This right here, is just one of the reason's the summer seems to be flying by. Gardening can really suck up a person's time and energy. Of course, I'm not saying I don't enjoy it. I am saying it leaves me with little time to much else, though. This is a picture from when we first planted. Things have changed! We now have a ton of weeds too!

It really is a lot of fun going and looking every day to see if there is anything new happening. This past week in which it rained every day may have taken a toll on some of the plants, so fingers crossed for a resurgence.

Here's what we planted:
Tomatoes (Grape, Cherry, Roma, Beef Champion, a Purple, etc)
Jalapenos
Garden Salsa Peppers
Bell Peppers of all colors
2 Kinds of Onions
Carrots
Dill
Basil
Green Beans
2 Kinds of Cucumbers
Watermelon
Pumpkins
Zucchinis
Butternut Squash
Tomatillos
Also, a Cortland tree and some raspberries and sunflowers all over as well

I think that's it! We really do have our work cut out for us if all of this stuff grows! Is anyone willing to come over and help do some canning??? No takers, huh? Have I mentioned this is our first time gardening? I must also mention our neighbors also garden with us and are a WEALTH of knowledge that has really helped us, along with my green thumb aunt and uncles. So watch out people, you know what you're getting as Christmas gifts!

You now have.

Last night I finished up using the treadmill and came upstairs to see Mike was nowhere around. Odd. I went and sat on the porch to try and cool down (from the treadmill, not from anger). As I was sitting there Mike pulled up in his truck and got out with a weird look on his face and said put some shoes on. My immediate reaction was fear, "what's wrong? you're freaking me out." I'm not a worrier at all.

I put my shoes on and went back outside to find Mike pulling a bike out of his truck! Mike has a nice bike himself and has wished that I had one so we could ride together, as he's not fond of taking walks. He said, "you know how I do things spur of the moment without thinking too much?" Yup.

Turns out he looked on craigslist and the second listing for northern Wisconsin was actually in our town (SUPER rare) and it was pretty much EXACTLY (the same brand as his) what he was looking for. He called them up and they asked how tall I was and said perfect, that's how tall the previous rider was; Mike went right over and bought it after a quick test ride. The woman that owned it barely rode it and had decided to get a different style of bike. Score!

So here it is: A trek navigator 2.0 says the bike (I'm told its a nice one)I stole these pictures from the craigslist ad.

I'm ashamed to say...its probably been like 12 years since I've ridden a bike (ridiculous, I know). However, it turns out that old saying is pretty true. We went for a short ride last night (in the rain) and it was lovely. Here's to it clearing up so we can go a little farther tonight.

Thanks, Mike. I love it!

So after a long absence from the blog, I'm back for what will be one of those blog posts that I'm posting just so I can keep looking back at it. I was able to go for a quick visit on Memorial Day weekend to see my brother and his family. Sunday just happened to be little Mallory's 2nd birthday. What a treat it was to be there for it. The girls are just getting so big I can barely stand it. So here they are in photo form:

They were outside waiting for my mom and I at their beautiful new home

The Birthday Girl, Mallory

This video was quite a hit with McKenna, and well, the adults also.

McKenna was a great big sister and got her little sister some presents.

Here she is reading her present for Mallory. She's an amazing reader and she's not even six!

We went to a fantastic park.

My brother (sporting face paint courtesy of McKenna) and {the girls} had a great time!
Sigh. I sure wish we lived just a little closer and that I had EVERY weekend off!