youngest sister was graduating from BYU-Idaho.
Thanks to Jeff my brother-in-law Philip got his wish to go horseback riding. Thanks a ton Jeff. You made the whole trip for Phil.

Phil enjoying the horseback riding.
This was a beautiful spring day. This is what I miss about living in the Northwest. Hills and mountains at your fingertips. I love the mountains and unfortunately took them for granted while I lived so close to them.
My sister Kody holding an antler horn that she found. Apparently it is a pretty big one. I would have no clue as we are not the hunting type. Philip found a little tiny one, but I forgot to take a picture of that.
Philip and I in our non horse riding shoes. We were obviously not prepared. Imagine this in about a month when it is more green and lush. I want to go for another ride so bad.
This is at my sister's house just days after the horse ride. I think we experienced all four seasons while we were there. Summer sure was happy to play in the snow. My sister on the other hand is still experiencing snow storms in May, and I don't think she is so happy about it.
My nephew Kiowa refused to go out and play with the kids. The next thing I knew he was playing out there with no shoes, coat, or gloves on. I guess he prefers frozen limbs.
Last year we went to Idaho around the same time. My nephew Dawson was born then. Well, he just celebrated his first birthday. We got him this drum and he went crazy for it. Here he is playing with full force.
Dumb and Dumber! This little scooter is rad. I love this and wish that I could have had a turn too. Summer was a little scared at first, but then came to enjoy the ride.
Dawson was so funny. He would hold on to the front and stand while my niece Tatum took him around the block. He loved it.
He also fit nicely in the dump truck.
She is such a poser. I think I am going to have a teenage girl that loves jewelry, clothes, makeup, and shopping. She is already into trying on clothes at the store and will not let me take them off until she does a little dance in front of the mirror while singing a song. I love it though. It makes me laugh every time.
I was lucky to get together with a few of my friends while I was there. We went to the park on this really nice day. It is always good to visit with friends and keep in touch.
Isn't he cute.
My sisters Kody and Kori pretending they are going to get a tan. It actually was really nice that day. I think in the 70's or something.
On our way back to SLC to catch our flight we stayed at a hotel for a couple nights. Kiowa and Summer were playing super heros by jumping off the bed with their goggles on.
I told you she likes to shop, and try everything on.
My nephew was getting so sick of driving and shopping by this point. When going to the airport he did say that he was glad we were going home. I would get sick of shopping and riding in a car too if I were a kid. I think deep down inside he really wishes I lived next door.

We also went to visit Scott's graveside a couple times. Summer picked out a bouquet of flowers to leave out there. It was nice to take flowers out there since we don't get to do it that often. My mom goes out there and leaves things there from time to time.

It was such a fun trip. I always love going for a visit. I love my family so much and wish we were able to visit more often. There will not be any year gaps from now on though. It was too long.

Thanks family for such a great time. We loved it and miss you all already.