Garden Time and Father's Day

We've planted a garden every year since we moved back to Iowa and every year the rabbits eat everything except the tomatoes. A bit discouraging. Last year we tried a little fence around the garden and the dog broke the fence, which let the rabbits in. This year, Paul outsmarted the dog and the rabbits with a super strong and spiffy fence and we finally get to enjoy some fruits of our labor. These pictures are of the girls with their peas that they happily munched on in the back yard. And yes, that utter peace and joy on Winky's face is over the peas she's got in her hands. But can I get them to eat them from the grocery story...no way!

Here's two pictures from Father's Day. The girls both made very nice cards for their Daddy. Winky also made a frame at preschool that she was very proud to give to him.

Dump What?

I have to share our recent misery of desserts. I'm not a cook and have never enjoyed cooking. Oddly enough though, I do like trying new recipes. That might have a lot to do with why I don't like cooking because things often taste kind of funky and unpalatable when I try new things. So we tried a cherry crisp recipe a couple of nights ago that looked pretty and fluffy (and yummy) on the webpage, but it turned out like a cherry granola bar. No fluffy, no pretty, and only barely yummy. It made use of the cherries on our tree, which was the goal, so I can't complain too much.

Tonight, however, was a bigger flop. A friend told me she made a "Dump Cake" with pineapple and cherry pie filing that was good. Hmmm, how hard can that be? I looked up a recipe that sounded identical to hers, the girls and I "dumped" it together with great anticipation, and were rewarded with something quite odd looking and very strange tasting.

Here's some quotes about our dump cake:

"Shovel it in, so it will be gone soon"

"Well, this is interesting"

"It's better than I thought it would be"

"It's not too yucky"

This is a photo of Winky's reaction when I asked her if she liked the dump cake. Screaming in horror or opening wide for a REALLY big bite, not sure. The ice cream seemed to help at least.

Gone Fishin'

The hubby has gone up to Minnesota for a fishing trip and the girls and I are left behind in a flood ravaged, road-closed, activities cancelled town. Gotta love it! I'm off work for a week since the building I work in was evacuated and the University closed down to deal with the flood waters. Normally this would be a great thing (not the flood, I don't wish that on anyone, but the free week off), but the roads are closed coming in and going out of town, and getting around town is a nightmare. It's hard to go anywhere but our own neighborhood and I'm grateful that we have a grocery store, a park, and an ice cream store very close by. We did a lot of bike rides the first few days at home.

Winky is now on a two-wheeler with training wheels and we're still trying to get Gussie to give up her training wheels. She refuses to ride her bike without them, so we're obviously not making much progress. It's kind of cute to watch her rock side to side as they bend further and further under her weight, so maybe they'll just break off eventually. It'll take some tough love, I guess.

We made it to an outdoor pool today, despite all the excess water, we felt the need to go frolic in some more. The girls had a good time and burned some of their crazy energy. I'm burnt like a lobster and have my first burn of the summer to remind me, yet again, pale white girls do not tan.

The water is still high in some areas and many people are homeless and waiting to access their homes or businesses as the water goes down. I can't imagine what they're going through right now, but they're in my thoughts and prayers. It makes you look at life differently when you see how easily your home and belongings can all be taken away due to mother nature. Whether it's a fire, tornado, or floods, it can all be gone without warning. I'm trying to learn a lesson and minimize the "stuff" that we hang onto.

School's Out

This last week has been so busy and I haven't had any time to post anything. Gussie is officially done with 1st grade and ready for summer. It's just now setting in that Mommy still has to work and she'll be starting summer camp tomorrow, but they go on field trips and go swimming every day, so that has to be more fun than school, right??

We've had some unhappy events happening in our town recently. A small airplane crashed as it was trying to take off and landed just a few blocks from our house. A 2 year old died in the crash which just hits so close to home with my girls. Reminds me to give them each a big hug each day, even when they're crabbing out on me.

The Iowa river is out of its bank, they're sand bagging homes, and preparing for it to get even worse. Thankfully our house is on a hill and everything is staying dry inside, but it's so amazing to drive around and see areas under water. There's a chance of rain every day this week and I hope the homes along the river make it through these next few weeks.