Green thumb

 Jacob has a green thumb....no not literally, but he does have a great knack for growing things. This spring he came home from school with a red solo cup.....full of sunflower seedlings. I put them in the window and we let them grow there until they got a bit bigger. Then I told Jacob that we needed to move them to a bigger pot so they could grow. We moved those seedlings to a bigger pot.....and they died. Jacob was so upset that I went out and bought another package of sunflower seeds so we could replant. Then as those were doing so good, the dog got to them and half of them died. So we again replanted....and waited. Jacob made sure those seeds were moved when the dog was outside and made sure that they got the right amount of water. Then, they got tall and started to show signs of blooming.

We waited and waited until it started to bloom. Just the very day that it fully opened disaster struck again. Jacob had been putting the pot up on the BBQ grill while the dog, Benelli, was out. Last night it was on the grill when the wind picked up and blew it off. Sadly, the tallest plant (the only one blooming right now) was broken. I was quick to notice and cut it off and brought it inside. Now we can enjoy this bloom and wait for the rest of them to finish.

Hopefully the rest of them bloom before something else bad happens.

Wyatt's Tumble weed

Where we live in the big wild west, there are tumbleweeds. They are weeds that don't really bother anyone....until the fall. Then their whole purpose in life is to break off at the base of the stem and tumble anywhere that the wind will blow them and deposit all their seeds for the next year. I have seen a great many tumble weeds.....just never one this big before. Thanks Wyatt for finding it for us.

Pool Party

I finally got some pictures of the kids playing in the pool. We finally had a day that was worthy of getting in and cooling off. The kids had a lot of fun and we had invited the neighbor children over. I know that this pool will give them hours of enjoyment throughout the rest of the summer....it already has so far.
This is Jacob. Just trying to see what I was doing.

Bethany has been pouting a lot lately. This is her pouting on the tramp because something wasn't going how she wanted it too.

Katherine, just looking cute in her suit.

James even joined us for a minute. He didn't get into the water as it was WAY too cold for him and I.
Amanda just being silly in the water.