Great 6th Birthday Party!

Luke and Alona had one of the best birthday parties any 6 year old could hope for. There were so many friends and family there it was great! What better way to enjoy the end of a long summer than with a big party down at the best playground in town, with all your favorite friends from church coming to hang out. Loads of fun! Here I am cutting the cake with Laura and Luke eagerly waiting to get his grubby little fingers into it. Sticky boy...


Wednesday evening I got back in town from a long trip to Southern California. All I can say is that I am so thankful for GPS. There is one point on I-5 near San Diego where there are 10 lanes of traffic in each direction! Overall it was a good trip, and very nice to see all my friends and family again at the wedding of my niece. Here's a photo of Larry and his evil twin look-alike, Ethan. The two were so similar looking they could have been related...oh, wait, they are. It was also a business trip for me, so I visited 5 different stores, 3 different classes at an art school, and taught one all-day workshop. Quick, packed trip.

One thing I picked up from So Cal was a nice little cold. It was small until I had it compounded by 3 flights home. On the last leg of the journey home, San Fran to Eugene I remember sitting in my seat and closing my eyes. I opened them again and wondered why we hadn't left the gate yet, as the engines were on. I looked out the window and there was Mt. Shasta. I was so disoriented that it took me about 5 min. to convince my body that I really was up in the air.

So you can imagine how much I wanted to prepare for a big party. Luckily Laura and I were both super busy this past week, so neither of us had any time to plan. As it was, I did all the prep for my portion of the party this afternoon- grocery shopping, gift baggies, Luke's haircut, etc. Then we zipped on down to the park. (check out Luke's new do - it makes up for a summer of shaggy hair, though he kept begging the barber for a mohawk - fat chance with mom paying for the cut).



Larry and Joshua showed up, as Diana was still feeling a bit sick from their trip to So Cal with us. Grandma Hallock was there, and later that evening Grandma and Grandpa Walker showed up as well.



We were so excited to see all our friends from church. The Ravens, the Daltons, the Ogans, the Roberts, the Nguyens... and so many more! I think there were at least 25 kids there, and just about that many adults.

It was a potluck, so it was all pretty relaxed, and cleanup was easy. people showed up, ate, talked, kids ran around, and then Luke, Alona, and Michelle Roberts had Happy Birthday sung to them. We cut the cake and then the kids opened presents. Then havoc and fun reined until everyone headed home at dark. We're pretty sure that each family made it home with the same kids they came with, but there may be a few strays still lurking at the park...it's hard to tell there were so many kids there.

Overall, we claim success! Easy party, lots of fun, lots of friends, and the kids had a great birthday. We sure will miss Alona and her family when they move to Las Vagas! Here are a few more pics to leave you with...

Come to Our Party

Luke and Alona Hojnacke were born one day apart at the same hospital 6 years ago. This gives us a reason to celebrate. We are also sad to see Alona's family move, so before they go we want them to know how much we'll miss them. This also gives us a good excuse to party.

If you want to come you're invited! Bring your whole family. Bring friends, bring neighbors, bring the garbage man or the cable guy - it's all good. We're going to have a big potluck picnic next to the playground, or you can come just for the cake at 7pm. Either way, leave a note on my blog or Laura's blog to let us know what you're bringing or how many people will want cake. This is not a stressful party! This is a chance to hang out with friends at the end of a great summer. Don't feel like you HAVE to bring presents either. Kids these days are spoiled and have way too many clothes or toys anyways, so just bring yourself and come have fun and visit.

July Catch-up

Whew! Time sure flies when there is so much going on. To catch you up on the month of July:

4th of July weekend I was down in Los Angeles for Anime Expo like I am each year. It was a long trip, and our convention was right next door to where Michael Jackson's funeral was to be held just a few days later, so the media hounds were staking out the place all weekend. I flew home just fine on sunday the 5th, but my co-workers flew home the next day and they had a couple of hour delay just because there were so many people coming in for the funeral.

Then, I was home for a few weeks. We tried to make the most of it, and sure enough, the garden and children are both thriving. Its been a lot of fun haning out with Grandma and Grandpa Walker, going for walks with Grandma Hallock, and meeting new friends from across the country. Here are the kids on a sunday afternoon visiting with Grandpa and grandma in our driveway. We are truly blessed to have grandparents in town for the kids to enjoy.

Otherwise, we recently had our Ward activity up at Leaburg park. I forgot to take the camera, sorry, so I don't have pictures of Luke doing the kids races or Anna Mae dripping watermelon. Luke is becoming a little mischevious ringleader, leading his little friends into variouse nefarious activities and pretend games.

