The weather is warming up.

 I know I rave about how much better veggies taste when they are ripe and grown with the right nutrients.

Seriously, the girls love picking pieces of broccoli and nibbling as we work outside.

 Tons of garlic.  So easy to grow and we love giving it away.

 Green onions because we love onions.

 Gobs of rosemary because we make loaves and loaves of fresh rosemary bread for dipping.

We take it when we join friends for dinner or drop it off at neighbors homes or if anyone visits.

 Some

The bulbs are springing.

Poor camellias don't do well here.

First buds on the fruit trees.

 Never enough lemons.

We let some of the plants go to seed so we can collect for next years planting.                                                                            The arugula happens to have a pretty flower.

Let the games begin!

The only thing better than Candyland 

is Candyland with real chocolate!!!!

LOVE it.

Thanks Ric and Jeri!

ger·mi·na·tion

Time outside.  The weather is amazing.  

We have been inside too long. 

The last frost has come and gone.  Colin is at the garden again. This is going to be our best year yet.  The pumpkins have been started.  Katie is the big helper this year.  She stays right with dad, shadowing his moves.  Very gentle with the seedlings.  She tries to say "germination" but can't quite make it come out right.  

Monica, she LOVES her boots.  She tells perfect strangers that her boots sparkle.  Thanks!

Let's try this again.

 We tried family photos again.  This time with a real photographer and not a tripod.

So much better than last time.
I'm still freckled and swollen but I am cherishing these last days of pregnancy #3. This may be the last opportunity to take pregnancy photos for me.  There is something about a new beginning that makes the closing of the current chapter so bittersweet.  Hoping for a quick and easy labor!!!

I'm ready to pop.

 

I bent over a bit just to get my toes in the photo.

I'm feeling great.

I had  a lot of false labor so maybe this baby won't go 2 weeks 1 day past the due date.

I have not thrown away any more toothpaste or peanut butter.

I did call the DMV to ask where I put hand prints on one of their forms.

I was registering a new car and I saw the line for "buyer signature" and 

a line for "hand print buyer name." 

So I spent two days trying to understand where to put the hand print- like with a stamp.

It was only after a phone call and a LOT of laughing that I realized it meant print- like not cursive.

This type of thing happens frequently when I'm pregnant.

At the petting zoo: pictures that need no explanation.

 Playing with spiderwebs.

They are strong yet lite.

It's fun to blow on them and watch the shapes they make.

Father of girls.

Daddy was asleep.

Katie carefully added her baby and I took a picture before he woke up.

We all giggled.

 Happy Day!

Poor daddy just wants to sit down after a long day at work.

His little girls are always so anxious to see him.

The worms are thriving.

We have been upgraded from our pit-in-the-ground composting to 

this fancy one.

It comes with mail order worms.

It was super easy to get started.

Now we sit back and let the little guys do their job.

Thanks, Eileen and Pete!

Rachel is a good sport. 

lunch cupcakes

 

 

The girls continue to explore cooking.

I searched for some kid friendly recipes.

The girls love this one because they can do most of the work.

I help a little.

Plus they actually taste good.