Who is this child and where is his mother?

I looked out my window and what did I see,

a little boy standing not three foot three.

Lookin' like a fool with his pants on the ground...

still not claiming to know this child, but I do know for a fact this was his first attempt at "dropping" his pants; and it was a failed attempt at that; being the kind person I am, I gave him some new play clothes and sent him on his way

Kickin' up the dirt,

and stompin' out the plants...

I thought of yelling,

"Stop doing that or your daddy's

my husband's gonna get you!"

But it was too funny.

The kickin' method just wasn't working for him

so he went on the hunt for some "destruction" tools.

AHA!

"I. am. the. MAN!

Say my name, dirt!...Raaaeeee-gennnnn!"

Thankfully his momma soon put a stop to the mayhem

and I went out to survey the damage.
Thankfully, little was done.

B's garden is actually looking pretty good this year.

This is our third year to attempt a garden...

our second for a real in-the-ground-traditional garden.

Grandpa, you would be proud!! :)

B planted peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, and squash.

So far everything is staying green and alive, but we haven't hit summertime yet. ;)

Growin' Mae-toes!

Aunt Jenn gave Raegen a garden kit for his birthday. On Tuesday he and I sat down and planted his "mae-toes"!

Here are the supplies:

We added two cups of warm water to the pellets and they swelled up to create our soil:

The "mae-toe" seeds:

Three for each cup:

Clearly his daddy taught him how to count: ;)

Making the plant markers so we can remember what's what!

See? It says "mae-toe"!

We'll keep the plants in the house until they are well established, then transfer them to daddy's BIG garden.

This was a fun project and Raegen is anxious for them to

"grow BIG!"

Calling all green thumbs!

In the spring I got some seed packets from church and when early summer rolled around I planted them...but I threw away the seed packets!

{or at least forgot where I stored them!}

Can anyone tell me the name of the following flower?

It took quite a while to produce a bloom...

for the longest time it looked like a big ugly weed...

but I think these flowers are gorgeous...

and

HUGE!!

I also planted these caladiums from seed.

Had I known they would be so big and beautiful I would have placed them on the south side of the house so I could see them every day. I have not watered or cared for either of these plants all summer {though we have had a wet summer}. The packets said "full sun" so I planted them on the west side of the house and they get plenty 'o sun every day.

If you're more of a black thumb gardener, these plants are for YOU! :)

And potato vine, of course, love that stuff!!

So, can anyone help a pregnant girl out?

I'd love to make sure I plant more of those flowers next summer.

Got a name for me?? :)

Mom?

Dad?

Anyone?

First Fruits

Last week our garden yielded its first fruits of the season.

Since this picture was taken we've pulled a few more tomatoes and one squash. Our okra and cucumber plants are also producing now. It's so nice to have fresh, organic {does it really count as organic if the mowers have been innocently spraying the garden for weeds?! oops.}, juicy, free! vegetables.

Stop by for a big juicy sliced tomato!

Grandpa, Grandpa, how does your garden grow? :) {and any other gardeners out there!}

This, my dear friends, is sweet revenge.

Flour.

Plain white flour.

No more digging.

Happy days.

Billy, Billy, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

This blogs for you, Grandpa! ;)

Our tomatoes, okra, cucumber, and squash are coming along nicely.

We were glad that our 100 days 'o rain didn't wash them out!

The garden and the Olive

Billy planted cucumber, squash, okra, and tomatoes yesterday. We're hoping today's rain doesn't wash it all away! This will be our first real garden as a family and I'm excited to have fresh summer veggies.

This evening we celebrated my birthday, again. My all-time fave restaurant is Olive Garden {oh the breadsticks, and oh! the salad}, but the last year or so we've preferred to stay in town rather than drive 30 minutes just to dine.

Raegen was quite the breadstick fan...who isn't?

He was also quite the fan of having his picture taken...

He insisted Billy pick up the camera and take our picture...over and over...you'll see...

As always, the food was delicioso. Yummy goodness.

Raegen and I always share a plate.

and again. {It's different than the previous, scroll up and see.}

And of course we had to get dessert to celebrate.

"I only have eyes for you..."

I think he likes it.

Two hands of cake are better than one...

Divine.

I'm really enjoying this age, though there are moments I dislike it greatly. Thankfully, Raegen was very well behaved tonight. Actually, a couple seated nearby stopped by our table as they were leaving to commend us on his good behavior. I'm thinking they don't have kids; if so, they would have known the pendulum easily swings both ways!

Story Time & A Sweet Surprise

Monday Raegen and I headed to story time at the local library. Let me tell you, it was FABULOUSO!!! I am always nervous about trying new things or going to unfamiliar places by myself, but it was well worth it. Before we even opened the door to the "children's room" Raegen was squealing with delight and ran right in. Thankfully there were a few familiar faces for me so I didn't feel completely alone.

It was a lot of fun for us both and I plan on making it part of our weekly routine. I have fond memories of going to the library with my Grandmother Richardson and I would love for Raegen to have the same.

After story time Raegen and Briton hung out in the book nook. You may remember Briton from this post.

What a lovely surprise! When we returned home, this is what greeted us...

Two beautiful geraniums...

some seeds for our garden...

and tomato plants!!

Does my husband know how to melt my heart or what?? :)

Growin' some greens...

We've been talking about having a garden for years and this year we decided to actually have one!

We went straight to the source for a green garden...the Gainer's! :)

Kordell and Raegen played while the adults talked about all things garden.

Talk about a green thumb! Check out these hostas...

Their yard is full of beautiful blooms and shade trees.

Can you believe Raegen made it all the way to the top rung by himself? Big D is there to help him get down, not up!

When we got home, B fired up the tiller! Our garden is a whopping 6x8...okay, maybe a tad smaller. ha. No need to get burnt out the first year!