SUMMERTIME FUN!

Summertime doesn't get more fun than playing with the grand kids. We took Alex to the fair to see the bull riding. He loves it and so do we. Here he is standing right next to the fence. He's right in front of that dad holding his baby.

We like looking at the 4-H animals, big and small and in this case---weird.

Alex had to check out the #1 thing on Grandpa Jim's wish list.

Kevin and I took Addy and Sophie to the fair also. It looks like they are lovin' this crazy swinging carnival ride, but . . .

. . . a closer look reveals Kevin holding onto his stomach, Sophie has her eyes closed and Addy, of course, texting.

More rides

Summertime gives time for jumping on the trampoline.

We find ways to stay cool---- at the Cool Pool, that's Sophie coming down the slide.

Kelly, Chris and Dylan and Max (dog) came to visit Sat. through Wed. They brought the hot weather with them. Here's Dylan cooling off in our backyard pool.
He had an "accident" in his swim trunks, so we put him in the garage sink to get cleaned off. He has Toy Story swim trunks and he says "Woody" so cute.

We cooled off with a Popsicle, Dylan's favorite way to cool off, I believe.

Cooling off in Grandma's pump fountain.

One of Addy's favorite things to do. Drive around on our property. This was the first time she got to drive the family car.

She's pretty happy with herself.

The main reason Kelly and Chris came was to show the girls their brand new 3 month old puppy named Max. Chris and Kelly didn't tell the girls they got a puppy while the girls were up here in Oregon visiting their dad. Here's how the first meeting went.

They are very excited. Max is a Minature Pincher. He's 8 lbs and will get to be 10-15 pounds. He's way cute!!

We all loved having him here.

Here's the little Max boy.

First family-dog photo.

Jim fell in love with Max, taking him out on daily walks, showing him the turkey nest, talking to him, playing ball, cuddling, napping and lovin' on him. I was getting fearful that our "we are done having pets" stage was going to be upset.

All the grand kids love bathing in our jaquizzi tub. Dylan keeps letting the water out slowly and it makes a funny sound. Watch how insulted he gets when I ask him if he's gassing in the water.

Last day of July, summertime clean up. We pressure washed the house and washed all the windows and screens.

On the last weekend in August, Jim and I will be making a trip to Yuba City to have a grand kids all-in-one-birthday party. 3 grand kids have August birthdays, then Dylan and Owen turn 2 in Sep. and Oct. So we decided we would do 1 trip and 5 birthdays in 1 weekend. So we won't see Payton and Owen till the end of August, but here's a picture of them.

Payton helping her Aunt Courtney will her cow at the fair.

Owen at the park, he loves the outdoors.

GUARDING THE GARDEN

Weather, weeds and wildlife--WOW. Those are the things we have been guarding the garden from. The WEATHER has been outrageous! We got the garden in about the end of April. Then it rained and hailed really hard in June. The plants had just started doing well and after the HARD rain and hail, it literally pulverized several of the plants and I had to replant.
WEEDS are the worst! The picture below reminds me of one of those "Where's Waldo" pictures. Go ahead, just try and find the one viable vegetable in this mess.
So the weeding has commenced. If the rows had been wide enough, I would have considered using a lawnmower for weeding. We have a vegetable garden and a berry patch. Both sections are about 18' x 50'. LOTS of weeds!!

I am hoping the veges and berries will do a little better since they don't have to compete with the weeds for sunlight and water. The bees might actually be able to pollenate the plants.

WILDLIFE munchers. We thought we had a good deer proof garden. We were wrong. They were just waiting for the plants to ripen and get big enough for the "full meal deal". Jim told me the 2 places that were the weak spots in our fence and that is exactly where the deer entered. They ate the tops off of the beans, peas and tomatoes.

Then moved over to the broccoli, pictured below. It was about 18" tall. They ended their smorgasbord by leveling the lettuce.

So I sewed the nets together with twine and fixed the bottom fencing with the bird netting.

It's been 3 days since we've had a deer in the garden. I hope we finally have it sealed off OR they are just waiting for things to grow back OR they are waiting until the weeding is done and then they can find their favorite things more easily. Happy Gardening to you and if you don't have a garden, we may see each other at the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning.