Rina's Flower

Rina has been wanting to get a pet; she wants a dog or cat. We told her that she was too young for a pet and that she would have to keep a plant alive for a while before we would even consider getting a fish, let alone a puppy.

So we put a seed in a flower pot and she watered it well. Every day she would check on it's progress as it sprouted and grew on a sunny ledge in our enclosed back porch. Soon it had out-paced the other identical seeds we had planted in another pot right next to hers.

...And after a while it seemed we had a phenomenon on our hands.







The zinnia which usually grows to 15 cm to a maximum of 1 meter, has now outgrown our 4-year-old daughter at an amazing 4 feet!

Now that she has out-gardened our plan to keep her pet-less, how to explain why she can't get a puppy...I guess we'll have to think about that one!

We haven't gotten her a proper pet yet, but we did let her bring in a garden snail to watch in a mason jar complete with a snail-happy habitat of damp dirt, old leaves, and fresh green leaves every few days.

Zoo trip

We took Grandma, Great-Grandma, Great-Grandpa and the girls to the Emporia Zoo.
We had a great time looking at the bob-cat, lemurs, prairie dogs, turtles, owls, fishes...and eating a picnic lunch. Our zoo is free, and happens to be the smallest accredited zoo in the nation, something we are proud of and take advantage of often.







Rina usually wants to be the one taking pictures, but a four-year-old standing by the water with a digital camera is probably not the best scenario, so she settled for posing dramatically by the fence.









Bella rode in her chariot for the excursion.
(And looking at these pictures, I know I will never be able to deny the resemblance between my mother and myself.)










Rich took some great picture postcard quality shots. This is in the Koi pond.











Along with animals, the zoo has a great mix of domestic and exotic plants.













And they use every possible inch available to create micro-landscaping masterpieces!

Cake!

Yes, make no mistake, this is my 18 month old eating cake in her pajamas!













The leftover angel food cake from the 4th of July family gathering was left on the table overnight, and she was merely helping with the clean-up efforts!



















It was too cute, and angel food is full of egg-white protein, so we just stood back and snapped pictures as she munched on the unusual breakfast treat!

Gardens and Pool!

Rich has been growing a nice garden this year! We have already harvested radishes and lettuce. We have tomatoes on the vine and our squash and cucumbers are blooming. We even have a couple of bell peppers starting on our pepper plants. Still to come will be carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. I almost can't wait!



One nice way we have found to conserve water is to use the water from the kid's swimming pool to water the garden. We feel less guilty about using the pool and we have a good excuse for emptying and refilling the water to keep it fresh! One afternoon, (decidedly unpictured here!) the girls and I were all in the pool while Rich worked in the garden. Fun was had by all!