A bedtime carrot for Carrot

Elsa was so cute last night feeding her bunny a bedtime snack. She was so excited when he stood up on his little back legs "Just like Peter Rabbit!" She loves her little bunny so much! His name is "Carrot" and his brother is Robin's bunny "Clover". Both were rescued along with thier 9 brothers and sisters by our friend Ryan. Robin and Elsa were thrilled to be allowed to pick out two for thier very own, and have been taking excellent care of thier little bunnies.

When we first brought the bunnies home, Carrot had a broken leg. Happily, with some popsicle stick splinting his leg healed perfectly, so now, 3 weeks later he is a very happy and active bunny!

Missionary Farewell

Today Jared leaves for the MTC. We all said our farewells to him yesterday, and although his sweet, fun spirit will be greatly missed around here, we are so proud of his choice to serve a mission! This picture is of him opening his mission call letter in April. It has been such an exciting couple of months seeing him prepare to go.
So where is he going on his mission? Well, Elsa said when first asked "It starts with an E, is close to Italy, and not too far from Pennsylvania!" Hmm. Let's see, that would be Richmond Virginia, of course!

Felting

Just look at the gorgeous wool roving Lucy and I found last week! We went to downtown Mesa for an afternoon out, and stopped in at my favorite yarn and fiber shop, The Fiber Factory. There, right in the window, were these beautiful, sunset colored hanks of roving from Pagewood Farm. I couldn't resist! And finally I have just what I was looking for to make Elsa a fairy crown for her birthday inspired by the ones here.

Summer Solstice

Ok, I know this may look more winter solstice appropriate, but this is how we celebrated. A day late. Sunday was just so full with Father's Day celebrating and also celebrating Jill's sweet friend Jared leaving on his mission. We left home at 7:50 a.m. on Sunday, and other than stopping back in for a few minutes to feed the animals, we did not come home until well past 10:00 p.m.! So last night, after the long hot day, when the summer sun finally went to bed, we gathered around the table and made star lanterns. They were so beautiful all glowing and warm, everyone sat in quiet wonderment and I made up a story about a little girl who meets the fairies on midsummer night. It was a lovely, enchanting evening!

Double Watermelons!

This week I was honored to receive two watermelon awards from two amazing ladies! Thank you so much Jane and Linda!

Accepting this award means that I list 6 things that make me happy, so here they are:



1. My wonderful, sweet husband who loves me in spite of all my eccentricities (or maybe, hopefully, because of my eccentricities!)



2. My 5 amazing children who have brought me back to magic and wonderment, and make me smile every day.



3. My home - the warmth inside and the green outside are everything I could have wished for (short of an estate in England, lol!)



4. My garden - I'm not the most amazing green thumb, but working out there brings me such peace and joy.



5. My animals - just watching all the new babies makes me smile!



6. My sister Missy, who always makes me laugh and accepts me for who I am even when she knows I could be better.



Now, to nominate refreshing blogs...blogs I love to visit and always make me smile...and that haven't already received this award!



1. My sister Missy, who shares her amazing talents on http://fairychildheirlooms.wordpress.com/



2. My sister Hanne, who has an incredible eye for beauty and knows how to create warmth in a home http://todaysmybestday.blogspot.com/ I'm also including her creative blog where she shares the most delicious recipes... http://todaysmybestcreativeday.blogspot.com/ (you can pick which one the award goes to, Hanne! You don't have to do it twice!)



3. Suzanne in South Africa, who has the most beautiful family, home, and garden, and makes the sweetest things for her etsy shop. http://downinthemeadow.blogspot.com/



4. Tammy in Idaho, who finds things to smile about in spite of trials, and you know her hapiness is contagious just by looking at her sweet girls who are always smiling! http://laughlivelearnlove.blogspot.com/



5. My new friend, Fawn, who seriously cracks me up when I read her blog! http://fawndear.blogspot.com/

Summer Salad

Now that hot weather has really set in I can't seem to get enough of this yummy salad. Especially with fresh herbs and vegis from the garden!
It's super simple, and lasts really well since there's no lettuce in it. If I need greens, I just add them individually. Recipe? Well, I just cut a bunch of cherry or grape tomatoes in half, cut up some cucumber into bite-size pieces, cut a bell pepper into dices, mince some red onion, chop up a small handful of fresh basil, oregeno, and dill. Mix it all together, add a sprinkle of sea salt, some good feta cheese if I'm in the mood, maybe some artichoke hearts and greek olives, and a dash of vinagrette. Mmmmm....

I wish I had more of these amazing tomatoes to toss in! these are Black Krim tomatoes that I planted in April. They are soooo good!!! These two ripened up a few days ago, but all the rest are green. Hopefully soon I will have more than we can eat. There's really nothing like fresh fruit and vegis from your own garden, unless it's from your neighbor's garden, lol! We do a lot of produce sharing in our neighborhood. Thanks to my wonderful neighbors I haven't bought any apricots or lemons or apples this spring, and I can hardly wait for plums - any day now!