Been Busy...

I can count on my fingers the number of true summer days we've enjoyed thus far.  A little disheartened? Yes.  I laugh at the relativity of my situation.  I moan and groan about the rain, yet my neighbor who just seeded his dirt patch is rejoicing.  "It rains on the just and the unjust," or in my case, it rains on the grateful and the ingrate.

In spite of the rain, we've worked.  And worked.  I'm pleased to announce that the Carter garden has been planted.  In the big garden: corn, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.  We made little 5x5 garden spots for each of the kids.  They chose their crop: squash, zucchini (don't ask me why), sunflowers, wildflowers, lettuce, more cucumbers, and spinach.  The true test will be if we can keep our weed levels under control.  I yearn to be a constant gardner, but somehow my excitement tapers off mid-growing season.  I'm a little impatient.  I want to plant and harvest.  That's it.  No thinning, no weeding.  Geez, I sound a little pathetic.  Someday, my green thumb will be real instead of painted on...

Our yard is massive, so are our planters.  We needed mulch in a major way.  Forty cubic yards, to be exact.  We slaved away on this project for days...and days.  Mostly in the rain.  Slightly miserable, but the end result was worth it.  We all need a little lift sometimes and so do houses and yards.  I'm loving these opportunities to work with my kids.  They're hard workers and Ben is the master teacher when it comes to work.  And lucky for me, I managed to squeeze in a fabulous photo shoot of dirty faces, cute little boots, and a great red dump truck.