Luke has had a great summer. His play group just ended, it met every morning from 9 to 12 over at the local park. Luke's supervisor was his old (and favorite) pre-school teacher from Willamalane a few years ago.

Now we get to watch Maple school as it is torn down and the new school is being rebuilt in it's place. This photo is of the old library. I have so many memories of this place... checking out books, watching videos, and practicing for school plays. Now it's nothing more than dirt waiting for final landscaping (I did snag a brick before it got completely demolished). The new Maple school looks so nice! What a great way to start 1st grade, in a brand-new school.

Then, the last week of July I was off to Orlando for a trade show. It was a long trip. While I was enjoying 90 degrees and 99% humidity, the valley here was suffering through 105 degrees, no humidity. I really don't know which is worse. My show and workshops went great, and I had a chance to visit with many of my online stamping friends. Brian puts up with so much while I'm gone, but the kids truly adore him.

Church is going well. AnnaMae always seems to do well in Nursery and Luke gave a talk in primary about his 7th great grandpa, Jon Telford. It was so cute! He can't read well, so he memorized the story and looked at the little pictures I drew for him next to each paragraph. Then he tried to show the kids in primary the pictures, but they had no clue what he was talking about. I think the adults had more fun with it than he did.

The garden is thriving, though it seems like for everything I plant, the only thing I reallyg et are tomatoes, potatoes, and sunflowers. we'll see how everything else does as the sumemr progresses and how many neighbor kids I can scare away from my plants.

A day of Vacation...

After I got back from Orlando at the end of July, I took one day off for vacation. I know, it's rare that I actually take a day off, but family is much more important than answering e-mails at work. Monday, the 3rd we decided to head over to Florence for some fun.

Monday morning I went over to Laura's to help her plant some things in her yard so it doesn't look so bare. She's trying to get her house on the market to sell, so I became her self-appointed landscaper. I spent a couple hours sweating and digging, with one planter bed looking much nicer, then Luke and I headed home to zip on over to the coast.

This time we went to Honeyman park just north of Florence. The weather was perfect! Not too hot, not too windy, and the sun came out every now and then... enough to give me a slight sunburn on my face and ears and Brian go a slight burn on his knees. The kids were slathered in sunscreen so they were OK.

We rented a pedal-boat for an hour and went around the lake. I love Honeyman lake. It is so warm, peaceful, and quiet. The bottom of it is covered in weeds, so I've never enjoyed swimming in it (just thinking of all the odd things living or dropped into that water makes me shudder) so we just pedaled around, taking lots of great photos. AnnaMae was so excited to be on a boat. She couldn't stop talking about getting on the boat, and was giggling the whole time we were on the lake.

Luke kept trying to fall over. No matter how many times we told him to stay put, he just couldn't keep his feet in the boat. Then, he noticed that he had splashed a bunch of water into the boat so he grabbed our DRY towel and began sopping up the water. Aaggh! We tried to explain to him that it was OK for there to be water in the bottom of the boat. I should have just thrown him overboard...

We haven't gone to Honeyman in years. i think the last time we went was on a campout with the single's Ward before we got married. That was the night that Brian and his buddies got lost on the dunes with only an LED light to lead them back to HWY 101 while I sat back at the campground wondering where the heck they could have gone.

This time we didn't get lost, we just palyed and laughed. Here I am with AM and her big, happy smile. She really didn't stop giggling until we went back to the beach. Luke just wanted to talk to the nice park workers at the dock, and kept trying to run onto other boats while we were getting our stuff off our boat. Brian was pretty sore after pedalling for an hour - I wasn't too bad, as I do that regularly on my way to work (though with all my trips I really need to get back into the habit of riding again.



After boating we headed back to the lodge to gather our plans and figure out what we wanted to do next. AnnaMae just wanted to play in the old stone drinking fountain - check out that tongue! We got a ton of photos of her with the fountain becuase she liked it so much. Too bad she's too small to turn it on AND drink from it at the same time.


Then we drove around to the dune-side of the park to play. here's AM next to the sand castle I built. It doesn't take me much to have fun at the beach, just a quiet spot to build my castles and a little helper to try and knock them down (this time it wasn't my own kids knocking it down but some other little boy).



Luke followed daddy wherever Brian went. There really is no seperating those two. It's great when your best friend is your dad. here they are attacking each other with noodles they borrowed from some kids. I think Luke ended up the winner, as he had snagged a sliding disk and was using it as a sheild. Way to go Luke! After a few hours of intense playing we were getting tired and hungry so we decided to head home.

