Our Garden

Memorial Day weekend we put together a container garden made from 2 x 10's and some brackets. We filled with soil, threw in some seeds and sprouted plants and vowed to water it regularly.




I even built a rain barrel from a trash can and some spigots. We have herbs (including lots of basil), cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, red & yellow peppers, carrots, and squash. The top layer of soil was Miracle Grow garden soil and it has really helped these plants take off.





-- Post From My iPod

Blogging from my iPod

Finally I found an iPod app that I can use to post blog posts whenever I can get a WiFi connection. It is called BlogPress. It also allows me to type in landscape mode with a wider keyboard. I'll try to do it with pictures next.


-- Post From My iPod

Picking Our Own Rubies

Today Becky treated the rest of us to a favorite childhood memory of hers. She found a pick-your-own strawberry field in nearby Holland, OH. We got a couple of flats and spent a hour or so bending, squatting and kneeling in a field.


As our prize for these efforts, we got to bring home several pounds of the cutest, but most delicious strawberries we'd ever had.


Strawberries from California are bred for sturdiness to survive shipping them across the country. These would not have survived that trip as they were delicate and packed with flavor.


The possibilities are making me drool. I'm going to pause now and eat some more.


-- Post From My iPod

Camping on the Field

Last night we went to watch the Mudhens beat the Rochester Redwings on a gorgeous night for baseball.





Before the game Becky and Alex put on their Scout uniforms and led off a parade through the infield.





Afterwards we watched a great fireworks display over the outfield wall. Then, after the non-Scout families left the stadium, we came back in with our camping gear. We watched the Detroit Redwings lose the Stanley Cup on the big screen, then they played the Disney movie "Bolt".





We had popcorn and hot chocolate during the movie woth another Scout from Alex's den and a long walk to the bathroom from our prime centerfield campsite.





They finally turned out the lights at 1AM, but played country songs to wake us up at 6:30.





We hauled our gear to the van and our tired backsides to a waffle house, where Aaron learned the joys of having bacon bits cooked into your waffle. As you might expect, we spent the rest of day resting up from our adventure - and planning next year's sleepover.


-- Post From My iPod

Biker Boys

Both boys have really started riding their bikes a lot lately.  Alex is going on a class camping trip at the end of May at a State Park at nearby South Bass Island.  They will be getting around the island on bikes, so he really needed to learn.  He had been reluctant to do so out of a fear of falling.  This trip however, made the fear of falling while learning to ride seem small in comparison to how he'd feel if he couldn't keep up with his friends on the trip.  Aaron's bike has training wheels still, but he loves riding his just as much.


I wanted to get a better picture of Alex, but he wouldn't sit still long enough, so I settled for this action shot.  We took advantage of the fact that many stores were closed on Easter to use their parking lot for biking practice.  We had been using small patches of pavement at our local park.  These patches weren't big enough to let them pick up some speed (which makes balancing easier) or to really practice steering.  A big empty parking lot was just the ticket, and soon they were cruising all over the lot.  There are some bigger parks within a short driving distance that'll be good for more practice, without having to wait for a major holiday.

October 2008 Blog Posts

I have no excuse.  I have several reasons, but no excuses for not keeping up to date with my blogging.  I finally completed October of last year and I plan to add more current content soon, while back-filling the dates I'm behind on.  Blogging used to be my only hobby, but I've picked up 3 new ones and left this one to dwindle and twist in the wind.  Catch up on all of October here, then stay tuned for more current posts.

Aaron on the Waterslide

Aaron loved the kid-sized waterslide and with his new swimming skills, he didn't need a parent at the bottom to catch him. We stood at the exit (where I'm taking this video from) and watch as he made circuit after circuit down the waterslide, out the exit, then back up the stairs to the slide again. He even met a little girl there that he slid with several times while holding hands.