Garden update

I spent almost 4 hours in my garden weeding today. At least the weather was nice and I got to work on my tan. lol  The weeds and I are in a battle for ownership of the garden. I swear they multiply by the minute! On a good note, things are growing nicely. We did have to replant some beets since some of them got crowded out by the radishes. Lesson learned for next time.
Without further ado....pics.

The front half of the garden.

 Tomatoes, carrots, beets, onions, green beans, yellow beans, and corn.

Baby Bell Peppers!!

The back half of the garden.

cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli,

cucumbers, squash, watermelon, cantelope, and pumpkin.

A head of cabbage in the making.

Grow broccoli grow.

Corn is growing fast!

Got all my work done today. Heading out tomorrow for some mommy pampering before Tim goes back to work. Time for a haircut and some waxing and some girl talk!

Yum, Yum, Yummy

So I was surfing the web a few days ago and saw something about Banana-Split Cupcakes. I had never heard of them before and decided to look into it further. I found the recipe and rave reviews, so I picked up the stuff to bake them. My kids, nephew, hubby, and mother-in-law loved them. I loved that they were so easy and different. Not to mention they look super cute.
I told a few people about it and offered to pass on the recipe. So without further ado.......

1 box yellow cake mix (mixed as directed)
1 cup banana - mashed
1 cup chopped maraschino cherries
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
One tub vanilla frosting
One jar Fluff (7oz)

Preheat oven to 350. Set aside 2 tbs cake mix. Mix remaining cake mix, eggs, banana and water until smooth. In separate bowl, drain and chop cherries. I laid mine out on a paper towel to absorb as much moisture as possible. Mix reserved cake mix into cherries. Add chocolate chips and slowly add to batter.
 Spoon batter into cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove once fork/toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
For frosting: mix one tub vanilla frosting and one tub Fluff. I put mine in a ziplock bag and snipped off the end and piped on to the cooled cupcake. Then I topped with a maraschino cherry.
I got 24 good sized cupcakes out of this.

Pretty basic, but delicious!

You can do choc drizzle, peanuts, sprinkles, or whatever on top.

Garden 2012

One of my absolute favorite things about being away from military housing and staying in one place is being able to have a garden! Last years garden was my first and went so well we decided to expand it this year! The family and I love having fresh veggies! And I love hearing my kids ask if they can grab a cucumber for a snack! Of course you can my loves!
This year we have tomatos, carrots, beets, radishes, green beans, wax beans, onions, corn, green peppers, cabbage, lettuce, squash, watermelon, cucumbers, and cantelopes.
I can't wait until they are ready! I'm excited to get some more canning done this year!

The garden with the lovely orange fence to keep the chickens out!

Yep, I make them work.

Nick weeding the garden.

Nathan

Austin

I think its good for them!

As we start getting some produce and the garden grows, I'll post more pics!

I'm a Nut!

So call me crazy! Tim has been busy with work and its been so hot, that I decided on the spur of the moment to pack my 4 kids and "nephew" up and go out camping at the lake BY MYSELF! It was the first time I have done that and the kids have been asking when we were going. Trying to wait for a day that Tim is off and the weather cooperates, has become a pain in the A--!
We loaded up and headed out with me hoping for the best. The camp doesn't have zero entry to the water so you have to go off the end of the dock and I am trying to plan out how to watch 4 kids in the water and make sure my 2 y/o doesn't accidentally fall in. Life jackets all around baby! Good thing too, because Andrew did fall in once. Hmmm.
The boys and I all had a blast! Swimming, fishing, and roasting marshmellows! Everyone was so well behaved that I almost thought I brought the wrong kids. LOL The only bad thing was trying to get Andrew to sleep in a new place and a bed that wasn't his own. He ended up being up until almost 1am. He did doze off at one point around 10 for about an hour, so the kids and I snuck down to the water for a little bit of moonlight swimming! (Which is one great memory I have from being a kid.)
So anyways, I was proud of myself for being brave enough to take 5 kids camping alone and proud of the kids for being on there best behavior and making it easier on me. I think we are going to have to do this again.

Austin, Nick, Nathan, and Jay

The Dock

Andrew wanting his picture done since I had the camera. He was on the dock, but he thinks he has to be right next to me when I take pictures. lol

12 years!

On July 3, 2000 I married a man that made my heart beat fast and my stomach flutter. 12 years later and 4 kids later, that feeling is still there. There have been ups and downs, twists and turns, but it has been an adventure that I would do all over again!! I love him more today than I did when we said "I do". Looking back I can't believe it has only been 12 years! Tim even told me yesterday "Happy Annivesary, what are we at now 50 years?" I laughed and asked him what that meant and he tells me that it feels like 50 years, like there was never a time when he was without me. LOL and Aww! So I love you baby and heres to many more years!