We couldn't think of anywhere in Florence we wanted to eat, and it was still a little early for dinner, so we headed for home. We picked up a pizza then went to have a small picnic at the Rose Garden.

Here I am trying to catch a bit of a nap. I was worn out even if the kids had plenty of energy. I think I needed a vaction from my vacation! The roses were beautiful, and all the floweres were so pretty around teh gazebo and walk area. It was a perfect time of day too, as the heat had already left the valley as well. We even bumped into one of my co-workers as she biked home from an appointment (I know I had more fun than she did that day!)

The maze of roses are a great place for kids to run and hide. Anna Mae had so much fun darting between the plants. Luke was tired and he kept doing little things to get him in trouble, so he was kept on a tight leash, so to speak. Then we walked over to Skinner Butte Park for some final water and sand play time before we finished off a very long vacation day.

I don't know if I have the energy to do too many more vacation days like that, but that was the perfect summer day with family!

Where have I been? - June

Whew! Summer is a busy time for me. Let me see if I can sum up where I have been since I last wrote (let me also find where I put all my photos).

June
After my trip to Utah I was home for a few days, then we went to Newport to celebrate my in-law's 50th Anniversary. Most of Brian's siblings were there - Susan, Larry, Lori, and most exciting was Richard who came over from Germany. He doesn't have a chance to visit very often, as tickets are very expensive, but we sure love it when he does get a chance to come.

We stayed in a lovely cabin near the beach there in Newport. I always love going to Newport, as they have tidepools and the Hatfield Marine Center, and Brian and I celebrated our honeymoon there in Newport. We played on the beach, flew kites, and sat around the cabin enjoying each other's company. Anna Mae had a slight cold or viral infection so she was out of sorts for a couple days, but otherwise we had a blast.

Then, on our way home we took Richard up to Tillamook to visit the cheese factory. This is Luke's favorite place to go. We stayed there a couple hours and of course, we got ice cream and squeaky cheese. Daddy also bought Luke his first little wooden-handled pocket knife with his name on it. Now Luke won't go anywhere without his pocket-knife. Great. Just what a 5-year-old REALLY needs, a knife.

Richard stayed for another week before he had to head back to Germany. He likes the nonstop Portland-Frankfurt flight that you can catch, as he lives near Frankfurt. Luke and Richard really hit it off while he was here. Someday it would be neat if Luke could stay with Richard in Germany, as I believe that traveling expands a child's view on the world better than books ever can.

Both kids loved playing with their big, new friend from Europe. Luke liked learning German words from Richard, though we'd need to practice with him if he was to rememebr anything he learned. Anna Mae was just being a cute charmer to everyone, and it's hard to resist her sweet looks. Here they are playing on Grandma's couch. We sure miss Richard!


Here's Richard and Luke pouring over the change purse that Richard carries with him. Richard travels for the church setting up Geneaology research all across Europe, so he carries a pocket full of random coinage from assorted countries. Luke was getting excited, as we've been working with him for the last few months on counting with coins (mostly nickels), so Richard's collection was captivating.

We noticed this sign in Newport. Which direction are you heading? Forward or backwards? Just ponder if you are going contrary to the truth and see where you are headed.

AnnaMae and Mom in Utah

Whew! What a week! We're exhausted, but had a great time.

Friday morning I had a little spare time, so we headed down to the conference center. It was really neat to see, since the last time I was there was for my brother's wedding, and we didn't have time to wander around. Before that, Brian and I had visited while it was still under construction. It was hard to keep AM from climbing into the fountains on the roof.

Right now they are having an art show in the lobby of artwork made by members of the church. It was pretty neat to see the collection. Mom was getting re-inspired to paint, while I tried to keep AnnaMae from touching anything.

While I was busy teaching and demoing all week, my Mom took AnnaMae down to see her relatives. First they went and visited an aquarium. Ever since then AM has been obsessed with fishies. She already loves my mom's big fish tank at home, but these tanks were huge!

Then, Saturday they stayed down in Mapleton with my mom's brother. Mom's family threw her a mini family reunion because we were coming in town. Here's AM with her second cousin and my aunt that I adore.


I missed most of the fun, since I was still up in Salt Lake working, but I was able to drive down and get the last little bit of the action. AM had a chance to visit cousins and see lots of neat animals, like this horse, and the baby chicks that my aunt was raising in her bathtub.

