Today's Events

Helping out in the yard....
stopping for a little maintenance....

Then it's on to the field for the last soccer game of the Spring

With one of his faithful fans nearby... 

And then went to see Kungfu Panda 2...

Loved it!  Equal or greater to the 1st.  So good!

Waves in the Sky

Funny, yesterday Spence was asking about body boarding... so we turned to the ol' youtube to familiarize him with the ways of the waves.  Then this morning we look out the window during breakfast and the waves have come to Utah... only they are in the sky.  It was unique because these filled the entire sky.  It was more spectacular in person... but enjoy.

Sunday shots

We had a nice ward conference today. Then the weather was beautiful. Then some really spectacular clouds started rolling in from the West. Next thing you know, it is hailing and the streets are flowing with water. Then the kids came out from all over and played in the water. Love the Spring showers!


Oh yeah, I also had to get some shots of the kids inside today.

Arches with Amber

I have been doing canyons for years now, and I finally got Amber with me on one.  And what a day it was!  I think everyone was challenged... and overcame the challenges!  We had incredibly dynamic weather, absolutely beautiful scenery, fantastically fun people, and pictures to prove it.  We fit 3 days worth of enjoyment into 16.5 hours.
Thanks so much to Grandma Gerritsen for watching the kids!  We are so grateful!
Enjoy the show:

Heirloom Tomatoes For Sale - locals only

Due to the late cold this season, we are hoping the weather is good enough to plant right around the first week of June. We have 7 varieties - listed below. They are heirloom tomatoes and we are selling them for $3 a plant. We are expecting them to be between 12 and 24 inches tall when we deliver them to you.  Please contact me for orders (you can also leave a comment below and I will contact you) or you can call. Spencer will be walking the neighborhood with a sign up sheet as well.  And sorry, we won't be mailing these out.  This is a local sale only.

These are heirloom tomatoes.  $3 per tomato plant.  We have about 30 plants of each variety.

Pink Brandywine

The 'Brandywine Pink' Heirloom Tomato Plant dates back to the mid-1880s from strong Amish stock. This heirloom tomato has quite a following when it comes to gardeners and tomato connoisseurs. Brandywine tomatoes have won numerous taste tests and many tomato enthusiasts wait anxiously until their first Brandywine Pink of the season is ripe for the picking. These tomatoes average about 12 ounces, but have often grown up to 2 pounds. The fruits are reddish-pink, the flesh is creamy and the taste is superb. Brandywine Pink has large pinkish-red fruits borne on vigorous vines. Fruits are flattened and irregular, perfect for sandwich slices. Each pot contains 1 tomato plant.

Pineapple

The 'Pineapple' Heirloom Tomato Plant ripens its fruit to a bright yellow, often with red stripes. It is a very large beefsteak-style tomato, which frequently weighs up to two pounds. The Pineapple Heirloom Tomato has a mild flavor and meaty flesh with relatively few seeds. The unusual color and size will be a conversation starter. Plants tend to be tall. Each pot contains 1 tomato plant.

Old German

The 'Old German' Heirloom Tomato Plant has large, very appealing and tasty tomatoes. Fruit color is yellow with a red center visible on the surface and throughout the core. It is a very attractive addition to salads. Old German Heirloom Tomato is not a heavy producer, nor does it tolerate drought, but its flavor and color are outstanding. Fruits often weigh over a pound. Old German Heirloom originates from the Mennonite community of Virginia. Each pot contains 1 tomato plant.

Jersey Devil

An old favorite, the Jersey Devil is an extremely prolific paste-like tomato with the shape of a hot pepper! The fruits grow to about 5-6" and are quite meaty, generally with few seeds. They have a variety of uses and their versatility, along with their strange shape has made them a favorite amongst obscure tomato connoisseurs. This once famous variety is now extremely rare in cultivation.

Stupice

60-65 days. This cold-tolerant tomato ripens sweet, red, slightly oval, 2 inch fruit that make an excellent choice for first-of-the-summer salads, lunch boxes, and juicing. Stupice consistently gets high marks for taste throughout the summer. Pumps out fruit over the entire season. Bred in the former Czechoslovakia. Indeterminate potato leaf variety.

