Proud Dad

Last week we had one of those events that you will never forget …

About a month ago while Sue was in Philadelphia visiting her father, I told the girls that if they didn’t clean up their toys in the next 3 days that I was going to bag them up, take them to Goodwill, and donate them so that children not as fortunate as they are could have the toys and take proper care of them.  Very predictably, the toys did not get picked up in time, even though I gave them 3-4 warnings per day, the last of which came 3 minutes before the trash bag came out.  Many tears later, I told them I wouldn’t give the toys away but I was going to keep them for a few weeks and then they could have their toys back.

So last week I noticed that the toys were starting to pile up again so I told the girls that I was going to get the bag if they didn’t pick up their toys.  Thankfully they jumped off their chairs, ran upstairs and starting picking up their toys.  I followed, and started to help clean up their bedroom while they were in the bonus room doing their thing.

About 5 minutes later, Caitlin came into their bedroom and asked me IF I COULD GO GET THE BAG.  A bit puzzled, I told her not to worry, that I was going to help them clean up their toys so that I wouldn’t have to go get the bag, and then Caitlin went back to the bonus room.

About a minute after that, Erin came into their bedroom and asked me to go get the bag.  At this point I knew something was up, so I asked Erin – why do you want me to go get the bag.  Erin paused for a second or two and then said ever-so-innocently, “we want you to get the bag so that we can cut a hole in the bottom of it.”  NICE.  I can just imagine the parts of the conversation I missed before Caitlin made her request!

The veggies are here!

Last week-end was a big harvest day. Beets, carrots, banana peppers, green beans, and tomatoes. As you can tell, the girls couldn't contain their excitement!! :)

Erin's new style

Erin got her haircut the other day. I love it!

Before:

After:

Erin’s Chocolate Zucchini cake

This morning after Breakfast, Erin and I made a chocolate zucchini cake and icing, all from scratch!  We had some after lunch and it tastes great!!

Then I used up some of the left over icing to decorate Erin’s sandwich…

Today's harvest - yukon gold potatos

Today the girls helped me harvest the potatos. They had a lot of fun pulling them from the dirt, but wanted nothing to do with them when I made mashed potatos for dinner! Also picked another cucumber and a handful of green beans. Tomorrow should be the first round of beets...

Garden Update

So far 2009 has been a success.  The broccoli, snow peas, and snap peas have come and gone.  Broccoli didn't do very well - only got 2 or 3 heads out of 9 plants.  The snap peas arrived just as the snow peas were dying back, so that was great timing.  Can't tell if the cauliflower is going to come to fruition or not.  The heads have started to form but they don't look quite right; hopefully it's just because they are young. :)

 

I've just started picking green beans and cucumbers, and got one zucchini but pests seem to be taking their toll.  Also lifted the first Yukon Gold potatos this week-end; will have to lift the rest soon.  They came much earlier than expected; probably because of the wet season we've had so far.  I bought some red potatos from the farmer's market last week-end and made an awesome potato salad.  Can't wait to dig into the Yukon Golds.

 

Other plants in progress include:

• beets (almost ready)
• carrots (probably will be ready around Caitlin's birthday in late July)
• peppers (bell and banana - some fruits have set; will be a while before harvest)
• sweet corn
• tomatos (red cherry, better boy, roma - some fruits have set; will be a while before harvest)
• sweet potato

Vegetables not going well include the zucchini and butternut squash.  I may try again after lifting the Yukon Golds...we'll see.

Erin's first tooth

Erin lost her first tooth today during breakfast. She is very happy now that it is out.

Big day for Caitlin

Today I got the phone call I've been waiting for. Caitlin went poopy in the potty! She did it many months ago (6-8), but must have gotten scared because she hasn't done it since, at least not until today! I'm so proud of her!
On a side note, I have to share a funny story from last week. I had just put Caitlin to bed (Erin had passed out earlier) when a storm rolled through. Needless to say, Caitlin freaked out so I went to comfort her. I could tell she wasn't going to calm down any time soon, so I decided to lay down with her in our bed. Well, as soon as her head hit my pillow she stopped crying and said "Ohhh, this is soooo comfortable!!!" I couldn't believe it - she totally forgot about the storm and went right to sleep! Hard to believe she's not even 3 years old yet.

Erin's 5th birthday

Last month Erin turned 5. As you can see in the pictures, she enjoyed the presents and fruit arrangement. She had a party at Pump It Up and invited her classmates and a few other special friends. We went to many birthday parties this winter - about 6 per month in Nov, Dec, and Jan. Thankfully we caught a break this month. Even Erin was saying there were too many birthdays!

Erin has taken a liking to jewelry ...

... and her fishing pole.

Snow Storm on January 20

We had our first snow storm in 5 years last week. We got 4 or 5 inches. Not much really, but shut a lot of things down for two days! The girls first reaction was that they didn't like it, but by the afternoon Erin was having fun throwing snowballs with me.

Pictures for December '08

facebook Dan Hunt 9:16pm Jan 3rd Pictures for December '08 To djhunt77.familyblog@blogger.com   I uploaded some recent photos to my page on Facebook. Here is a link: Dan has shared an album with you. To view the album or to reply to the message, follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=686102944&k=5W12Z3P5P6WM5CLASG5YUQ Are your friends bothering you? You can opt out of emails from friends on Facebook.