Our daddy (from Tarell and Brayden)

10 reasons why we have the BEST daddy EVER!!
10. He works hard so he can buy us toys
9. He buys us treats
8. He lets us play in the backyard in the water
7. He helps us if we need; like when Tarell is tickling Brayden, daddy will help
6. He is always trying to make us happy
5. He takes us to the park
4. He plays with us and reads us books
3. He likes to wrestle
2. He us funny and makes us laugh
1. He loves us very much!

Tarell and Brayden came up with each of these reasons and were so excited to post them on the blog -it was so cute! They want everyone to know that they love their daddy SOOOOOOOO much and he is the BEST daddy EVER!

Tagged

My friend Mikala tagged me so here goes...

A: ATTACHED OR SINGLE – happily married
B: BEST FRIEND(s) – My husband and my mom
C: CAKE OR PIE - Why must we choose?? Since I must choose – pie.
D: DAY OF CHOICE – Saturday – no school and I get to spend the day with the fam
E: ESSENTIAL ITEM - my cell phone or my laptop
F: FAVORITE COLOR – changes by the day - anything bright
G: GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT - Hmmmm...nearing the end of nursing school - it's been a LONG road but only 6 months to go!
H: HOMETOWN – Mesa, AZ
I: INDULGENCES – Reading something other than a nursing textbook!
J: JANUARY OR JULY – January – it isn’t so blasted hot then
K: KIDS - 2; Tarell 7 1/2 and Brayden 3 1/2
L: LIFE IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT - My kids and husband
M: MARRIAGE DATE – March 27, 2004
N: NUMBER OF SIBLINGS - 7
O: ORANGES OR APPLES – Green Granny Smith apples
P: PHOBIAS OR FEARS – Losing one of my kids
Q: QUOTE - Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
R: REASON TO SMILE - any day without homework so I get to play with the boys S: SEASON - Winter - I love the cooler weather and of course Christmas!
T: TAG THREE FRIENDS – Carol, Kristin, Laurel
U: UNKNOWN FACT - I plan on pursuing my education and someday get my NP license
V: VERY FAVORITE STORE – Target – you can get almost everything there
W: WORST HABIT - I drink a Coke a day - I can't seem to give it up
X: X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND – No difference to me
Y: YOUR FAVORITE FOOD - anything Mexican and spicy with green chiles
Z: ZODIAC - Cancer

Monster zucchini

We decided to plant a garden this year, although I was a little hesitant. I have never been able to make ANYTHING grow (I have killed bamboo twice - you aren't supposed to be able to kill that!!) so I didn't have a very positive attitude about it, but decided it was worth a try. We started small and cleared out a little corner in the backyard and then went to Home Depot to decide what to plant. We thought we would have better luck with starters rather than try to plant seeds. After about an hour at Home Depot we came home with about 5 zucchini,3 tomato, 3 cucumber, and 3 strawberry plants. After planting those we carefully watered and fed them all with Miracle Gro as directed. Two days after planting we lost the strawberries (not really sure what happened, they just dried up), one tomato plant, and the zucchini looked a little unhealthy. So, we thought we would try again but this time we went to a nursery with hopes of getting healthier plants. I was determined that it was going to work this time and we once again left with 5 zucchini, 3 tomato, 3 cucumber, and added 3 yellow squash plants. When we got home we pulled up the obviously dead plants but left the zucchini in place with high hopes that we could nurse them back to health. Once again, we lost everything except 1 tomato and all the zucchini plants. The yellow squash also seemed to have survived. Now fast forward about 4 weeks and our zucchini plants are taking over! Our lonely tomato plant has about 4 tomatoes on it and is doing fairly well but holy moly - the zucchini is something else! I have never seen such big zucchini leaves and have been looking forward to seeing how much we end up with. Well, yesterday I was outside with the boys watering the plants and started poking around in the leaves. Because we planted the plants in such close proximity to each other (not something we will do again) it is kind of like a jungle in that little corner. As I'm poking around I see a dark green funny looking leaf so I bend a little closer and much to my surprise I see the BIGGEST zucchini I've ever seen. I am so amazed at what has grown and how quickly it came up. It is about a foot long, 6-9 inches around at the base, and weighs 4-5 lbs. Check out the pictures! The boys think it is so awesome, as do I since I have never grown anything edible before. YIPPEE! I can't wait to see what continues to grow!