During the summer, it is always a treat to visit my sister out East.  We walk to the beach and set up camp till sunset…

Samy took the little one in for a dip:

This kid just won’t wear a hat!

and this kid seems to want to wear a rock – go figure!

Me and the Monsta walked the beach to find a fisherman who had quite a setup going on. He had all these poles in these holders and on top of each pole were bells. Every time the bells would ring, he would run to that pole and reel in a fish. It was really amazing to see. They were biting like mad. We made small talk and next thing you know he is showing cookie how to catch porgies…

These were already in his cooler:

He used sand worms for bait. I might add at this point that they are really freaking gross!

The bells rang and fisherman guy let Ben reel in the fish. He tried with all his little might…

Here it comes…

He did it! His first catch ever.

We spotted some jellyfish on the walk back:

On the way back up the hill to Julie’s house, Monsta insisted that he haul the bag all by himself:

We all took refreshing outdoor showers and by the time we were drying off, Samy had already prepared this awesome mussel appetizer. Look at those colors!

A little wine, a little sun, and family. It was a perfect day.

Because his lips are so lushy lishy…

Late night hunting with Grandpa in the yard:

Monsta was complaining that his tummy hurt and this morning woke up with 103 fever. I made chicken soup with alphabets in it and he is pretty much just dozing on the couch all day. Poor kid.

Since we moved into this house, five years ago, we have planted a garden. It was a struggle getting into the garden groove for the first couple of years (although we always had an abundance of vegies) but now I feel like we are rockin’ right along. Everything runs smoother now. We ammend the soil with things like lime, fertilizer, our own rich compost and then we put up a chicken wire fence to protect it from any of animals that enjoy our yard. Craig turns the soil and then I get to planting.

This year it started out like this:

With water, sun, weeding and love, it has now turned into this:

Over the years, we have tried a huge assortment of plants. Some have worked and some have not. This year we tried cauliflower and lettuce for the first time and to my amazement, they have done super well.

The cauliflower started out growing really fast. My small seedlings popped in no time:

I was worried about it for awhile because the huge leaves started to get holes. Cabbage worms? I have no idea. I never see any pests around so I just let it go.

Before you know it…….BAM, I’m grilling it with olive oil, s & p. Delish!

I sowed some butter crunch lettuce seeds in two neat rows. We have been enjoying salads every couple of days. It is super smooth and crunchy:

The peas are gigantic but I’m a bit dissappointed in the taste. Last year, I had leftover sugar snap peas that were awesome. Ben would eat them right off the vines. So sweet. This time around I picked up something else. If I catch them when they are tiny, they turn out to be sweet…

But then when they get bigger they are like blech! Is it because I have to actually cook them? Maybe I will try that because they are gigantic:

The swiss chard is amazing. I’ve been supplying my Mom with it weekly and we have been eating it weekly as well:

Cucumbers are absolutely nuts. Want some?

You know I had to plant something Caliente, Jalepeno:

The tomatoes are just starting to ripen. When they do, I will have 5 zillion. I did find three yellow cherries that were ready and me, Monsta and Craig gobbled them right up. They were like candy:

To sum it all up…..Nothing brings a family together like a garden. Me and Ben share our time out there daily and it is like he sees it for the first time every day. He notices everything and how great is it when your four year old is eating peas before 10am.?

I would like to add that our garden and lawn  is completely organic which makes it that much more awesome.

Well, I enjoyed taking you for a small tour of my garden. I would love to hear some of your stories. Anyone enjoying harvests of your own?

Don’t miss out on the memories. I thank myself every day for taking so many pictures. I look back on them with a BIG smile on my face. It brings back so many great feelings.

Book your session today!

We ate and drank poolside:

Had the giggles:

Lit firecrackers:

Some (not all) ate watermelon:

If you use the wrong knife, you will get yourself into trouble (said in Count Dracula voice)

Some ate Chocoflan:

Then it got really late:

It was a relaxin kind of day:

notice his tight hold of my hair – so sweet.

I can’t believe that nine months ago I practically gave birth to David in the car. If you missed that helluva story, read here. I can’t tell you how much joy this little one gives us. He is always in a good mood and giggles and smiles and really just goes with the flow. What a pleasure!

Today, I have had special alone time with him because the Monsta is at my inlaws. He is hangin’ with Grandma and Grandpa and Great Grandpa today and tomorrow. I really crave alone time with the kids. It is rare that I get it. It is always the three of us during the day and the few times I get with just one or the other is special to me indeed.

Hi, it is me again…..posting pictures from a long time ago…..

Memorial Day weekend spent with friends…

Jules eating a gigantic, colorful doughnut!

Cutie Sam:

I actually drank a beer!

I let Ben eat this horrifying candy that looked like a rat – GROSS!

Our friend Tony….he just loves babies!

The kiddies in the hot tub.

Better shot courtesy of Joe. Thanks!

He sort of sang….

Max was crowned King of all the wild things…

He looked older by the end of the ceremony…

But, he is still my baby…

and always will be.

I have mentioned before that the Monsta is pretty much over the whole camera thing. If I ask for a smile, I get cheese. If I don’t ask, I get cheese. So, I end up not asking and letting him do whatever he is doing and if I would like him to look up, I try to make him laugh somehow by asking him something funny. That works for about a minute and then he is back to cheese. After the cheese though, there is the annoyed phase. If I’m lucky, I can snap a few during this sensitive stage. If I click one too many, then we move into full on tantrum. I’ve been timing it pretty perfectly I must say. Here is Ben with the “annoyed” face. I love these shots just the same. I could eat up those cheeks and lips in one bite. They are THAT cute!

Switching topics over to our bee friends. They LOVE us and our deck. We keep saying we are going to seal the deck with an oil based stain because the bees don’t like that but it is not high up on our to do list. Until then, we live with them. Get rid of them. They come back. We get rid of them and so on and so on. Here is a sweet little guy that is working away. They like to build under the railing.

He is doesn’t live here anymore.