Summer Summary

Apparently it was a pretty busy summer. So busy in fact that I didn't have any time to keep up with the blogging.  Originally, I was going to skip over recapping the summer, but there are too many good pictures not to share them.  So here are f highlights and memories from warmer times. :)

My amateur attempt at a photo shoot.  I took a photography class and tried putting some skills to use.  I'll keep practicing. :)

We made it to several Twins games again this season. Emma especially loved TC!

No, this is not a shout out to TLC's female R&B singer / rapper Left Eye, this is the typical outcome of Emma's art projects.  She loves to paint and most (some) of the time she gets the paint on the paper.

She was particularly proud of this painting, and in fact, it is still taped up on the wall in our living room!

If Emma wasn't at the park and she wasn't painting this summer, there's a good chance she was doing some baking.  It is a favorite hobby of her and her mommy.  They made these brownies for Father's Day - creative and delish!

Muffins are a common product from our kitchen.  If you've had a muffin that Emma has had her hands in making over the past year, you've probably noticed that it is rare to find one without sprinkles (or as pronounced by Emma, "Frinkles").

We spent several weekends in Okoboji, enjoying the sunshine, boating, and time with family.

We loved spending time outside.  If it we weren't at the park, we were in the yard or taking a walk up and down the sidewalk.  Emma also loved to tool around on her trike.  She is finally getting big enough to pedal on her own, kind of.

Working on a little tricycle maintenance.

We even made it to the Minnesota State Fair, where we caught a close-up of TC, drank fresh chocolate milk, devoured some mini-donuts, and pet livestock of all kinds.

Emma was more excited about TC than the cows.

It was a great summer!  One of the things I most enjoyed was being active with Emma and watching her become so independent in her activities.  She definitely is developing a mind of her own, but at the same time likes to be right by Melissa's or my side wanting to be our helper and doing what we are doing.  She is the best!

Stay tuned for more!  With love from Minneapolis,
Jason, Melissa, Emma

Doot Doot

I ran across this little gem while I was downloading videos off the camera.  This was shot when Emma was about a year and a half old, December 28th 2012.  She is so stinking cute!

With love from Minneapolis,
Jason, Melissa, and Emma

Warning! Blog blitz ahead.

Here comes a serious blog offensive.  There is no question that I am overdue on my picture and story sharing.  My apologies.  Let me see if I can make it up with an overload of information this weekend.  It is going to be a bit like taking a drink from a fire hose, so be sure to pace yourself.

Why not take it all the way back to get started.  I'm talking spring time.  Now that all the leaves have fallen and some snow flakes have flown, lets remember greener days.  Something that I had fun with this spring was making some plantar boxes so Emma could learn about and experience how things grow.

I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do for them but didn't have any blue prints or diagrams . . . so I did a little online searching.  Surprisingly, I found very little to help other than some pictures.  So I went to the lumbar yard with a sketchpad and measuring tape and came up with a plan.  I'll be damned if it didn't work out!

I started with an 8' 4x4 cedar post and cut them to 22 1/8 inches. These would become the legs.

Next up was taking a 10 ft cedar decking board and cutting them down to 5 feet.  Each box required 4 of these planks.  Three of them went into making the long sides and the remaining plank was cut into 6 18" boards that made the short end of the box.

I put the sides on first starting from the top and working my way down.  Then I did the same with the long sections.

In order to put a base, in I screwed a cedar 2x2 1.5 inches up from the bottom.

For the bottom of the box I cut lengths of cedar fence boards.  They are cheap and did the trick.

I tried to leave a little space, about 1/8 inch between each, for drainage.

The finished product!  Emma approves.

 The beauty of these boxes is that they can be made any length, or width.  The 5 foot x 18 inch configuration gave me the biggest box with the lowest amount of wasted wood.  To finish off the bottom I stapled a weed blocking landscape netting and I've read that you can also use burlap.

Emma, Melissa and I really enjoyed our green thumbery over the summer.  We planted 3 basil plants, 1 chive, 6 lettuce plants (3 of two separate varieties), 3 cilantro, and some strawberries.  The basil and cilantro plants went nuts and we couldn't keep up, so next summer we are planning to only put in one of each.  Unfortunately we got the strawberries in a little late and didn't get any berries but the plant really took over the box.  I'm hopeful for next summer.  Here are some pictures of Emma and Melissa bringing life to the boxes.