Photo 58: Raspberries and Bees

A trip to my grandma's wouldn't be complete without checking out the raspberries on the side of their house!  I picked and he fed them to me! :) He also enjoyed watching the bees buzzing around the plants. 
I love sharing my childhood memories with Alex! :)

Photo 31: Storm

we waited until the rain had slowed down and the hail had stopped. It was time to go home.
10 minutes down the road and we had the worst hail I had seen
(which is not saying a lot because I don't remember the last time I had seen hail)
pounding on our car.
the windshield wipers swishing at full speed.
i turned to check on Alex to make sure he was okay, and there he , staring at the window, his face serious and eyes had that worried look.
The light turned green and we slowly moved forward.
5 more minutes down the road and it had slowed up a bit.
we made it home to flickering power.
happy to be home
happy to have the temperature drop from 115 to 87 in an hour.
happy to not feel oppressed by the air.
hello summer thunderstorms!

Photo 26: Looking In, Looking Out

ever wonder if the fish oh and ah about us?
that would be a fun thing for my kiddos to write about next year! :)

Photo 12: Blue Skies

It was nice to see the blue skies this afternoon after several cloudy, rainy days.

but even as I write this, I hear thunder in the distance.

and I don't mind it at bit.

Rainy nights are better than rainy days.

Rainy days are not fun for little boys who like to go out and play!

Photo 10: Potted Garden

there is nothing like walking outside and picking fresh basil to add to your meal! 

(Basil is wonderful on pizza and in sushi too!)

I love using basil so bought 2 plants this year and put them in a huge pot and they took off! To the left is chives, the right is spicy oregano, and in front is a tomato plant I just got. Is it too late to start tomatoes? 

(I hope not.) 

We have these horrible locust/grasshopper bugs that eat plants, they destroyed most of the stuff I planted the first year we lived here. But I have found what will survive them (rosemary, lavender, and irises) and then also that plants in pots are safe, so I have enjoyed my potted herbs!

Did you notice the sweet little face in the window?

Photo 7: trees

I love trees. The big ones that have been around longer then the surrounding houses, 

that you have to tilt your head all the way back to see the top

i love that after 6 years you can still discover new places...

thanks to my brother in law playing disc golf.

although, I must say, I won't be returning in flip flops as I try to chase Alex.

but he did have a lot of fun.

on a totally other note, can I express my TOTAL disappointment that ALL of my pictures from my blog last year have disappeared...Just about. I think 15 still show up. I am hoping that it can be resolved without me having to fix each individual one, but if not...I have a whole summer to do it!