Driving was a nightmare- they had thunderstorms the whole time we were in Utah. What should have been a quick drive was slowed down greatly by blinding rain, lightning, and water-logged roads. Luckily the roads were clearer when we drove back to the airport on Sunday.

It was nice to see my cousins and other relatives again, but it's also great to be home. Traveling with a baby and my Mom is definitely not as easy as traveling by myself.

Here in Utah

I haven't been here in Utah in many years (I don't mean layovers at the airport). Although it's been mostly work so far, we have had a chance to visit with some family and friends.

My mom and AnnaMae are with me. Mom is watching her while I do my demos and teach my classes. Wed, after we flew in and got into our hotel we had some of my mom's relatives come and visit, along with Brent, Brian's old mission buddy.

Now it's all work. My class yesterday was at the historic Armstrong Mansion. This was the home of the former mayor of SLC back around 1893. It was a small class, that lasted all day, then I went and visited 2 more stores after the class. I didn't get home until almost 10pm. Now I've got another day of work. I'll try to post photos soon.

The last days of school...

Here are some photos my mom took of my big boy at his last day of school, and the last day of Maple as a school. All of my brothers & sisters attended this school except Tom. I'll try to get some photos of it coming down as well.

Luke and old Bear walking to the school...

Luke in his classroom...

Luke and Mrs. Gallagher
Here are a couple photos of the poor old school. I can't remember how many times I went into the gym as a child- for plays, for PE and for lunch. This will be the first section to go....

Biking on his own...

Last night I went out with the girls for a fun evening. My mom took AnnaMae so that Brian and Luke could have some "Guy" time.

I got home really late and Brian proudly showed me a map of the neighborhood with a red line drawn around it (see exact diagram he made).
Just so you understand: the red is the path they took, the black lines are segments where Daddy wasn't holding him. The daqshes are where they had to stop for a break. So you can see that Luke was riding on his own for most of the journey.

That's over 2 miles! Brian was running behind Luke the whole way. Luke was wearing his flip-flops so he kept losing his shoes, but still, not bad!

Luke hasn't quite mastered the whole concept of breaks and turning, but he's got all summer to work on it. This means that Daddy will get a great workout running behind a now very-mobile 5 1/2 year-old.

Luke also has now completed Kindergarten. He is officially a 1st grader. One year of school done, 16 or so years to go. They're tearing down the old elementary school this week, so Luke gets to go to a brand-spanking-new school next Fall.

What a grown-up little boy we have!

WAY TO GO LUKE!!!

Honesty, part 2 - recompense

The conclusion to the strawberry story from earlier this week...

So I let Brian know EXACTLY what I thought about the little girl who stole the strawberries, and how much I don't want her playing with Luke anymore because she is a bad influence (I've never really liked her and I think she knows it).

Brian encountered the girl's older sister and asked if they really did have a garden "No". So Brian told her what her little sister had done. This was probably Friday, maybe Saturday morning.

Yesterday I was so busy that I never went out during daylight to check my precious strawberries. After church I went out to see if any more were red.Part of the trouble with the strawberries out there (besides theft) is that they get too much sunlight before my sunflowers grow tall and the berries dehydrate before they ripen, so I really won't get many berries from those plants anyways.

I go out there and someone had taken a bunch of store-bought berries and dumped them right on top of my plants. They looked like they would have been great strawberries if they hadn't been sitting in the hot sun for a day or two. Now they are wilted husks of berries.

Our conclusion is that the older sister told the parents. The parents made the younger girl apologize by bringing me replacement berries. Either we weren't home or she was too scared to leave them, so she just dumped them on top of my plants thinking I would find them. I found them, just too late for them to be a replacement.

However, I'm going to take that gesture as it was intended and accept her apology.

I hope the little girl learned her lesson, I'm just bummed that so many fine strawberries gave their life over this little experience.

Honestly? ... Honesty!

Honesty. A simple concept. I may not be perfect at it, but I appreciate honesty when it comes along. Or, if you are dishonest, cover it up a little better...

I was at Laura's today and we were talking about the kids in my neighborhood and how I don't really like the little girls around here playing with Luke because they have not been taught any moral values. Honesty is high on the list of qualities they need to work on...

So when I got home and was taking care of the kids I made my regular rounds of the garden, checked on the progress of my rapidly ripening strawberries (which I am sooo looking forward to) and admiring how dark pink they are getting. Yesterday when I checked AnnaMae accidentally picked a pink one and ate it, green part and all.

You must understand that I am intimately familiar with what I am growing...

