better late....

 Here is the photo book I've been working on. It was suppose to be finished last September but...homeschool happened and now it's almost time for me to start the next year.

Click here to view this photo book larger

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flower garden

I love the bed spring in my garden and this sunflower made a perfect topper for the antiquie-garden look. 

The greenhouse has a new addition, a doggy door for Lily so she can be in to enjoy the swamp cool or go out and watch the yard through the fence. Hopefully this will make the two weeks we are gone a little more enjoyable for her.

monsoon

It's monsoon season in The Valley of the Sun. 

Although we have had one nice H2O filled storm, 

mostly the new season 

has just brought more humidity to the equation.

peep

One.

One chick.

One lone chick. 

That was the end tally of two tries to hatch eggs with an incubator and a final attempt with a broody hen. The chicken sat on 7 eggs. The last three eggs were due to hatch on Friday. When I went out Saturday morning I discovered one little chick under the faithful hen.

 Of course, just like baby ducks, you can't have just one. We let our fingers do the walking and discovered an Ace Hardware in Chandler that had 3 day old chicks. 

Now my upstairs bathroom, turned chick coop, houses 8 fluffy chicks in a big metal dog crate.

Tessa was staying at her Grandma's in Mesa for one last night before her family leaves for Texas. Grandma Karen brought Tessa over after dinner and she sat with a little red for as long as we would let her. She snuggled, and kisses, and examined and delighted in every aspect of the baby chick.

up a hill, up a hill, up a hill

We have driven north to Payson and Show Low multiple times in the past two months. Sometimes it has been just a quick trip up and down in one day and sometimes spending a night or two. After several trips I finally got a chance to hike in the woods, by the water, ahhh. The green trees and running water are refreshment to my desert-parched senses. 

missing

I won't be the only one missing having Tessa being at part of our family each week. Lily has become attached to Tessa after she discovered that Tessa would frequently stop what she was doing for belly rubbing visits. 

Yesterday was our official last day of school together. Tessa's family leaves for Texas on Sunday.

store

 Monday was the last day Tessa and Natale will have school together. Natale is head on vacation and Tessa is moving to Texas. I wanted the girls to have a fun day together so we played store. 

Natale made signs while Tessa and I worked on pricing empty food containers. Both girls worked at making one dollar bills. They traded roles between shopper and store keeper and had a great time

 

99

TJ and Kerry visited this weekend. In the morning the boys played frisbee golf while we girls sat in an air conditioned movie theater. After lunch I pulled out the 99 game that I bought off ebay 3 or 4 years ago but have never had the chance to share. They loved the game as evidenced by Kerry asking, "Can we play it again?" at the end of each game.

won't my mommy be so proud of me...

I frequently think of my mom, 

remembering her years of gardening, 

when I spend time in the greenhouse.