Bubbles in my think tank

Simply grow it!

Our garden full of goodies!

You know I've really been working on simplifying our lives around here. Getting rid of what we don't have to have. This SIMPLIFYING can also take place in our refrigerator....by growing some of what we eat.

This is my handsome gardener..Ben. No it's not something off of Desperate Housewives...he is my wonderfully real hubby that does all the gardening and lets me just sit and watch.

Look at him go! He's pretty obsessive about it actually....

I don't know about yours but now that my kids are out of school for the summer they think they are suppose to snack constantly. I went to the grocery and bought all kinds of snacky stuff for them....pnut butter, fruit, snack and granola bars, deli meat, etc.

Then I came home and had to make a SCHEDULE, for crying out loud, for when they could eat a snack! They're growing boys so I know they're going eat. It's just that sometimes they eat out of boredom or just because it's there. Because Mom bought the good pop tarts!.... as opposed to the bad ones I buy during the school year?

These are the Hot Fudge Pop Tarts...a major 'mom loves us' treat.

This is another snack they like...chips.

Note: I must say that we don't eat a lot of sugary foods....I cook almost every morning before school whether its pancakes or eggs and toast or bacon and eggs or sausage and biscuits....they have sandwiches usually for lunch and then a good dinner..usually something grilled. But my kids LOOVVEE anything with sugar in it.

Anyway, it's normal for kids to want to eat right? They're growing. They're hungry. Let em eat. They DO like snacky food but they are really learning to like vegetables. Finally. Veggies have never been a favorite....anything with sugar is more like it...but they like the 'eat what we grow' idea so its working nicely right now. And there is nothing better than grilled veggies! Yum!

This is Watson. He watches the garden for us.

Watson the Watchman. Could be a scary movie....


There's my handsome gardener again....with Watson watching contently behind him.

Banana Peppers! Whew I have got THE BEST recipe for mexican corn dip adding these instead of jalapenos.

We are in our second year of growing our own vegetables. I say we and it's really just Ben and Shellie.

Our first tomato...I'm so proud.

I don't grow it mind you. Ben and Shellie do. My friend, Shellie (wrote about her in my last post) lives on a street over and was raised on a farm but has no room in her own yard for a garden.

Green Beans....these are my fav!

Last year, Kevin and Shellie and Ben and I got together and planned a garden. It was soooo fabulous that we made it bigger this year. Listen to me, I keep saying we when all Kevin and I do is eat what they grow.

Ben is obsessed with Sunflower Seeds. He thought he'd grow his own this year. Yeah...he'll probably figure out it's easier to spend the buck to buy a bag than grow them, pick them(or whatever you do to get them out of the flower), salt and bake them. I wonder if that's really the way they do it? Hmmm...I'll have to find out before we get any seeds out of the flowers won't I?

Squash! These are soooooo good on the grill!

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Cucumbers....

You have to notice the fencing. It will make my handsome gardner happy.

Ben LOVES his little fences and gates and netting he puts all over the garden to

help things grow. Even though I don't have my hands in it like Ben and Shellie

it's easy to be excited and proud of what you're growing from the ground.

I wonder if this is how God feels when He sees us growing....sometimes we wilt but give us a little water (the Bible) and we thrive. Nice thought huh?