Did you know....

Did you know that you can eat the yellow squash blossoms from your zucchini plants? They are soooooo good. Stuff them with a rice mixture and steam or roast them. Serve with a tomato sauce or just plain. Delicious.

Proud Parent

I am so proud of my girls!! They finished 2nd grade and Kindergarten today. Audrey got straight A's except for a B in Math and, well, that is Math and it should count as an A.
Hannah did very well. She is just happy that she gets to sleep - in now. I must say that the accomplishments my children make far surpass my own and bring me great happiness:)

The snail died (it lived longer than I thought it would). Hannah built it its own cemetery on the back porch. It looks like stone hedge...just smaller.

Love Robbie

Every year when school is finished, I go through the school work (we have collected enough paper to reforest the Amazon) and keep what I think will be cherished and recycle the rest. Audrey had a booklet from being "Star of the Week"...that is when you get special attention and get to do special activities that spotlight the child (unfortunately, Audrey was star of the week when she got the flu and was out 3 of the 5 days). All the kids from her class drew her a picture in this book. One in particular caught my attention, my mouth dropped to the floor...he wrote her a note:

"Dear Audrey,
I mist you so much. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were lamb days! Near Easter I hope you will be back! Happy St. Paddys Day Audrey!
LOVE,
Robbie

This kid said "Love" to our little girl. It was cute and scary at the the same time. Ironically enough, the Friday I found the note, all the 2nd graders went to the park for the day, and the parents were allowed to go to spend time with their child. Wes went over (I had to wait for Hannah to get home) and Audrey introduced Wes to Robbie's Dad. I guess 3 minutes into their converstation, Robbie's Dad leaned over to Wes and told him that his boy had it really bad for our girl. I would have paid money to see Wes's face.
Poor Robbie, Audrey has a crush on Ethan...you jut have to say his name and she turns bright red. Unrequited love.

Never Say Never....

A few weeks ago I went to Hannah's Special Person Day. Hannah was so quiet and just not herself. She looked uncomfortable in her own skin. I think this is what her teacher was trying to articulate to Wes and I but we had to see it to understand. Never say never...we changed our minds and Hannah is going to pre-first. It did not take a lot of convincing for Hannah to be happy with the decision, I think she may have been relieved. It is amazing how different your child can be in two different places. I have been reassured that the treachers will do everything they can academically to challenge Hannah so she does not get board.

#100....What Does Your Door Bell Say To You?

This is my 100th post...Yay me!!! You would think that I would write something enlightening or ground breaking for such a important milestone...nope!! I am going to write about our Door Bell. We have lived in this house since October 2007, you would think we would know what our Door Bell was capable of. Audrey and Hannah were playing outside on the front porch and all of a sudden I hear "God Save The Queen" in door bell chimes...what the? I suddenly thought I was back in school in Canada and this was the sound of my mind snapping. I guess if you are going to lose your mind there are worse things than hearing God Save The Queen; but Wes heard it too, thank goodness...I am still sane (I guess that is also a matter of opinion). He told the girls to hit the bell again and it played "Clair De Lune," and a few other melodies. Who knew?!! The key is you have to hold the door bell down or it just makes the normal "ding dong" sound. I wonder if it takes requests?

I read Twilight, a New Moon and Eclipse in 2.5 days (that's only because I had responsibilities). It's amazing what you can do when you don't have technology to distract you. I can't wait till August 2nd for a New Dawn. They were soooooooooo good!!!!! I am going to read The Host next. I hope it will be just as good. I love the whole vampire/werewolf thing though, that is going to be hard to beat.
I am looking for other books to read. Does anyone have any suggestions? I love pretty much everything!!! Honestly I do not know how I am going to make it 2 more months . It has only been a week and I am already wanting to throw in the towel. I just need the internet (that way I can watch T.V.):)

We had a bonfire this weekend with our neighbors. It was so weird to have a raging fire in the backyard. I kept thinking we were going to burn down the whole town. I guess there are some perks to not living out West. We roasted hotdogs, made smores, had music blaring and the girls played on the neighbors' slip and slide. Good times!!!

The Squirrel!!!

Audrey had a birthday party Saturday afternoon. We had just dropped her off, when a black squirrel ran out in front of the car. I then proceeded to watch its last moments of life in the rear view mirror. Wes put his hand over the mirror so that I could not watch anymore. I was crying and was feeling as though I was a murderer. I could not believe how bad I felt, I had not taken a life (not including insects, they don't count) since 1996 when I hit a rabbit with a U-Haul. I know many of you are probably thinking I am pathetic, that it was only a squirrel but I was sad for taking another life. I started thinking of the reasons the squirrel was crossing the road: he was on his way to his wedding with his squirrel girlfriend who had just came out of a comma and they had been waiting for this day for years...and I Jenny Jordan just struck him dead with the car. Wes, said that it was a girl squirrel on her way to the hospital to give birth to triplets. These scenarious were not helping the situation. So my sweet husband did what any loving man would, he told me the squirrel had just murdered a whole family of chipmunks and was on the run and I had just done the forest community a great service. I started to feel better. To think the majority of you are related to me.

Off the Grid...

I have a gardening question...

I need to know why our tomato blossoms are drying up and falling off. Can any of you tell me why? Is this normal?

Last summer we had major problems with our digital modem which ended up being a long, huge hassle to fix (we did not have service for a long time). During that time we saved money that we would have paid for cable, phone and internet and were able to do more summer activites with the girls. It turned out so well that we decided every summer after "Good T.V." was finished and school got out, that we would go off the grid. So we got rid of the cable, internet and phone (and are now only using a cell phone). This will accomplish many things...it forces me to leave the house and to go to the library (unless I have errands I never go out during the week) to use the internet. I have a HUGE internet addiction so this is going to be really hard for me to do. I will still be blogging, just no pictures till the end of August. We will save us upwards of $420 (can you believe that is how much we pay for 3 months of service?) to spend on summer activities.
Hannah is having a hard time losing the cable but she will adjust. I think it is important to teach the girls to go without and how to cope. I hope I am going to be a good example and not give in before the end of the summer break.