Garden Goodies!

On Saturday, we decided to go out to the garden and see if some veggies were ready for picking. We had a whole head of bibb lettuce and a ton of radishes that were ripe and ready to bring inside! I was really excited, as I have never tried to grow either lettuce or radishes; they both took really well and the radishes have a spicy flavor to them...I absolutely LOVE homegrown radishes.

Freshly picked...

Washed and ready to eat...

Looks like we are going to be eating a lot of salads this week. But, everything tastes so much better when it came from your garden. We can't wait to see what other goodies we harvest from our garden.

A Great Time with Great Friends

Jeff's company gave us four Bees tickets for Friday nights game (complete with VIP parking and food vouchers), so we invited Mike and Tina to go with us. Tina used to work with Jeff at Groen Bros. and are good friends. We got to the game and found out that our seats were directly behind home plate...what good luck! The game started and Fresno scored 6 runs in the first two innings, but then the wind started to kick up and the rain started and everyone headed for cover.

The rain delay lasted about an hour and a half and we all huddled up underneath the covered area of the stadium. It was pretty crazy during this time...the wind picked up, it was raining in sheets and there was tons of thunder and lightning. The temperatures also dropped and it got chilly. During the rain delay, the four of us were just chatting and I got my picture taken with two of the mascots from Legends Sports Bar...the first was a wolf.

But, boy was he one frisky wolf...

I also got my picture with the lion mascot.

After the rain delay was over and the field was uncovered, the game resumed...

Here is the last color in a beautiful rainbow that came out after the storm...by the time we were able to get back to our seats and take a picture of it, this was all that was left.

Here is a picture of Jeff, Tina and Mike back in our seats after the rain.

Our seats were so good that there were scouts sitting all around us. They had guns to judge the speed of the balls thrown by the Bees pitchers. They were taking really detailed notes; it was a pretty neat experience to watch...they were literally right across the aisle from us.

The game didn't get over until almost midnight, but it was a great time anyway. Thanks for going with us, Mike and Tina...it was great to catch up with you. We will have to have a party at our house again soon!

Canine Casino Night 2009

Last Saturday (6/13), Jeff and I took the dogs to Canine Casino Night. It was once again held at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City; it never ceases to amaze me that they are still willing to allow over 200 dogs into their hotel for the night. This was the thrid year that Jeff and I have taken the dogs, and it was by far the best year yet. There were a ton of silent auction prizes, lots to drink and food galore. So, we got both dogs ready in bandanas and leashes and headed out for a night of fun.

Here is a picture of the dogs in the car on the way to the hotel...as you can see, Koda is resting up in anticipation of the long night ahead (and Kira appears to be sticking out her tongue at me).

Once we got there, it was a little crazy at first...dogs everywhere with people running behind them. Many of the dogs were simply walking their owners and not the other way around! Kira and Koda were just content to sit in the large ballroom and take it all in...

It is definitely difficult to get food, drinks and bid on silent auction items while trying to keep two dogs from running amuck...Jeff I have, however, adapted a system that works for us- one person keeps the dogs while the other person runs around getting things.

They once again had a couple of pet psychics, so both Jeff and I were eager to hear what both dogs had to say this year (especially since we had such good luck with Kira last year). Jeff went and made the appointments and we had Koda go first this time. We were hopeful that Koda would be a little more talkative this year, as last year he seemed to be overshadowed by Kira and all she had to say.

And Koda certainly did not disappoint this year. I had Kira's leash, so I didn't exactly get to hear what the psychic was telling Jeff, but here is a synopsis of what he told me...

(1) Koda likes to be around kids but...he thinks they can be "unpredictable";

(2) He has a big bed that is bigger than Kira's and that we think is ours. He must be referring to our bed, which he sleeps in every night. He also said that Jeff somtime gets mad at where he sleeps (usually on my pillow, leaving me with no pillow and squished), but he doesn't care...he thinks of that as his bed;

(3) Koda doesn't understand why we always want to run when we take him out for walks...he doesn't know why were are in such a hurry all the time. He just wants to take his time and sniff everything along the way (this is so true of Koda...for a while we were trying to take them running with us, but he became so difficult to try and keep up a pace with, that we eventually just gave up);

(4) He hates the sprinklers in the backyard, especially when they automactically turn on in the morning (this is also true...more than once, Jeff and I have seen him hightailin' it toward the house as soon as the system comes on in the morning...that dog hates water).

