Yardwork

We recently hired someone to help with our yard. We do have an acre, after all, and it can be a lot to keep up with. Plus, we just got a whole slew of new trees (12 to be exact....plus the 14 that were already there) that all need to be watered everyday. It can really be a lot of work!

We decided to start him on lawn mowing. He did okay, but wasn't as much help as we anticipated. Maybe if his feet could reach the gas pedal.

We decided to try him out on the tree watering. He seems to have his own style of watering, to say the least.

He stops quite a lot to take a break and get some refreshment. I think it keeps him ready and willing to take on any task.

He always goes the extra mile. We told him that he could just water the trees directly, but he insisted on filling up a bucket and hand pouring the water.

Oops!!! The hose is big and sometimes gets a little out of control. Well, I guess he does need a shower after all that hard work!

Summer Evenings

We've had really nice weather the last few weeks. Not a lot of wind. Not too hot. And, in the evening, it cools off and is really nice. We spend lots of night on our back porch enjoying the summer evenings as a family.

Max was very nice and gave Logan a ride on the Gator. Logan loves the Gator. LOVES. Maybe obsessed would be a better word. He hasn't learned how to ride it yet, so he relies on another driver for the time being. But, he really doesn't care. He's content just to sit in it and pretend like he's driving. A few times, he's pushed ever so slightly on the gas pedal and makes it go. He hasn't figured out that he is the one doing that, so it scares him. It's too funny!

Gardening

I've been having so much fun with our garden this year. Last year, we had so many starts and seeds fail. And, the weeds got so out of control, I got seriously discouraged. We got our fill of zucchini, of course. But, I always have huge expectations for our garden. This year seems to be going SO much better!! I know why too....

First, we sprayed our whole garden with Round-up a few weeks before we were ready to plant. It killed everything before we tilled up the ground. I can't believe the difference in the amount of weeds this year!! In addition, I've been raking the dirt every week or so to keep the tiny weeds from being able to grow. So far, the combination has worked really well. I'm definitely doing it this way every year.

Second...we built another greenhouse. We put one over our tomatoes last year and it made a HUGE difference. I really wanted cucumbers this year, but they just can't seem to stand the wind! So, we built another greenhouse just for them. Our cucumbers are thriving and starting to crowd out the other vegetables. I'll have to remember that for next year. They're hard to see...they are way in the back.

Our greenhouses look like little covered wagons. They are made by hammering 2 foot pieces of rebar in the ground, then arching pvc pipe over them. We added painters plastic to the top. They keep the plants so protected from the wind and everything inside are really thriving. In here, we have cucumbers, jalapenos, artichokes (which I didn't even realize they grew here! Thanks, Brittany for telling me...artichokes are my favorite!)

AND...
Bell peppers!!! We already have some growing!!! Yum!!

Our tomatoes are getting so big, we took the plastic off of our greenhouse.  I bought starts this year for them. Not just starts, but I splurged for the really big ones. The growing season is so short here, I decided it would cut down at least 4 weeks on the growing time. We have baby tomatoes growing all over the place now!

Here's our lettuce and cilantro. I've never grown herbs before. I'm excited to see how they do!

Here's our corn. 

And, Green Beans.

We also have tons of squash and pumpkins. TONS! And....that brings me to the third reason for a successful garden. I planted all of our squash and pumpkins straight from seed this year. 15 to be exact. And only 2 germinated and grew. I was really discouraged. It was late enough that trying more seeds was completely out of the question. Starts are really expensive - at least when trying to fill a garden as big as ours. But, my friend Brittany came to my rescue in a very bittersweet way. Her husband got a new, really awesome job and they are moving out of state. She was left with tons of starts that she worked very hard on growing all spring in her basement. She's like a gardening ninja. Seriously. She gave me tons of starts. And they are all thriving. I am so grateful!! But....honestly I would sacrifice my entire garden in a heartbeat if it meant they didn't have to move! We are so sad to lose them!

Our strawberries have also done amazing this year!! Finally!!!....we planted the starts 2 years ago!

And we have had TONS of strawberries! I've filled this bowl at least 3 times from our small patch.

So, we made Strawberry freezer jam. I've never made it before. It's so yummy!! The kids stepped in and helped me crush the strawberries.

This is only part. We ended up with 15 pints! I wish I could say that it will last us through the winter, but I know it won't. This kids have been practically surviving on toast and Strawberry Freezer Jam!

Here's to having an awesome garden this year!!!

4th of July

Here at the Webster household, we know how to celebrate the 4th. We don't celebrate like most families. We celebrate for 10 days straight!! Okay....really, we sell fireworks every year. But, this year, I really need to own up and give Dave ALL the credit. He worked his tail off and let me stay home and be a mom to our kids.

The actual 4th was way fun! We started the day by going to the local parade. The kids love it because all of the floats throw out candy. This year, Aunt Andrea was very nice and brought a huge bag of candy to share so that they kids weren't out on the road. Logan loves candy. LOVES. I couldn't get a picture of him without a mouth full of candy! But, I am glad he kept his hat on all day. He look so grown up in it!

