Hike-Ho, that's suppose to be like the dwarves singing, Hi-Ho... Hike-Ho doesn't sound as good, but now I can't stop singing it...

Well.. It's been a great summer so far! I've already joined 2 gangs, that's right homies, 2 gangs
(I do live in the W.V people). I joined a biker gang, hell's satans (um.... no I didn't suggest that name.... Ok maybe I did & I've been laughing about it for 3 weeks), I'll get into that later. I also joined a hiking gang. We're going to hike every Thursday evening & every Saturday morning (anyone is welcome to join, but there may be yodeling & shenanigans). I had to miss the first one because Alex & I went to Lagoon, so this was my first official hike of the season..

Do you see those rabbits!!! It was pretty dern exciting! My mom & TraciIt was so green (that could be due to the continuous downpour of rain & misery.. It's sucking the life out of me, but the green is nice)Purdy blue flowersMore green... Notice there isn't a blue sky, it was cloudy & rainy the whole timeIt was pretty dang cold, especially since I consider anything below 75 degrees unbearable Wild rhubarb!!! I wanted to take some... No one else was going to use it! But I was too scared to steal from the earth.... We made it to the river, but we didn't make it to the lake.. It started pouring rain & we weren't really equipped for the sudden onslaught of water in our faces... (oh our destination was dog lake, we'll try again next time).

Summer Lovin'

"Summer lovin' had me a blast, summer lovin' happened so fast" Ok I admit it.. Thanks to Kayla I have an unhealthy obsession with Grease, I could put on a one woman Grease show, but I won't. So don't ask!! This is my
summer lovin'

Lettuce!!!!
Don't be jealous of my lettuce (I can say mine right? I don't think my mom ever reads my blog) anyway this lettuce, my lettuce, came from my garden (he he he).
Ok maybe it's not my garden... But I did a lot! I hired Manuel (or as my mom likes to call him-Manwell) to till the ground. I watched while he did all that hard work (it made me thirsty), then I bugged my mom for weeks

"When are you going to plant the garden?"
"How many tomatoes can we have in the garden?"
"I think I see some weeds sprouting in the garden!"
"When are you going to buy the plants for the garden?"

I know I know... I am SO helpful!!! All that hard work paid off! Check out our ta'maters!!!Oh I have big plans for these!!! Some whole wheat bread (with sunflower seeds baked in.... YUM), Havarti cheese, avocado, & some salt & pepper!! I can't wait!!! I am drooling just thinking about it....Ohh... & look at these carrots! I got so giddy when I went outside & saw the orange peeking out of the dirt!!!I don't remember what this is (I'm going to guess squash... Maybe some cucs...) but it looks good....Some delicious purple cabbage! Ignore the weeds in the background.. I'm in the process of evicting them!& Arti, the artichoke.. Alex insists that he is a weed & he wants to pull him out!!! But he's not a weed!! He's a scrumptious artichoke... I have big plans for him too....The front yard didn't want to be left out of my rainy day photo shoot... Oh look at those yummy mushrooms! Too bad we'll die if we eat them!!!!!This 'shroom is all alone... How sad.. He's kind of cute, in a poisonous sort of way...Ok the front yard has some summer lovin', check out that rock! It's really pretty & I like to stand on it while I stare at the neighborsPretty red snapdragonsLove the columbines!While I was wandering the yard... I found this weird girl painting her baseboards. Look how oblivious she is, she is totally unaware that I am about the snap a picture of her & post it on my blog!!!

DISCLAIMER--Rachel does help in the garden... She pulls weeds, yells at the snails, occasionally remembers to water, & pulls more weeds.

Extremely long & overdue update!

Alex's graduation from preschool! I can't believe he is going to start kindergarten.. I haven't enrolled him yet because I am in denial!!!

Memorial weekend, Las Vegas with the twins. This was the last time I'll see Bradley before he moves to NYC! I am so proud of everything he's accomplished (& I can't wait to take advantage of having a good friend living in Manhattan!!!)

San Francisco! Alma took me out for sushi & ordered raw salmon!!! After staring at it for 20 minutes I finally tried it... Not bad.. I also had fish eggs, eel, & oyster! I'm so brave! Of course we HAD to stop at the chocolate factory! I had some hot cocoa made out of a thick chocolate bar melted down! I thought I was going to spew because it was so rich, & delicious! I am the karate kid! Surfing in Santa Cruz. It was a little scary at first, but we were all able to get up & catch some waves! It was tons of fun & I think I want to be a surfer when I grow up now! Gnarley! Helping Lo look for seashellsThe boardwalk at Santa CruzDeep fried cheesecake?? I wish I would have tried it! Golfland, I didn't get any holes in one.. I think I need to work on my game! Alma's kids are so dang cute!
The day after I got back from San Francisco Alma's firm sent him to Vegas.. So Alex & I drove down to hang out with him for a few days.. I know I'm spoiled, but who could pass up a free trip to Vegas!!
Alex really likes tying people up... Alma & I got to be tied up at least once a day!
We love the aquarium at Mandalay BayLion fish, I think they look so awesomeAlex got to feel the stingrayThe lion at the MGMDeep fried oreos... Pretty dang good! The fountains at Bellagio, Alex looks exhausted & he was! He was falling asleep while watching the volcano at the Mirage! Hanging out by the poolLolo's graduationLo was mad because it was so windy she couldn't keep her hat on! Bucca Di Beppo... SO good! Love the stuffed mushrooms... LOVE THEM!