Rachael would have been 12 on August 1st. We celebrated with 12 dozen red roses and lots of balloons in the YW colors which we released at 8:01 PM (the time she was born!)
Alexander and his grandma!
Peeling potatoes with the family
Flying a kite with Uncle Rich
Some of the cousins!
McKenna and Lauren
I wish I could tan like like Xander!
Xander and Mason enjoying their treats!
Mason and I going on the slide!
We got our first ripe tomato, Mason and I were so excited! We sliced it up and ate it with salt and pepper, yum! I also had lots more red potatoes than I thought I would get! I made creamed potatoes and peas with them. Our peas and lettuce are finished, they were delicious!
The girls went to Camp Fife for day camp this year. I was able to go with the girls which was fun. They learned all about different types of airplanes, went zip-lining, shot guns and bows and arrows and climbed the rock wall. The girls had a great time! Lauren even came home and told her dad what a great archer her mom was! lol
I finally found the fabric I bought forever ago to make Lauren's bean bag in a basket on the top shelf of my closet! I'm sure there was a good reason I put it there. I made a curtain for her closet, a valance for her window and a big cushy bean bag to fit her window seat! She is in 7th heaven with her own private reading nook! Anytime she is missing, I know right where to find her!
I was so tired of the paint in their room, it's amazing what a new coat of paint will do! I need some ideas for room decorations. I wanted to make quilts, but I found these cute candy apple green down alternative comforters for $20 on Walmart.com. Mason actually picked them out, green is is Favorite color! I'm trying to figure out how to maybe incorporate Star Wars in the room somehow, maybe some vinyl or posters? 
Megan and Mason playing cars in the tent!
The kids had a blast building a fort!
How cute!
Lauren telling "ghost stories", they were all laughing, so she must be a good story teller!
Alexander being buried in the sand!
Eric playing frisbee on the beach
Lauren and Sierra buried themselves in the sand too!
Mason was showing Megan something in the coloring book, how sweet!
There's a motley crue!
Family picture in front of the cave
Wow, my garden boxes are filling up! It is amazing to watch how quickly things grow, especially with as much rain as we've had! I didn't water the garden the whole month of June, pretty amazing! All we have been eating so far has been spinach and lettuce, but the kids think it's pretty fun to pick their own food! Now I'm not quite sure how to harvest things. It's hard to tell when it's ready! The red potatoes have had flowers for weeks, the pea pods are getting bigger and the carrots are about a foot tall. Lauren pulled out an onion last night and it was about two inches in diameter. No peppers yet, but the tomatoes are getting bigger. The peas are almost as tall as I am and keep falling over, they are getting too heavy for the cage and stakes. This is so much fun!
