Flowers & Butterflys

This year I planted flowers in my garden, AGAIN! I feel like I should plant vegetables, but they just don't grow good for me. The tomatoes don't really grow. If some vegetables do grow, then I forget to to pick it and cook it.  The weeds take over. If weeds grow among the flowers, that's OK. I have them planted really close, and they still bloom beautifully. This year, I didn't have Ron plow my garden plot. He had mulched the leaves and dumped them on the garden bed, so I shoved the leaves aside and planted the seeds. I left the leaves as mulch between the rows. 

The biggest surprise, was the 12 foot tall sunflower! This sunflower grew all by itself from seeds dropped by the previous years flowers. It just popped up in the middle of the bed, so I avoided disturbing it, and look at it's glory. I have planted a giant sunflower seed and I have planted a seed that has multiple blooms. But I have not planted a giant sunflower with multiple blooms. I think maybe I have a new cultivar! The bees and butterflies cross pollinate the flowers, so, if it is a new cultivar, I don't really get the credit. But maybe I could name it!

 I plan on saving the seeds from the giant sunflower and some of the others too.

I am excited to see what will grow next year!

Happy Birthday Phoenix

Phoenix turned 1 on Saturday. His Mommy and Daddy had a party for him at Dodi and Poppa’s house! We had pizza, cake, ice cream and went swimming.

Little Phoenix received his first race car, first toy tractor, a alligator backpack, along with some other cute things. I picked out his little Fisher Price Farm set, with a little tractor. When he is a little older, he will have to have a John Deere riding tractor!


What an eventful year for a little boy. Phoenix had surgery the week before his birthday and luckily he had recovered pretty well before his actual birthday.

Little Phoenix entertains his big sisters and all of us with his bright smile. Phoenix has bright blue eyes and a big smile. I love the way that Violet calls Phoenix “Buddy”! I am not known for picking out special birthday cards, I try, but I just don’t usually find anything special. This time I found a card that said Happy Birthday to a special “Buddy”! I was so excited!

Phoenix is just about ready to walk! He crawls and pulls up, but hasn’t taken that 1st step yet! That should be any day now. Go Phoenix!

Sea Doo Queens!

We sisters still got it! I don't know what it is we got, but somehow, we got ourselves on the Sea Doo!

The Sea Doo wasn't running right and wouldn't gain any speed. It had NOTHING to do with the passengers! "Some" people thought it was the load it was trying to carry, but after we "gracefully" dismounted from the Sea Doo, thankfully, right next to the dock, the next rider found that the Sea Doo was misfiring or some such problem. It was sad to have waited for two years since the last outing, and have the Sea Doo not up to speed. We still had lots of fun!

4th of July Fun!

Happy Birthday Veronika

Veronika joined our family as a little girl of three. I love to hear about her being a baby and toddler, since we didn’t know her then. But we have had the pleasure of watching her grow into a little lady these years. And I believe we now officially have known her over half of her life. Veronika turned 8, June 29, 2010.

My first glimpse of her was a little girl with long blond ringlets. Now, she has shorter hair, and doesn’t look like a little girl. Veronika is tall and slender. She has a slim dancers body, and has quite the moves. We love to watch her play “Just Dance” on the Wii!

The first time Veronika tried to swim in our pool, she stood in the steps and cried. Now she swims like a little fish. She told me she always knew how to swim, even though I distinctly remember her NOT liking the water.

Veronika attends AWANA every Wednesday night, during the school year. She received an award for completing her three books in three years. I don’t really know the details of the Sparks, but completing a book is a lot of work. They learn Bible verses and complete tasks, like talking to a missionary. I am so proud of her for going to AWANA. These kids know the Bible!

Veronika is such a good big sister to Violet and Phonix. Her and Violet spent the night with me, Violet was sad and missing her Mommy and Daddy, Veronika comforted her so sweetly.

For the last two years, I have given Veronika season tickets to the Children’s Theater. We have a special time all year of attending the live play, eating out, and usually have a sleep over. This has been a special time for us to share. This year, I gave her a Wii instead. I am already missing the anticipation of our time together. So, we will probably attend the shows anyway. I really enjoy having a special event to share with her.

Happy Birthday Veronika! I love you!