So an hour or so later I get a ringing at my doorbell. Two of the neighborhood girls came to my door, each holding a pink strawberry and asked me if I wanted to buy some strawberries. They looked strikingly familiar, those strawberries they were holding. So I queried the two girls "Did those come from MY garden or YOUR garden?"

Innocently they said "Our garden."

To which I answered, "Oh, well, no I'm not interested, I am growing my own strawberries and they should be ripe soon." and I said good bye, then they scampered across my lawn as I closed the door and promptly ate the two berries they were holding. I had my suspicions...

Sure enough, a little while later when I went to check my strawberry plants along my back fence the two strawberries I had been eying earlier that day were the same two strawberries that the girls tried to sell me at my own doorstep!!! (The photo is even the plant they took 'em from, probably the same two big blossoms that you see in the picture)

Can you believe it?? Gaaaahhh!! I know they're only 7 or 8 yrs. old, but 'cmon. show some respect, or at least some intelligence when you do something wrong to cover it up better.

So, to parents everywhere out there, I implore you-
TEACH YOUR KIDS HONESTY.

If you can't teach them that, then at least teach them
COMMON SENSE ABOUT LYING.

Memorial Day Weekend

Wow! What a busy weekend.

Friday I got off work early and we headed over to Florence. The wind was so strong on the North Jetty that we couldn't stay for more than a few minutes. The sand was stinging our bare legs and faces. Poor AnnaMae could barely stand. You can see from this picture how the wind was whipping our hair around and making it hard to see anything.

So we headed someplace more sheltered for our picnic, Heceta Head. It was quiet, and not windy. (And it's my favorite beach).

We ate our snack, Luke and Daddy went for a walk under the bridge, and we stayed near the car to finish eating, clean up, and feed the birds. We didn't really feel like heading up to the lighthouse and it was still windy enough that we didn't want to play on the beach, so we just milled around and enjoyed the sights. After about an hour we got tired, so we headed down to old town to window-shop.

It was a great day for photos, and there really wasn't any wind in town. I always enjoy walking around old town, even though we never really buy anything. It's fun to wander

AnnaMae and Luke were all over everything and they kept trying to run into the shops with the most breakables, of course.

We headed home, and since it was dinner time we stopped at the grocery store and picked up a chicken dinner that we ate at a little playground on Buck St. in Eugene. It's a cute little park that the kids love climbing on. Then we headed home to bed.

Saturday we cleaned in the morning, then just after lunch AnnaMae and I went shopping with Laura and her littlest one, while the boys went hiking with Laura's husband and her two oldest kids. That evening I watched her kids for her and got a little bit of time to myself. What a rare treat!

Sunday we had church, then Sunday evening we went up to Grandma & Grandpa Walker's house. I was showing grandma how to use her new camera with the old iMac that we gave her. Now she can organize her digital photos and play little slide-shows for her friends.

He photography has improved with a digital camera. I think she has a lot more confidence in her camera skills and is not as worried about wasting film. I showed her some basic tools for making her photos better. Now we'll see how much she remembers!





On our way home we stopped at Skinner's Butte playground and let the kids run around a bit. Here is a great shot of AM and daddy. I've been fooling around with some of the settings on our cheap point & click camera and I keep being surprised at what I can come up with. I didn't even have to photoshop this (much).

Here are a couple requisite slide shots. Always cute when a kid is coming down a slide. It's the annoying little boys who keep running UP the slide that ruin things (I'm not naming any names, Luke)


And, of course we got more photos. It's too easy to get cute photos of AnnaMae. Luke, however, just turns his back to the camera and all we seem to get are butt-shots.

We got 72 photos of Luke's backside this weekend! What a kid. here are some of the few photos that show his frontside.

When he was climbing the rocks he was even playing a game of "I bet you can't get a good photo of my face" He thinks it's so funny.

Then he'll wonder when he grows up why we have so many more photos of AM than we do of him.

Monday morning was spent cleaning again, and working in my garden. I went to the Value Village 50% off sale and got some church clothes for Luke. Sunday Luke couldn't fit into his shoes or his pants, so off to the store I went.

Dan came over and brought me my final load of mint compost for my garden, so now my last planter bed is ready to grow. We'll see what sprouts up- I really want my pumpkins and squash to do well. In the evening AM and I went and visited my mom while Luke and Daddy were trying to play Rummikube for FHE. AM just can't leave things alone long enough for them to play a peaceful game, so we went for a walk with my mom.

