I've already grated and frozen many bags of zucchini/squash to be used in breads and muffins thoughout the winter. My plants have done better than ever before!
The funny thing is, all of this produce (and lots before this pic was taken) came from a few plants I planted in April. I put these plants against my back fence and didn't do a thing to the soil to improve it. I guess we've got some good soil! On the other hand, a couple of summers ago I got interested in square foot gardening and put together a raised box in the back yard filled with the suggested mixture. Everything I've planted in that spot has pretty much sucked. Go figure! I've just let that plot totally go this year--I think next year I'll empty it and fill it with potting soil which might be more successful.
I have about 6 spaghetti squash ripening up out there too. Mmmmm. I discovered how much I like it when I was on the Southbeach Diet a couple of years ago. I just substitute it for noodles whenever we're having spaghetti for dinner. Good stuff.
Here is DH and DS enjoying the train ride. I think my favorite part was when DD2 said "Look Mommy! A princess duck!". Here is what she was referring to: 
I love it when my kids come up with adorable stuff like that. Thier favorite ride is in the kiddie section. It's called the Dragonfly. We rode that one a few times. 
We had fun watching the kids play in the water fountain near the front of the park. They got soaked : )
We had a little giggle watching this little girl lead DD1 all around. She just walked up to DD1, grabbed her hand, and took her where she wanted. DD1 shrugged her shoulders at me as if to say "I have no idea who this is or why she wants me, but I guess I'll go along with it!"
DH and I wanted a chance to ride the roller coasters, so his awesome sister came and picked up the kids for a while. We rode Wicked (which really was totally cool), Colossus, and The Bat. Next time I'll take some Dramamine before I go! The older I get, the sicker I feel after a few roller coasters! 
A full, double rainbow. Incredible.
She opened her other gifts first thing in the morning
And she loved her princess cake (that she picked out herself at the grocery store)
DH's birthday was the next day and we had our babysitter come over so we could get out for a bit. We had dinner at Winger's and went to see Transformers. That's not really my kind of movie, but I wanted DH to pick. During the movie I didn't say anything because I didn't want to ruin the whole experience for him. Then (when it seemed like the movie should have ended an hour ago) DH turned to me and said "OH my gosh! Is this ever going to end?". My feelings exactly. We had a good time though. There was one point during dinner where we had to count up his age to make sure we hadn't gotten it wrong. Funny how the older you get the easier it is to remember exactly how old you actually are!
My dad and stepmom picked us up at the airport and took us to a delicious meal at the Pasta House. The next day we went to "Monkey Joe's", which is kind of like Kangaroo Zoo is here. The kids had such a ball. The inflatables were different from the ones we have here. DD2 even went down the 20' slides! I don't think she would have done it for me, but Grandma got her to try it.
The next day she sported the band-aid mustache all day long. We spent the afternoon visiting with my best friend Debbie. That night the kids spent a couple of hours playing in the hot tub and the band-aid came off (which was a good thing, because whenever I suggested taking it off, she would FREAK out!). We had some tasty Imo's Pizza that night and visited with my Aunt Vickie and cousin Tiffany.
While the boys were busy doing that, Grandma took me and my girls out for a pedicure. It was heavenly. The girls enjoyed sitting in the massage chairs and getting their finger and toenails painted. DD2 even let the nail technician clip her toenails! It was a victory. She hates it when I do it. I guess the peer pressure in the nail salon was a good thing : )
That night my brother Mike came into town with his two little boys. They played in the hot tub again--for 2 1/2 hours! Who knew a hot tub could be so much fun?
We let them stay up waaaay too late that night. In the morning, my brother's oldest wanted to shoot bb guns with Grandpa. My DS wasn't interested, but DD1 was!
This is what happened as soon as we arrived at Nanna's (my mom's) that afternoon:
On Monday, Nanna and I took 5 kids (my three, my brother's 2) to the city museum. It was quite a feat! We took them to the outside climbing area and they climbed and climbed to their hearts' content. This place is absolutely incredible. Almost everything in this museum is recycled--a lot of items were taken from old St. Louis building that were going to be torn down or refurbished. Anyone visiting St. Louis has got to go. Here they are climbing down from the airplane
Heading down the slide: 
Using her sweet balancing skills:
Climbing, climbing........
Riding the train up on the third floor: 
This slide goes from the third floor all the way down to the first:
Do you see the "V" over the slide? It's made of rolling tubes like they use on conveyor belts. The same things are used as rails on the stairs in the background. They're pretty cool because they let kids paint them and they are each unique. Fun to look at. They're also cool to spin as you come down the slide.
Then we did my favorite thing--feeding the goats milk from a bottle!
That night I got to go out to Casa Gallardo for a fabulous visit with old school friends.
The End!
Left to right the charms are: measuring cup, corgi, family, chinese take-out, wedding ring, and garden gnome (my favorite).
On my birthday, Smuckers had to get sugery. He completely tore his ACL ligament in his knee. It would be risky to not fix it because he could injure his second hind leg by favoring it and then he'd really be in trouble. He's doing much better now, but he was pretty pathetic for the first few days. I had to cook him chicken and brown rice because the medicine made him sick and he wouldn't eat. The whole family gave him extra TLC. He loves pillows--he would sleep like this for hours.
We are loving this great spring weather we've been having. On Sunday we decided to drive to the top of Lake Mountain. The whole family piled into the Jeep and took a super bumpy ride all the way to the top. DH2 cried a little because she was scared but then she calmed down and was a trooper the rest of the way.
School is almost over! Yay! I'm ready to not have to worry about homework, bedtimes, alarm clocks, etc. Plus, I'm taking the kids to St. Louis for a week and we're really looking forward to it! Yesterday was DH2's preschool graduation. She was so cute. She kept blowing me kisses from her place in line. Here she is singing the "book song". She's opening her "book" and looking inside.
She was one of the last ones called up to get her diploma and treats, and I thought she was so cute just sitting there watching the other kids walk past her.
And her moment finally came : ) No more preschoolers in our family!
Tuesday night I got a special treat. DH's sister Carrie had an extra ticket to Wicked and she let me use it! It was so fantastic. I totally loved it. Carrie is the best! I think it's my new favorite musical--after Les Miserables. 
My dad sent me an e-mail today with a segment from Britain's Got Talent that really impressed me. I like to think I've learned the lesson to not judge someone until I get to know them, but sometime's we forget. This was a good reminder. Also one of my favorite songs ever. I've been humming it all day.
