Beautiful Weather

I love this time of Fall when the weather cools down, but it isn't freezing cold yet.  Everything is starting to turn green again with the recent rain we've had and now the glorious sunshine.  The rain and sun...so refreshing after the blistering summer. 

Laci and I have enjoyed this weather so much.  We've spent quite a few hours each day just walking around the field, cleaning up the flower beds, and enjoying the sunshine. 

I'm really not much of a gardener, certainly not like my mom, but I try to keep a few things growing around here.  Two summers ago, I got the gardening bug and bought a bunch of flowers from Home Depot.  I wasn't really a fan of marigolds, but I figured they were safe - they can tolerate the heat and are almost impossible to kill.  I was right, they did fine.  When this past Spring rolled around, I just wasn't in the mood for gardening (I was too preoccupied with growing the baby inside of me to worry about growing flowers in my garden).  I sure was glad I had planted those marigolds the year before.  A whole new crop of "2nd generation" marigolds were growing in my garden.  With just a little watering through the heat, I had big orange flowers all summer long.  It is amazing how much bigger these marigolds are than last year's - bigger plants, bigger leaves, and bigger flowers.  And SO MANY flowers.  I even have a few "3rd generation" plants popping up that show promise of being even bigger and better.  Is that how it is with families too?  Bigger and better with each generation?

We found a little tiny helper in the garden. 

(I wanted to get a closer picture, but that is a little difficult when you have a baby in a front pack attached to you.)

And finally, here is a picture of Ryan "on vacation."  I think the only way I can get him to stop working and really take a vacation is to force him out of town.

Fortunately, I think we are finally getting closer to finishing the shop. 

Maybe he'll relax once this giant project if officially finished. 

Who am I kidding?  He'll just move on the next project!  Maybe a house :)