It's Garden Time!

The sun is shining, a comfortable breeze is blowing, the tractor is running...it's garden time!

I love this time of year, when we all get outside and work together as a family in the garden. I am especially grateful for Robert's desire to get the garden planted in a neat, orderly manner. I think he does a much, much better job at planning, measuring, and laying out the plants than I ever could.

We have four large garden beds right now, one has perennials like asparagus, raspberries and blackberries in it. The other three are for the annual vegetables. We're tilling up another area (about half an acre) for rangy, space-consuming crops like melons, cucumbers and corn. I am so looking forward to lots of cantaloupe and honeydew melon!

We also planted some more peach trees this year. Hopefully these will do better than the ones planted (under my supervision) last year!

This year for the first time, we started some of our own seedlings. The kids were engrossed with watching and helping Robert with this new endeavor!

Well, this next picture has nothing to do with gardening, but it sure is cute!

If you can make out the lettering on the shirt, you'll agree with the statement completely!

Katie

Finger Lickin' Good???

Yes, dear readers, this is another fun-filled post about the -ahem- interesting things that resourceful young boys find and do in the great woods of Arkansas!

Before I recount this episode, let me give you a bit of background info. The boys-- all of them - love watching a show called, "Survivorman", about a man who goes into a different hostile environment every show and survives with only the items in his pockets or backpack. While we don't have TV, we do have the ability to watch certain things online. "Survivorman" is something we deem worth watching, and it's actually a pretty interesting show.

Anyway, Andrew was "surviving" in the hostile environment of the Arkansas woods, and decided that he needed to get something to eat. Soooo, he hunted himself up a turtle, whacked it with a rock (bet you couldn't do that, Survivorman!), cleaned it somehow, and -- drum roll, please -- roasted it over a fire!!!!!

Yes. He. Ate. It.

He very graciously offered R.G. and me some of the roasted delicacy. As he was handing a charred piece to his big brother, R.G. asked if he had actually tasted the turtle and Andrew nodded yes.

Big, tough, cowboy R.G. responded, "You're a bigger man than me!", and politely declined the offering. So did I. At least I could blame my lack of turtle appetite on my pregnancy!

I'm afraid that Andrew was a bit disappointed with his sissy family. But, as R.G. reminded everyone, if things ever get really bad, Andrew is going to be the one with the full stomach!

Mama

Samuel

Samuel was getting ready to walk out the door and check for eggs. Here was our conversation.

Mama: Samuel, don't walk outside in your socks.

Samuel: I not. I walking in my feet!

He then proceeded to show me his bare feet!

I guess I thought that was cute enough to run in here and post!

Mama