Kira was a little more reserved this year...when I took her to the psychic, she was obsessed with food...potatoes, ice cream, milk, chips and pizza. All things that she normally gets off the table. She especially liked pizza and told the lady that Jeff and I had eaten it for lunch that afternoon (which we did); she also was upset because she didn't get any of it. Typical Kira!

The psychic also said that she has a very sweet and gentle personality, but that she would become aggressive in order to defend her family. This is something that we have suspected for awhile, but are glad to know is confirmed...she is our "gentle protector".

Nothing really eye-opening, but validation that they are healthy and happy means everything to Jeff and I.

After the readings, we went and had our family picture taken...I tried to scan it in to post it, but it doesn't like the picture and the resolution is not very good. Cute picture, though, so maybe I will try again.

I (of course) bid on a couple of the silent auction prizes...there were so many prizes to look through and bid on; more than any previous year. By the end of the night, I had won two pretty cool prizes.

The first was a certificate good for four weeks of couples dancing lessons. I took a few ballroom dancing classes in high school for prom, but have always wanted to do this with Jeff. He has agreed to go (thank you for obliging, honey), so it looks like we will be taking dance lessons in the near future. I can't wait.

The second item I won was a two night stay at the Garden Cottages in Kanab. I just wanted to get away and do something fun, but we didn't realize how fun it would be until we got home and looked the place up on the internet...the place has three cozy cottages- with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. They even have fenced yards so that you can bring your pets! They are the cutest little places ever and we can't wait to head down to Kanab for a little R & R. Overall, I was pretty happy with what we got.

Here are some other pictures we took of the festivities...this is by far the largest Siberian Husky I have ever seen...I would have sworn that it was an Alaskan Malamute...nope, just a huge Husky (and his name was also Koda).

Kira just hanging out under a table.

Looks like someone told Mr. Koda a funny joke...

The emcee...definitely not as good as last year.

This lady was at our table and bid on one of the two scooters they auctioned off that night. She paid $1,500, but was happy because it all went to the animals. What a caring and generous lady!

Koda resting on Jeff's leg...

Both puppies were plum tuckered out by 11:30 pm.

After it ended, we headed home. It was a crazy, but really fun night. And I have read that they raised over $30,000 for No More Homeless Pets in Utah, so it was productive as well.

Finally, here is my favorite picture of the night. It is of me and Koda...he was sitting on my lap because he was having a little problem showing dominance with larger dogs. So, he was kinda in a timeout...still, it is a really cute picture of both of us!

We are already looking forward to next year!

Guv'ment Cheese

We feel like we have our own stimulus package going on at home. It all stems from when my mom was here. When they left to go to Bryce Canyon for a couple of days, she brought us home a really cute bird feeder and bird seed. Both her and Mike were certain that if we kept a bird feeder, then birds would come to our yard...boy, were they right. Ever since we hung it up about a month ago, the birds haven't gone away. We fill the feeder up each day and by the next day, the food is gone! If there is no food and the birds have to wait, they sit on top of the fence and start squawking until we fill it back up. It has gotten a little hilarious to watch it all unfold over the past month. This past weekend, Jeff likened it to Obama's stimulus package; we provide food for the birds and they do nothing for it except expect that it will be there. We now call it "Guv'ment cheese"...meaning "the birds are too big to fail"!

So, just how many birds do we have coming in the yard at any given time?...Jeff took these pictures through the window of our living room on Saturday afternoon.

They love the food and Kira, but are not too fond of Koda...I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that he runs out from the house and chases them anytime they are trying to enjoy their "guv'ment cheese"?

Still, we will continue to feed them...we are afraid not to. Anyone remember Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds?

How does your garden grow?

Ours grows pretty fast!

We have veggies starting to sprout in our garden. We planted radishes, bell peppers, squash, zucchini, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and watermelon. We still have white pumpkins that need to be planted; however, we waited so that they would be ready in time for Halloween. So, in about eight weeks, our garden has gown from this...

to this...

All of the radishes are up, some of the lettuce and scattered other things throughout. Both the broccoli and the squash are getting ready to flower, so we should start to see real vegetables soon!

Roses, roses and more roses

This may be the most colorful post I have done to date.

One of the coolest things in our backyard right now is all the blooming roses. We have nine rose bushes and once they came out of hibernation this spring, they really started kicking out roses. I have to go out at least three times a week and cut roses to bring in the house...and I still can't keep up with the output of these rose bushes. It is astounding- all the different colors, smells and sizes of roses we have. I have to admit, it never gets old. Here are all the bushes in the backyard (minus the roses I had already cut and taken into the house for display).

