F-O-X

Tonight, Matt and Elliott were watching some baseball on TV when Elliott said, "Dad, why does the TV say fox?" Matt asked what he meant and he said, "right there, it says f-o-x." We had no idea that he knew how to spell fox! He said that he learned it in his magnetic alphabet book that we haven't looked at in months. Kids really are learning even when we don't know it!

Composting

My lovely friend Katie asked me about my recent foray into composting and suggested I post a tutorial on the blog. I'm not sure that she should be taking my advice on this subject, but here goes...

I started a compost bin back in the springtime. Hopefully one day I will have some nice organic fertilizer for my plants. I just use a plastic outdoor garbage can (you can find them at Dollar General for around $8). My dad drilled some holes in the bottom and started me off with some wood chips/straw as the bottom layer. I put the trash can up on some bricks to help it drain.

I collect kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc. and dump them in and cover with some grass clippings or leaves. Just don't put in meat or very much dairy. I think the kitchen waste is the "green" and lawn waste is "brown", and it needs both to work. If you cover your kitchen scraps with lawn waste, it doesn't get as stinky or buggy. So usually I will collect my kitchen scraps, then put them in the bin and cover with some grass clippings or fall leaves that I've saved in a 5 gallon bucket.

Leave the bin open occasionally when it rains to get some water in there. And you can also stir it up to speed up decomposition (I don't do this much though because it's kind of disgusting).

So that describes my feeble attempt at composting. I haven't actually taken anything out of mine yet and don't know how long it takes to actually become fertilizer.

I found this article on composting helpful: http://vegweb.com/composting/

Happy Composting!

The perfect end to a lovely Father's Day

Backyard Olympics

I got Elliott a slip-n-slide this week. We were hoping to share this fun with friends, but the weather had other plans. After we were rained out Thursday morning, the sun came out and we pulled out the slip-n-slide for a trial run in the afternoon. Elliott called it the Olympics..."because there was water". Maybe in a few years you'll see him participating in the slip-n-slide event at the summer Olympics.

Fun at the Zoo

Now I'm going backwards in time, which absolutely drives me crazy. I really should update this blog more often. I keep saying that but it never seems to work out. In April, my cousin Mackenzie and her baby girl came to town for a visit. So we chose a brisk spring morning and met up at the zoo for a family trip.

Gigi and Elliott check out the macaws.

Elliott is now tall enough to look through the telescope at the meerkats.
I think he's more interested in the telescope than the animals.

Hands-on exhibit of a tiger skull...a little education is always good.

My sister and niece AKA Aunt Kiki and Savannah

Cousins

Mackenzie and Kaylynn

Boys and Dirt

We tried out the new dirt playground this morning. The boys had a great time digging and falling down in the dirt. There was a surprisingly high ratio of boys to girls at this particular playground. My advice - take a change of clothes and some wet wipes. There is a restroom for handwashing nearby. Actually, the boys were not as dirty as I expected when we left. Of course the water wasn't turned on today!

It's Sprinkler Time Again!

With the warmer weather, Elliott was ready to get out the caterpillar sprinkler again. He has a blast running around the yard in the water and turning flips in the grass. Aaron on the other hand is not such a fan of the sprinkler. He tried it out, then hunkered down trying to protect himself from that crazy water-squirting caterpillar, and finally retreated to the safety of his wagon. When he was ready to venture out again, he tried his hand at tee-ball and then climbed in the sandbox. Aaron loves playing in the sand. We even got a new sand and water table for the deck so he can stand up and play in the sand and not get quite so messy. He also really enjoys the swing too. Elliott likes to "mow" the grass and check the progress of the seeds we planted. We are really enjoying the spring weather and hope it lasts awhile before the heat of summer kicks in and drives us back inside.