THE PARTY

The shower on Sunday for Granddaughter Kjirsten and her coming baby girl was a lot of fun.  My little house was packed, but no one complained.  At least to me!  And we all had fun watching Kjirsten open her treasures.  And boy oh boy, did she get some treasures.  This little girl will be lacking for nothing.....especially love.

It was easy to find the party location as we had a big stork balloon and two beautiful hostesses out in front.

My little living room was full.  I know at least 4 more who came after this picture was taken.

The mama to be played the melted chocolate bar in the diaper game.

I emptied off this table for the gifts, but they spilled over onto the floor and out into the garage.

Admiring some pink cuteness.  There was a lot of pink.......including

these precious little ballerina booties!  Have you ever seen anything so cute?

Ryan's mom gave them a camera.  What a wonderful gift!

Someone made a little quilt.

And someone needs to practice sewing straight quilting lines!

There were several big gifts too.  This play pen/portable crib, a swing,

a stroller and car seat, they call it a baby travel system now days, and a crib mattress from one great grandma to be, and the crib from this great grandma to be.

Would you believe that this beautiful girl is in her third trimester?  She isn't very big, is she.

We are all getting excited for August to get here.  The due date is the 25th.  This baby is loved!

TURKEY BROTH

A couple of my friends recently baked 3 turkeys for sandwiches for a youth group convention.  They were busy with many things at the time, so I was gifted the bodies!  These lovely ladies gave me their turkey carcasses.  How cool was that?   So yesterday I cooked me some broth.....9 quarts and 13 pints of beautiful turkey broth. 

These jars are headed for the freezer.  I think we'll be having some turkey soup this winter. 

PARTY IN THE JUNGLE

The garden is growing by leaps and bounds.  It's beginning to look like a jungle.

The patio is so beautiful.

Hanging plants are looking great.

And the ferns are lush.

Looks like a party!  And yes, there will be a party.  Just a little party, a baby shower, to be held at my house on Sunday afternoon.  Two granddaughters are giving a shower for their sister, my oldest granddaughter, the one who is going to make me great in August, and they asked if they could hold it out here at our place.  So, if I get the dusting and vacuuming done, we will be having a party on Sunday.  And maybe you'll enjoy photos of the party better than those of the jungle!

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

I know.  It's been kind of garden picture overload recently.  But really, the garden has kind of taken over our lives.....and our back yard!

I call this the tomato jungle.  Do you think we'll ever be able to get in there when the tomatoes start coming?

Along the fence/woodpile is the zucchini, which we can see growing daily.  And we have many blossoms so will probably be overrun shortly.  However, those bare spots are lettuce, or should be lettuce.  I think it's too hot.  We'll replant later on for a fall crop.

And this is supper.  Well, these beauties along with chicken, peppers, carrots and onions in a sweet and sour orange sauce served over rice.  Want to join us?  We'll be eating early because I have to go to a mission speaker at the college tonight, and grandpa will attend Nicolas' ball game.  Unless the humidity and temperature remains in the upper 80's.  Ugh.  I really dislike humidity.

Sure makes the garden grow though!

GARDEN UPDATE

Thought I'd post a quick garden update for you.

There are 3 zucchini that soon will be hitting the fry pan with a little garlic and some EVOO.

The tomatoes are blooming....sorry for the fuzzy picture!

Potatoes have been hilled twice already.  The beans and snap peas are growing well, also.

Broccoli is getting huge.  We've picked beets and kale.

I didn't realize that morning glories were so slow growing!  I want this trellis covered now!

The ferns sure love the hot humid weather.  I got these as just little fellers, for $7 apiece.

This is yesterday's bounty.  Nummy!

AIR SHOW

Do you know how hard it is to get pictures of airplanes zooming overhead on a bright sunny day?  Well, it's hard!  This is one of my photos:

Lovely blue sky with not a plane in sight!

Then we have this one where the planes are barely into the picture.

Or this one where they are just about behind the trees.

It's rather difficult without a quality camera and lens to get anything worth while.

It's always fun to watch the Blue Angels perform, and especially so when they come to a small town in Minnesota.  The farming community is not used to such high precision entertainment.

We have seen these guys, and their Air Force counterparts the Thunderbirds, numerous times as they often performed on the bases where we lived.  But there is something about loading up the car with lawn chairs and heading for the country roads, and finding a safe spot to sit and watch the show.

This is our spot!  Perfect for hubby, our daughter, my friend, three grandkids, and one of their friends.  Are we silly or what?  Actually, three or four other cars joined us for awhile, so we weren't the only ones acting silly.

IMPORTANT BIRTHDAY PARTY

Granddaughter Anna turned 10 yesterday.  It was probably the most important day in history so far, according to Miss Anna.  Of course the Bieb was there!

Her two beautiful big sisters were there, one of them carrying my great grand daughter to come in 3 months!

Miss Anna was the honored guest, the star of the show, and the entertainment!

She also requested that her mom make this feast of Chinese food: rice,  mango peanut sauce chicken and veggies, plain stir fried veggies, chicken and veggies with cashews, and in the black pot at the end, orange chicken.  Yum!  We also had plenty of fruit as you can see, and a wonderful chocolate cake.  And yup, all gluten and dairy free.  We ate well!

THE COLOR PURPLE

When I bought the starts to create my hanging baskets, I didn't realize that I bought mostly purple plants.  Or shades of purple.  There are a few red, yellow, and orangy flowers, but most of then are purple.  But I'm liking it now that everything is so lush and full of blooms.

And because I'm loving the shades of purple, I am sitting on my patio and taking pictures in all kinds of light and weather.  The next one is early morning......like before 6 am.

Late afternoon is shadowy.

And I kind of like the pop of color in the dark of the shadows.

I like the spiky plant with the delicate flowers and the bold coleus.

This one is kind of dull, however.

Some of the hanging baskets.

More purple.

And even more purple.

Cute pitcher!  I've been going to the 12 year old league ball games this week, and really enjoying them.

I don't know what kind of butterfly this is, but he's pretty.

I cannot believe that this is our garden the first week in June.  It's more like the first week of July!  Everything is so far ahead of normal.