Where has the time gone???

So........talk about a lack of posts! Time for a catch-up. Mostly for my record (since this is the only family record I keep) so the reading might be boring...proceed at your own risk.

I'm not sure how I got so distracted. I think it all started when our power chord broke.

We have a lap top, so when it died, it died. We were without a computer for a few days because we were waiting for some gift cards that we were going to receive for going to a travel presentation. That was fun...okay, so it wasn't really fun. But, we got $65 in gift cards and we are supposed to be getting 3 nights accommodations in Vegas for free, hopefully not in the complete ghetto. We'll see?!? And the $65 came at a very convenient time.

This past week we made another exciting purchase (besides the power cord). We bought a bike cart. I was excited about this, not only for the sake of having a bike cart, but it was my first craigs list purchase. I've sold a ton of stuff, but this is the first thing we've bought. We've wanted one for a while and we got a decent deal on this one. It wasn't a steal, but it was a very good brand and has a lot of years left in it. We took it home, cleaned it up, and have since become a biker family. The kids love to go on bike rides now. I've even used it to save us on some gas. We are lucky enough to live less than 1/2 mile from a ton of stores, so I figure we might as well bike to run our errands that are nearby. It has been great! Although, on Saturday I rode with Owen to Fred Meyer, did our shopping, put my items on the conveyor belt, and then realized that my wallet wasn't in my purse. So we had to go home and then do the trip all over again. Oh well, I guess it just gave me more exercise.
We also got to spend time with both of our families this weekend. John's sister Melanie was here with her family from Atlanta. We spent Friday with their family and Dan and Paige's family. We went to the park, had a BBQ, stopped by the Dairy Day's celebration to pet some animals, and let the kids play a ton. Ainsley was so sad when her cousin Quinn left. She cried for a good hour about how much she would miss Quinn because she didn't know when she would get to see her again. She made me write down all the things that she had fun doing with Quinn (like playing barbies and riding in the same car) so that she could send her a letter. It was really cute. (BTW I tried for like an hour to try to scan the letter but our scanner is causing me much anger...and hence, no copy of the letter for you!)

We also got to celebrate Syd's birthday with her. We just went to my parents house and hung out in the pool and then had a lasagna dinner. I didn't take one picture. I don't know what my problem is. I have a complex when it comes to taking pictures of events. I'm great at taking pictures of random day to day things, but if there's something significant going on...you can bet that my camera will stay safely tucked away and not be used once. And that is why there are no pictures of Syd's party, or our day with the Mel and Burke.

Ainsley also got to go to a pirate birthday party for her friend Nathan on Syd's birthday. That's a lot of partying in one day for a 4 year old. Ains was so excited to dress up like a pirate! Syd came over the morning of her party and dressed her up. She was going for the Jack Sparrow look and I thought she did a great job. I loved the 'pirate faces' Ains was pulling for her photo shoot! She came home looking ragged and covered in chocolate...if that doesn't say "good time" I don't know what does!
And lastly, this past week we were finally able to see some of the fruits of our labor. We chopped off all of our lettuce and brought it inside. My lettuce looks sad now, but it is growing back nicely. I was a bit traumatized however when I was cleaning the lettuce and found TWO slugs in my kitchen sink!!! I was totally grossed out. We have since purchased slug bait in an attempt to make all future lettuce slug free. I was so disgusted at seeing the little bugs on my food that each piece of lettuce was washed with soap and received 2 thorough inspections before being consumed. I have to admit that it was delicious though!
The rest of our garden is in full bloom too. We have a bunch of little peas, a baby pepper, and blossoms on the zucchini plant. I wonder if I will be as excited about the progress of my garden next year?!?