Fall Bounty

This past spring/summer the kids planted various vegetable and flower seeds into small starter containers and then once the little plants were big enough we transplanted them into our larger containers which we call our garden. We have all enjoyed watching the plants grow throughout the summer and picking the ripe beans, tomatoes, carrots and basil. Our container garden isn't very big but it is just the right size to produce a few cups of basil which we used to make pesto or put on pizza and in soup, a handful of cherry tomatoes gobbled up right after picking and crisp green beans that over a week can be collected and served for a veggie during dinner. Here is a picture of our latest bounty from our container garden. Even Drew enjoyed his first cherry tomato! It took awhile to convince the little guy that the red "ball" was edible. Finally, he popped the whole thing in his mouth and began chewing resulting in seeds squirting out from his mouth. He liked it because he said "Again" after he finished eating the first tomato.

Bad Hair Day

Lately our electric bill has been on the high side (mostly due to the air conditioner being used non-stop) as well as lights left on in various rooms throughout the house. Gary and I decided to get the kids involved with helping us save money and electricity by encouraging them to turn lights off. The girls were given a "chart" to check off little boxes each time they turned off a light in the house. After checking 5 boxes they could select a piece of candy from the treat jar. We didn't put any restrictions as to the time of day or type of treat they could select hoping that keeping it simple would keep them interested (nothing like a gummy bear appetizer before breakfast eh!) After they completed their chart we promised that they could pick out a toy or game from the store as a big "thank-you" for helping us reduce our electricity usage and bill. The girls did a great job! A week ago they both finished their charts and decided that the toy they both wanted was a little electric hamster (like a zhu zhu pet). A few hours after playing non stop with them Kami came running into the kitchen with a big problem - the little hamster was crawling towards her and ended up getting tangled in her hair! Enjoy the picture! After completely dismembering the hamster's motor/wheels/ect. the little guy survived and is hair free! Kami however has a small section of newly cut short bangs to help her remember this little event!