Memorial Day Memories

This is taken from my Work Blog, which you can enter to win a prize if you post a comment on. However, I want my family to know how much I respect the military. If you have some spare time and like to make greeting cards you can support our troops by helping Cards for Heroes - an organization that sends blank handmade greeting cards to military overseas who don't have places to buy cards to send on special occasions.

Memorial Day- Honor those who served

As I think of all the sacrifices made by servicemen over the years I need to stop and say Thank You!

My father, grandfather, and on back were all in the military. Here is a photo I found of one of my ancestors, Major General Henry W. Halleck. He was the General-in-Chief of all the Union armies before Grant took over during the Civil War.

His face is so similar to my father, it's hard to look at him and not think of all the stories my dad would tell about boot camp and basic training. My father was a teenager during WWII, and entered the service during the Korean War but never went overseas. My grandfather was an electrician for the Navy building the ships during WWII up in the shipyards of NY. All the hours of toil and struggle that these fine men went through so that I could be born in peace and prosperity and enjoy my country.

In February I had a chance to stop and visit the USS Alabama, which was built in 1940. Touring through the ghost of a ship was a sobering experience for both me and my husband. Thinking of all those men, away from their families for months at a time, sailing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, always on alert from weather or enemies... It really helped me appreciate my freedom and peace here in my homeland. I thank every person who has served, does serve, or will serve in defending and upholding their country.

Please do your part this weekend. Make some cards, make some artwork, visit a memorial, or just tell a military person "Thanks!" Don't forget to appreciate their hard work and sacrifices. Have a great holiday weekend!

My Garden

There are a lot of Hispanic people in our neighborhood and one older gentleman who lived across the street from us last year would always comment "You must be a farmer's daughter. You always have such a nice garden."

Tis' true. I am a farmer's daughter. Any land that could be growing something edible, should be growing something edible. I'm glad that the Whitmers let me put planter beds all over their property, since it really gives me lots of food each summer. When we first moved here there were no beds and just some big plants along the side of the house. I looked at the lawn along the driveway and I knew it gets perfect sunshine for tomatoes, so my bed-building began.

This Saturday I was finally able to go down to Jerry's and pick up my tomatoes and pepper plants. All the other things I grow from seeds I harvest each year, or from food I find growing in my fridge.

This is my front garden bed. I have 6 different varieties of tomatoes, two potato mounds, Lemon Thyme (come get some if you want it), the purple flowers are chives, onions, cucumbers, two pepper plants, parsley, mint, and the big pot that looks bare has mixed wildflowers. I'll also have a couple sunflowers up front, since it's kind of become our summer landmark.

I put a fence along the driveway side because by August, those tiny tomato plants will be 3 or 4 feet high and consuming my driveway.

My side garden has two beds, only one of which is done right now. I have green onions, carrots, and a beet I planted 3 years ago growing in it, along with a giant onion I should just pull out. If you need carrot seeds I have tons! I let a carrot grow for 2 years and it turned into a tree! I had so many seeds off that monster it was crazy! My other side garden bed has garlic and potatoes. It needs another load of mint compost before it will be presentable. On Thanksgiving I had my nephew go out to the potato bed and dig up potatoes, onions, and garlic and we had sautèed potatoes with garlic, chives, rosemary and onions that I grew all of it from my own garden. It was soooo yummy!

My back fence is lined with sunflowers, like I have growing each year. It's a mix of small, dark-centered sunflowers and large yellow sunflowers. If you need seeds I have plenty, and now is the time to plant.

Those are strawberry plants you see in the foreground. When we moved in here 4 years ago there was one strawberry plant inside our back fence. I let it spread and now I have 3 or 4 inside the fence and 5 or so outside the fence. These are covered in berries.

I hope they taste good- they have in years past, but some people say that you shouldn't let your plants spread like this or else the berries won't taste as good, or something.

My inside back garden is all garlic, sage, rosemary, and a few stray strawberry plants. I was able to dig up a couple hundred garlic starts from cloves I left in the ground this winter and passed them on to people at work, church, and to my mom's neighborhood- all from my little back garden! I still have garlic starts if you need some.

Here is the giant rhodie that is in bloom right now on the front/side corner of our house. I love the color but it always gets in the way as I'm trying to coil up my hose. I put in a small flower-bed along the front walk to the door, and it has day lilies, daffodils, a giant purple iris, and some marigold seedlings that I hope will grow big.

Every year I feel so blessed to live in Oregon, where my garden grows with ease and minimal effort. I enjoy the bounty all year long and I love sharing what I grow with those around me.

Now I can't wait for berry season to start... U-Pick strawberries and blueberries, here I come!