Some of these roses are really amazing, especially up close.

And, finally, just a sampling of some of the arrangements that I have put together for the house. Luckily, I have a ton of vases to fill. All the beautiful colors really brighten up the house during this time of year.

The only downside to roses is the thorns...they definitely hurt, but luckily, Joe, Julie and the kids got me a thorn remover last year. And it has been more than helpful in putting together these arrangements (plus, I don't curse near as much). So, it is a winning situation for everyone...especially Jeff, who doesn't feel the need to buy me roses in the summer. When you can go out in your own backyard and bring in these beauties, why would you buy them from the store?

More (and hopefully the last) Landscaping Project

On Friday afternoon I went out and tried to tackle our overgrown lawn; with all the rain we have been getting, there hasn't been an ideal time to mow it. Needless to say, it had gotten out of control. It took me what seemed like forever to get through it and by the time it was finished, I was totally wiped out. Jeff had sprayed Round-up a couple of weeks ago on the last bed that we needed to landscape in the backyard; all it took was for him to mention that the weeds were dying in order to spur me into action. I decided that we needed to get that bed landscaped this weekend. Now, this was definitely easier said than done, as the bed runs the entire length of our fenced yard (approximately 68 feet). We went out to Lowe's and bought all the pavers, visqueen and a couple more plants, and got to work on Friday night. My theory was the more we got done on Friday, the less there would be to do on Saturday morning/afternoon. We worked for about an hour and a half on Friday night, until it started to rain at 9:30 pm. By that time, most of the visqueen was down and the pavers were moving into place nicely.

On Saturday morning, we got up early and got outside. It rained on us (again), but things moved along pretty quickly and we were totally finished by noon (including making another trip to Lowe's for more mulch). Here is what the bed looked like before...

Looks so much better now (especially the grass, which we have been working really hard on to revive since the grub disaster that struck last year). That officially brings the tally of beds in the yard that we have re-done to 11! But, I think we are done. Now, just maintenance and upkeep.

And what it looks like now...

Our backyard is really starting to look good!

REAL Salt Lake Game with DeltaValve

Last Saturday, June 6 (man, this blog is over a week late getting posted), Jeff's company had a family night at the REAL Slat Lake soccer game. Now, neither Jeff nor I are avid soccer watchers (although we both played for a year in high school)...I just think it is a boring sport. Still, it was a work function and the tickets were free (and they gave us food vouchers), so we decided to go. Parking is a nightmare around the stadium, so Jeff and I decided to ride Trax in. This was another first for us, as I am not so comfortable on public transportation. It turned out to be a great experience and one we will definitely try again.

When we got to the stadium, they were having this festival outside and there were people EVERYWHERE! After I had my umbrella confiscated and thrown away (obviously you are not allowed to bring them into the stadium), we got in, got food and found our seats. We were in a whole section of DeltaValve families...all except for the first row (and the row ahead of us). This will be important later on in the blog.





David Archuleta sang the national anthem and, due to the fact that it was Military Appreciation Night as well, they had parachuters soar in with the flags for all service branches and finally the American flag. This was really cool to watch (and I got some neat pictures).








The game started and was just as we expected....BORING. Neither team scored until 84 minutes into the game. Luckily, there were some crazy fans in front of us. I swear, these people thought that they were on the field actually playing the game. Plus, they were very rude and kept standing up to cheer wearing this REAL flag. No one behind them could see, so someone that Jeff works with asked politely if they could sit down. Boy, was that the wrong thing to say because they started yelling the F-word really loudly at us. Jeff told them that kids were in the stands and that this was a family night out for his work, but these people just kept carrying on, asking if Jeff was a lawyer and if we were gonna take them to court. I was scared for a minute that things might get a little ugly; however, I reminded them that there were at least 300 of us and only three of them, so they were really outnumbered. I think they got the point after that.






These people were so rude that, towards the end of the game, I was just doing stuff to make them mad...so I had Jeff take a picture of me with them.



Needless to say, we will never go back to a REAL game. Overall, the people are rude, obnoxious and lower class than any other event we have been to since moving here. I think in the future we will just stick with Bees games...the people that attend those games have a lot more class.

Still, we managed to have a good time, but were really happy to get home without further incidence. Thanks for sticking up for everyone, Jeff. You are the best.