Summer Mix

Our summer has not only been crazy busy but super fun as well. We have spent so much time outside going for walks, runs, swimming, working on the garden and playing. Here are some random pics that illustrate exactly what we have been up to :)

Here are the gardens -- now in full bloom and growing veggies for us to enjoy! This organic garden has basil, bush beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini. The hoops on the gardens are for attaching a cover if it happens to hail.
This organic garden is growing eggplant, tomatillo, mesclun, swiss chard, red onions, beets, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers and more cucumbers -- I have a feeling we are going to be swimming in cucumbers this year!
Our first harvest!
Maren continues to eat like a crazed, starved wild animal. Yes, a personal tub of sour cream with a dollup of guacamole sits in front of her -- don't judge, the kid is happy as long as she can dip.
This is the historic night that Addi and Maren each ate 2 whole pieces of pepperoni pizza from Garlic Jim's -- not that you can tell from their skinny little bodies (don't worry, the beers belong to the adults!).
One night after Maren was in bed it began to rain. Brian, Addi and I went outside to enjoy the cool air, and because we had just watched an episode of Life about birds, Addi ran around in the rain pretending to be a vulture. Weird, yet so entertaining.
We have had to get Maren her own booster seat because she will flip out if Addi is sitting at the table coloring and she can't -- it is crazy how motivated younger siblings can be to keep up with their older counterparts.
We have spent many a day making a pit stop at the park during a long walk. This weekend we hiked up to the top of a hill near our house, but not before letting the monkeys romp around the playground a bit.
Maren has been enjoying her new role as Official Household Ant Tormentor. Because we don't believe in spraying poison around our house, we just embrace the occasional summer ant friend. Maren will track them, squat down to get a better look, squeal at them in delight and then try to pet them with her finger, which usually results in their untimely death. We are constantly telling her to be gentle and "no touch," but she can't help herself.
Mare also loves to pretend to vacuum. I am a more than a little disappointed that some company has not yet figured out how to make kids vacuums fully operational yet -- I mean really, if those little plastic vacuums worked, I would have a bit more time on my hands!