The Backyardigans

Warm summer days and nights alike have been spent in our backyard as of late. Which is really quite odd seeing that 6 years ago when we bought our house, we could have cared less that it even had a backyard...or a small kitchen. Hindsight is so much clearer than foresight! So much calls to us from out back though. Our newly grassed yard, the garden, the bbq, outdoor speakers and an ipod of favorite tunes. The most enjoyable part though is watching the absolute joy and excitement our two little boys find in exploring every rock, leaf, stick and ant. And while most of their finds are off limits for eating, Jer and I have gotten a good laugh or two in when they sneak a bite of the green onion from the garden. Ahhhh, the backyard. What an extremely relaxing time...well...with the exception of playing warden over the dog's water bucket.

Between May showers and June sunshine the garden is flourishing and almost too big for it's container. This week I'll probably spend some time relocating a few of our plants, mainly the strawberries and cantaloupe.

Our four tomato bushes have started to give way to golf ball sized green tomatoes.

The bell pepper plants have two bell peppers almost ripe for picking!

Several heads of lettuce, almost ready for salad!

The amazon sized zucchini was covered in beautiful yellow hibiscus looking flowers this week. I hope that means a plant full of zucchini soon!

The basil is anxiously awaiting the fresh tomatoes to be made into a caprese salad.

What you don't want to happen to your cilantro. See the white flowers up top? Yeah, that means it bolted. Basically it got too much sun and was on the verge of kicking it so the plant furiously grows flowers and tries to go to seed. It also means the plant tastes bitter and stops making leaves. Bummer.

And as for these two, well they are doing their own version of bolting...around the patio. We picked up this little car at the flea market for $10 and the boys love playing in it. What we shoulda got on camera though was when their daddy tied Deuce to the front of the car with both boys inside. Now THAT was a ride! Maybe next time...if this momma's heart ever stops pounding from the first time. Nuff said.

Sorry for the quality of the video, it's on Jer's phone. Oh, and the screeching in the back is me. Gotta love the mom voice.

He's not heavy, he's my brother :)