Red Zebra

Bright red fruit overlaid with golden stripes. Probably the best flavoured of all the 'striped' varieties and the flesh is even deeper red and very dense, producing massive crops. 

Cuore de Toro

Plant produces good yields of large 2 lb pinkish-red Oxheart type tomatoes. Very meaty. Excellent for making paste, sauce, puree, and canning. A heirloom variety from Italy.

Scott 1 minute portrait

60 second portrait - Sam

We were going to wait to post the others... but after reviewing them for the first time with the kids, the vote was unanimous that we do them daily instead. Hope you enjoy this one as much as we did :)

one minute portrait

Got this idea the other day from another blogger. It is to do a one minute portrait. No instruction, no coaching... just tell them they need to be in front of the camera for 60 seconds. Then come back into the room and turn it off. Simple... but a load of fun. Something I am sure we will be doing regularly...
Here is Camille's. If we remember, we will post the rest of the kids...

Lost blog - well, duplicate blog now

So, it appears that Google has lost my last post... :(
I will try to recreate it here... with the pictures as my landmarks

Seth playing post-8pm in the yard... ripping his clothes off lately in no time flat  --- likes to sleep in just the diaper... in a big bed now

tough to get to bed... with the long days...

Camille lost another tooth... Spence regretfully falling behind Camille in number of lost teeth

Camille an animal on the rings and monkey bars...

time for a couple smile pictures

Seth finally down in the 9:00 hour

Tomatoes from John

We are the parents of 200 tomato plants... I hope they thrive, get heavy with fruit, and produce like crazy

Red Zebra, Pink Brandy Wine, Cuaro de Toro, Jersey Devil, Pineapple, Stupice, and  one other

Parting shot: Amber thinks this one is disgusting!

I call it normal.

QUOTE of the day: 

I have a pretty high tolerance for sweetness.

journal - may.11.2011

It's a little more of a challenge to get the kids in bed with the sun going down so late.  But oh isn't it great to have so much daylight?  Here is Seth running around in the yard at about 8:30 tonight.

Seth is the worst.  He gets all wound up at night.  And Sam is there to help him out... the problem is that Seth doesn't settle down and crash like Sam does.

Wow is he learning a lot.  He is saying so many words.  He can completely undress himself in seconds... and he doesn't like to wear clothes.
Camille lost another tooth today... she is a couple of teeth ahead of Spencer and he doesn't think that's very fair.

Oh, did I mention Camille is an animal on the monkey bars.  For quite some time, she has spent her entire recess time at school working them.

Love the smile shots...

And Seth is finally down. 

Earlier this evening, I was at John's house with his tomatoes.  I think I have bit off more than I can chew.

Mind you, that is 7 different kinds of tomato plants, about 30 each. They need to be about 3 feet apart.  When John grows these, they reach between 8 and 9 feet tall.  I think I am going to need to farm these out to the neighbors in a few weeks.  

Parting shot: 

Seth trying to eat a noodle off the floor.  He was sharing my dinner with me and he dropped a few.  When I came back in the room, here he was.  I guess those are a little hard to get with the fingers.

Three

Scott sure was cute today.  When we asked him how old he was, he said 2.  We said, "Scott, today is your birthday, so you are three now."

"Oh..." he replied.  So later we asked him how old he was today... "I will be turning three."  Finally this evening, he has relented and he is three.  

While Mommy is finishing dinner, all the kids gather round her like noisy chicks looking for food.  So it's best if Daddy distracts them until dinner is ready.  Tonight, the kids went into the yard and allowed a photo shoot... Spence was holding the flash and Camille was helping Mom with the dinner, so you only get the youngest ones.

THREE!

Hiding from Daddy

His new smile... very intentional

Acting out the sad parts

Full of expressions

Notice Seth is copying Scott... in everything he can

Sammy with his signature CHEESE!

Thomas the train toys and books.

Got some scriptures and a case.

The cake was patterned after the one Grandma Mower made for Sam... a giant cookie... with ice cream on top... mmmmm!