First Harvest of the Season

Todd planted our vegetable and fruit garden back in mid-March.  There were several close calls with freezing temperatures after planting that required the garden to be covered with a tarp.  While looking at it this weekend, we noticed that the spinach plants were already producing quite a few leaves.  I came inside and looked up when to harvest spinach.  I watched a video on how to do it and what leaves to cut on the plant.  I found out that more leaves will grow after you cut back the plant a little bit.  I plan to freeze some of the spinach for later use and will eat the rest in a salad for lunch tomorrow.  So excited that we are getting something from the garden already!

Here is what I cut tonight:

Wonderfully Warm Winter Weather

After several weeks of colder weather, a warm front seems to be moving into the area.  This morning was one of the first in several days that there was no frost on the windshield.  It was in the mid 60's by the time that Michael got home from school.  Katie had already been playing outside for over an hour and he quickly joined her.  They mostly played on the porch with Katie's new Playdoh popsicle set and then did some coloring on the easel.  When it started to get dark, they came inside, although neither of them wanted to.

The final picture is something that I want to remember forever.  My view from the kitchen as I prepared dinner:

Pajamas

Michael and Katie love pajamas. If it was up to them, we would wear them all day every day, especially Michael.

All summer long, Michael has been asking when he can wear his zipper pajamas again (footed one piece Pjs). Of course, when it is over 100 degrees outside, the last thing he needs to be wearing is a pair of fleece pajamas. He has been so excited since the weather has gotten a bit colder recently as he can finally wear his zipper PJs.

Now Katie is taking after him. If he asks to wear the zipper 'jamas, then she wants to wear them too. The only problem with this is that most of Katie's pajamas are two piece without feet. She only has 2 or 3 zipper 'jamas and gets upset if you tell her that they need to be washed.

I love seeing the kids in these pajamas. Even though they are getting big so fast, there is something about the footed pajamas that makes it seem like they are little for just a little longer.

Spring has sprung

In fact, it has almost skipped right to summer. After having a beautiful day last Monday, Tuesday was much cooler and rainy. This weekend was the perfect weather.

Our yard is finally showing signs of spring as well. This is the view from the front of our house. I love azaleas and wish that they would bloom more than once a year. Guess we will have to enjoy them while we can!

Warmer Weather

It was hard to believe that this was a weekend in February. Especially after the winter we have been having here in South Carolina. It started off with temperatures in the high 60's for most of last week. Friday brought a high temperature of almost 80 degrees. We spent the afternoon at the park and playground. Michael and Katie were both wearing pants with short sleeve shirts but could have easily been wearing shorts.

Saturday was not quite as warm but the sun was shining and temperatures were extremely pleasant. I couldn't believe that snow had been in the forecast a little more than a week before. Today was a little cooler but temperatures were still in the 60's. It finally started to cool down a bit tonight.

I can't help but wonder if we are just going to start having 2 seasons here, summer and winter. It seems like temperatures vary so much from day to day and even from high to low on a daily basis. I am not complaining as I will take beautiful, sunny weather over snow, wind or rain any day. We can only hope that the groundhog's prediction was right!

I thought it was fall

Earlier this week, I saw that it was the first day of fall. Other than a few stray leaves on the lawn and the return to school, I would still think that it's summer. The temperatures here have remained in the mid 90's on a daily basis. I still try to stay in the shade to keep from having sweat drip down my back. Michael keeps asking me why we can't go to the pool anymore, as it's been closed for almost 2 weeks now. I have contemplated taking the baby pool back out and setting it up here for the kids to play in and cool down.

I heard a rumor that next week is supposed to bring cooler temperatures. I imagine that means something in the high 80's. I am not really complaining as I am not a fan of cold weather at all. But it seems like we jump straight from summer to winter. It will be unbearably hot one week and then the next week I am looking for my fleece pullover.

It's hard to get in the spirit of fall with such hot weather. Halloween is just a little more than a month away and I find myself wondering if the costume that we got for Michael is going to be too warm. I decorated the inside of our house for fall to get ready!

Signs of Spring

With spring finally arriving here, we have been spending a lot more time outside. Todd has been working on the playhouse and we have been getting out in the yard. Michael has been playing with the neighbors' kids. It's been so nice (with the exception of yesterday morning).

Here is what spring looks like in our yard:

Flowers on a tree that used to be Susan's



Our cherry tree in bloom



Green leaves starting to fill in behind our house

More cold weather!

Since this year started, we have been having a quite a cold spell. The only thing that would make it worse is if it was raining too. Last month we had recordbreaking amounts of rain. I was somewhere around 9 inches.

Only one day last week did we have temperatures over 50 for the daily high. The normal temperatures are normally in the 50's for the daily high in January. I wonder if this is going to be a trend for the upcoming years. It reminds me of living in New Jersey.

I do not enjoy really cold weather, having to bundle up and having cracked lips and hands. I hope that soon it warms up a bit but I have heard that the trend this winter is going to be cold. I just hope that we don't get any snow, which quite a nightmare in South Carolina. In fact, recently I have been questioning we were are living at since it's been so cold. Hoping for a warming trend soon!

Strawberry Picking

Yesterday Michael, Katie and I went strawberry picking. We also went with a friend and her little boy and another friend and her little girl. Everyone had fun, except I don't think Katie was too crazy about it. I put her in the sling but she didn't seem to like me bending down to pick the strawberries. Michael really liked picking out the berries and pointing which ones we should pick. He would try to pull them off and end up squeezing the juice out of them instead of pulling from the vine on the bush. Then he looked for somewhere to wipe off his hands!

The weather was perfect as it was overcast and not hot. It rained a bit on our drive there but it stopped before we got there.

And the strawberries were incredible this year! We went last year and they were not very big or very red. The ones we picked yesterday are going to be delicious, whether we eat them in a pie or fresh topped with a little whipped cream. Here are a few of the berries that we picked....don't they look juicy?



And here is Michael getting ready to pick strawberries with his new glasses on!