We always let the kids (and all the cousins) get free pop-its from our fireworks stand. During the parade, they got bored and started throwing pop-its at each other. If you've ever wondered what happens to a new white shirt bombarded with pop-its....wonder no further! Here's Max's back. Poor kid. I think he got a little outnumbered.

I had been promising our kids that we would get frozen yogurt sometime during the fireworks season. We just didn't make it up to help very often. So...we finally went right after the parade. I think Kiwi Loco needs to buy my picture and use it for their advertising. Just sayin....

We have 2 different locations where we sell fireworks every year. Walmart:

Grandpa helped A LOT this year!!! I know that Dave was so glad to have the help. And, when I say help...I mean 15 hour days kind of help.

Our second stand is at Broulims:

Dave's cousin Michelle and her husband Tom are always so nice and help us every year also. I'm so glad they do! I feel like it's the only time of year that we get to really see them. They are such awesome people! We are really blessed to have so much family willing to help us do this every year. We couldn't do it without them.

After all of our playing around, the kids were getting exhausted. I knew they would be up late, late, late...so I took them home for a quick afternoon nap. It didn't last long, though. They were so anxious to get back to our stand to help Dad! The 4th is the only day we really let them in to go help. We let the kids pick a movie and as soon as it got dark, they all piled in to the van for a movie marathon. Grandma Martin sent them glow sticks this year and it took every ounce of their self control to not break them out days before the 4th. I love how Logan is using his as a straw. Silly boy.

The city fireworks didn't start until almost 11:30. They always light them right after the rodeo. Bria just barely missed them. By that point, Max could really care less. He was so tired. Same with Logan.

So...we waited a few days and lit sparklers with the older kids at home.

This year was probably my favorite 4th of July ever. I always worry that the kids miss out on the 4th because we sell fireworks instead of spending time as a family. But I realized this year that they have just as much fun helping with that as they would going to the rodeo or fireworks show. They had a great time!!! It was so fun!

Military Crafting

With all of the patriotic and father's day craft ideas that have been floating around the blogosphere, I got inspired. It had never occurred to me that Dave's dad and my step dad both served in the military. Okay...scratch that. That actually had occurred to me. What I didn't realized is that my kids didn't know that they have 2 grandpas that have served in the military. I think that is so awesome! And so sad that my kids didn't know that it was part of their heritage and family identity. Huge fail on my part. So, I made something. And, I really like how they turned out!

Dave found these cool floating frames at Walmart. I made the photos with the flag background in Photoshop. Then, added vinyl "Land of the Free; Because of the Brave". And, my favorite part was a last minute inspiration. I used vinyl with star cut outs as a stencil and etched the outside glass with etching cream. I love how it turned out. We gave these to each of the dads, but I'm definitely making duplicates for our house!

Camp Inn

I don't always think I'm a very fun mom. I seem to have the "no" syndrome - I tend to say "no" more than "yes" even if there really is no reason to say no. I'm really trying hard to work on that. Sometimes in the chaos of life, adding more seems stressful. But, more often than not, adding more fun always seems to relieve stress. I just need to remember that.

Here's one of my rare "Yes"es (or yes's or yes' or however the right way is). And, in the interest of full disclosure....I did stop short of popcorn and told the kids no on that one.

I love these happy faces! They worked so hard getting their beds all ready. They stayed up late and watched movies all from the comfort of our little tent.

The kids even got to sleep under the stars - our ceiling stars! They had so much fun! I need to remember this when my first reaction is to say no. Yay for being a YES mom!

A night away

Dave and I hardly ever go on dates, let alone a night away. With three kids and taking care of life, it never seems to be very easy. Months ago (like almost a year) we did some work for someone and traded for a gift certificate to a theme hotel in our area. We've been dying to go, but it hasn't worked out. The gift certificate expired at the end of May and about half way through, we knew there was no way we could make it. So, we called and they extended the expiration date for us. But, only for one month. Summer is perfect for us since Dave works for the school he has summer vacation. My very generous friend offered to watch our kids overnight so we could finally go.

This hotel has a exotic destination theme, so ever room is a different destination. We've been before and stayed in the New York Suite. This time we chose the Thailand Suite. It was so nice and relaxing to have the whole night with just the two of us! It brings back memories of when it was only us before we had kids.

Of course we took pictures of the room, but none of us! I'm so much better at taking pictures of the kids.

Dave surprised me with some gorgeous roses! I love the arrangement. It fits right in with the room.

It was such a nice break! And for not going on dates very often, this one was more than perfect!

Summer is finally here!

Finally. FINALLY. Summer decided to arrive in Idaho. Summer always seems to be 3 months behind the rest of the world here. It's almost like Spring doesn't exist. We go straight from winter to summer.

We've been trying to take advantage of every minute so far. Summer comes late, but it doesn't last very long either. We started the first day of summer (which was also, ironically, the first day being over 80 degrees here) with a trip to the park.

This kids had a blast! And, really, my only complaint is that it was a playground for ages 5 and up (they even had a sign warning of that). But, that was my fault - we had never been to that playground before. It actually worked out really well, though. It got my up off the bench and out playing with and keeping a watch over Logan. It was a great day!

The kids have also spent tons and tons of time playing with water in the yard. Their favorite? Good old sprinkler under the trampoline. It never fails to last for hours.