Our Vegetable Soup is Still Growing

The last couple of weeks has brought great growth to the garden.  The strawberries have gone dormant and are waiting for cooler weather in the fall.  Our blueberries have done well this year, despite the freeze we had after they were in full blossom.  Greg built this nice frame with netting over them so we could enjoy them this year and not the birds.  We have eaten probably a pint worth and I have put up a pint.  They are almost done producing.  I just have one bush that hasn't ripened yet.  They are so sweet tasting. 

 Our tomatoes and peppers are doing well.  The tomatoes have lots of blossoms and are growing lots of green tomatoes.  I can't wait until they ripen.  The peppers are producing as well.  I am just waiting for them to ripen.  I planted red peppers this year and right now I have three small green peppers.

 The corn is getting very tall and with the current warm weather I am sure we will start seeing tassels soon.

 The green beans are growing right up and over the fence we put in for them to climb.  The peas are in blossom and there are several pea pods on them waiting for the peas to fill out so I can pick them.

 This year we planted on hill of cucumbers and only one plant came up.  I am not worried though since that one plant can produce enough to keep me busy. Just behind the cucumber plant we have a small compost pile started.  It is just open but with the fence around the garden rabbits and squirrels and other animals stay out of it.

This year I decided to try lettuce.  I chose a bib variety and planted it out front in my two planters.  It is doing very well.  Now I just need to eat lots of sandwiches with lettuce and salads so that it doesn't go to waste.

We have had to replant some of the corn and beans this year since they didn't all come up.  The peas needed to be replanted but I didn't realize it  when I was buying more seeds.  With the warm weather though I am not to worried about it since they don't really like the heat.  The weather has been nice enough that we have had no problems keeping up with the weeds.  I had been doing really well with keeping the tomatoes tied up until we had a really warm spell and didn't go out and they got away from me.  Oh well I will just continue to do my best at not letting them take over the garden.  The kids really enjoy helping out with the garden, when it is to their advantage.  We all enjoy eating the fruits of our labors.

Gladbrook Corn Carnival

This past weekend was the annual corn carnival in Gladbrook.  On Thursday night there was a kiddie parade.  The Cub Scouts led the parade and carried the flags.  Jonathan and Greg were both part of this and of course I didn't have my camera with me.  Friday night there is a big parade with lots of candy throwing.  We had people over for a potluck and parade.  Greg's grandfather, cousin and uncle were in town for a visit so they came with Greg's parents to join in the fun.

 Madison is sharing a book with her Great Grandfather about technology.

 Here we are ready for the parade.  The kids have decided that ear protection is needed for the fire trucks at the beginning of the parade.  You can't tell but Madison has in ear plugs to protect hers.  They went back in during the semis because she doesn't like it when they honk their horns. 

 Gathering candy is the best part of this parade.  They ended up with a pretty good sized bag of candy.

 This politicians float had a banner on the front that said out with the old and in with the new.  I thought it was pretty interesting.

 After the parade we often go downtown to ride the carnival rides.  This year we let the kids each pick two rides.  Here Greg, Madison, and Jonathan ride the Tornado together.

 Greg and Andrew enjoyed the sizzler together.

Madison and I rode the cobra together.  I have to admit that I was not able to walk very well after this ride.  I have not been that dizzy for a long time.

 Jonathan and Andrew rode the roller coaster together for their second ride.

 We had just enough tickets left over that the kids were able to go in the fun house.  This is something they have never done before, but really enjoyed.

We ended the weekend by watching the fireworks on Saturday night.  Corn Carnival always brings late nights and lots of fun.  We are really glad when it ends and life goes back to normal.

Cub Scout Day Camp

Jonathan was able to attend a cub scout day camp at Grimes Farm.  It was two days so Greg used this as an opportunity to take Jonathan on his annual camping trip as well.  He was able to make a casting of crows feet by making an impression in sand and filling it in with plaster.

 He made a buzzer and really enjoys making noise with it.

 Archery was a hit with him.  He had never used a bow before and had fun doing it at camp.

 Here they are making their group flag.  They were the Ants.

 Working on physical fitness.  Okay so his push ups are not his strong point, but boy can he crab walk.

 Making little critters.  Jonathan loves working on "free art" type things.

 They also made bug catchers.

 They camped at Riverside Park in Marshalltown. 

 They arrived at Grimes Farm early the next day and went hiking before camp started.  Greg went to the top of a look out tower and took Jonathan's picture as he stood on the ground.

 Jonathan with his group flag.  Go Ants.

 Probably his favorite part of camp was getting to shoot BB guns.  They learned the safety first and then got to shoot.  He was able to hit a pringles can with a picture of R2D2 on it, which to him was a bulls-eye.  He talks a lot about shooting at camp.  It really made an impression on him.

 They also dissected owl pellets.  He was able to find bones of rodents in his pellet.  They had a sheet to match the bones to.

 Another very enjoyable part of camp was shooting off water rockets.  They had a launcher and shot pop bottles full of water off the launchers.

 Jonathan built a bat house as one of his projects he was able to do.  He really enjoys building things so this was great for him.

 It was rather warm during camp so a great activity was having a water fight.  What boy wouldn't like that?  A great way to cool off.  Jonathan looks like he is really having fun.

Jonathan came home with tons of stories to share.  He can't wait to go again next year even if it means Andrew will get to go too.

Venus

Greg really enjoys astronomy, as do the kids, so when the transverse of Venus happened of course they had to be out looking.  Greg built a special thing for his telescope so that they would be able to see it.  Not only could you see Venus but you could see several sun spots.  It was pretty interesting to see.

 Venus is the little black dot you see just above the crescent.  The kids really had fun viewing with him.

Jonathan's Baptism

Saturday June 2nd was a very busy day for us.  That was the last day of the scout camp out and they went fishing.  They came home from fishing and showered the kids and got them dressed in church clothes and went to Jonathan's baptism.  It was a very nice service.  He had asked Grandpa Westwater to speak on baptism and Bishop Huey to speak on the Holy Ghost.  He of course was baptized and confirmed by his dad.

He looked pretty sharp in his white clothes.  He says that one thing he will remember about his baptism is how cold the water was.  The water didn't heat properly so the water temp read in the 60's.  He was able to share his big day with lots of family and friends.  Afterwards both sets of grandparents and our family celebrated by going out to Perkins for dinner.

Cub Sout Family Campout

At the beginning of June Jonathan's cub scout troop had a family camp out at Wolf Creek Park.  Out of five boys in the pack four of them were able to attend with parts of their families.  It was a lot of fun to spend time with other families and get to know some of them better.

 We enjoyed hot dogs roasted over the campfire for dinner and then roasted s'mores.  Jonathan stopped by the campfire to pose for a picture and Andrew is really happy to eat his s'more.

 After dinner they all wanted to play on the playground so we walked over and the adults talked while the kids all played and enjoyed themselves.

 Saturday we took a walk on the comet trail that runs through the park.  This swing is on the trail along with a nice swinging bridge.

 After they broke camp they went to Union Grove Lake to take advantage of the free fishing weekend.  Andrew and one other boy were the only ones who didn't catch any fish.

The camp out was a lot of fun, even though I stayed home for the fishing part of the trip.