Summer Bucket List

I put my list-making skills to good use at the beginning of the summer, and we made a list of fun things to help us enjoy the best season of the year.

This year's list:

1. Go swimming at two different pools.  We tried out the West Jordan indoor pool and the AF rec center (plus HAWAII, but that's a given).  We had a lot of fun introducing Ivy to swimming since this was her first year going.  She loves it.
2. Go up the canyon.  I guess we didn't exactly do this as planned, but we did go up to Alpine, Wyoming which is mountains galore, so I'm counting it!  
3. Go to temple square.  We visited the Church History museum, which has a lot of fun things for kids and showed Ivy around the grounds.  She was very interested to see where the "choir" sings every Sunday.  Haha.  Also we ended the night eating al fresco at the Cheesecake Factory, so this was easily a top summer night.

4. Get snow cones. Ivy and I got the free 7-11 slurpees and had that count here.  We also got slushies at Sonic once with the "whole family" as Ivy would say.  Ivy's not really into sugar although she did try both.  I'm no longer sure we're related.

5. Go to the splash pad. We tried two--the West Jordan one several times and also the Riverton Old Farm park one.  Ivy was not too thrilled to go to the new one, so we'll stick with West Jordan's familiarity and security for now.

6. Cook dinner over a fire.  We never got to this one, and I honestly just never feel like going to the trouble, so we'll have to do this some other time (maybe in like 7 years? haha).
7. Have a picnic.  At the beginning of the summer, we picked up some Subway and headed over to a random park.  Ivy didn't really understand the concept of the picnic and just wanted to play and not eat.  I enjoyed watching Scott entertain multiple families' children from afar.

8. Visit a lake or waterfall. We went with my friend Caitlin and her kids to Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman.  It was a really nice place!

Some things we did that were not on the list that I want to remember were visiting a few new libraries, trying out the Barnes and Noble story time,  playing with the sprinklers in the back yard, playing with Ivy's water table,  eating many popsicles and fresh peas on the back patio, hosting a few game nights, dinners, and parties, watching fireworks in our back yard, eating watermelon almost every week, feeding the ducks a few times, spending a lot of time with S2 (Scott, my brother) once he got back from his mission, and reading tons of books!

We made some great memories this year, and I think I need a bucket list every season.

Especially the Beans

Somehow I received my green thumb this year and grew the best garden I've yet to grow.  The same can't be said about a lot of the shrubs we put in, but thankfully Lowes has a pretty generous return policy.  Haha.

Anyway, back to the garden.  I grew a LOT of vegetables this year.  I'm afraid this will be a pretty boring post, but when you're a gardener (like me now baha), you need some record keeping for the future so here we are.  So, without further ado, here's my review and rankings of what I liked and didn't like and what I will maybe do differently next year.

Spinach
Spinach is the best thing to grow, hands down.  It's not only easy on the space and maintenance (and has a short growth cycle) but you can use spinach in pretty much any meal of your day.  You can eat it raw, cooked and even blended in smoothies.  You can also freeze it easily by just putting it in the freezer.  Nothing could be easier or more versatile.  I picked a huge bowl of spinach about every 2-3 days for a couple months and we didn't waste a bit.  I'm spinach's #1 fan.

Peas
I've had so little success with peas in the past, that this was my LAST attempt, and luckily for the future of the peas, it was a good attempt.  I did 4 rows, which is about 1/3 of a box and they did awesome.  I built supports out of the little bamboo stakes and twine you can buy at Lowes and I think that made a difference.  One thing about peas I didn't really know is they pretty much only produce for a single week and they're done--and you need to be out there every day, picking.  It was a great week though sitting on the patio every night eating fresh peas.  Next year I want to put in more.  Just don't plan a vacation for that week!

Zucchini
A single successful plant produces all the zucchini you could ever want...and I planted 3.  Haha.  Luckily two were timed about a month after the first or we might've been overcome by the mighty zucchini.  The downside of these are they take up a TON of room and I really don't think you can grow them vertically super well because they are a substantial plant (it would not fit in a tomato cage).  Anyway, these are high yield and easy to grow and pretty versatile.  You can eat them plain, bake with them, etc.  We've made about a million things with zucchini in it now.


Green Beans
I planted 4 or so rows of these and they did great. I highly recommend a "bush" bean because you don't need poles.  I don't think I'd do more or less here.  We had a good amount with some to share.

Cucumbers
Cucumbers are not quite as versatile as other plants in my opinion because you can't really eat them in that many ways.  They don't take up a lot of room though and can easily be grown within a tomato cage vertically so I like them for that reason.  I planted two of these this year and had way more than I needed but it's fun to give to neighbors and try various pickle recipes.

Kale
Once my spinach was done, I replaced the area with kale since they both have a short season.  Not all of my seeds germinated, and I guess bugs knows this is a super food because a few of my plants were attacked.  I did like growing it though!  Maybe earlier in the season would've been good, alongside the spinach.

Green Onions
I put these in on a whim when I thought I would have some blank space in my second box (haha there was pretty much no room by the time things were booming).  These seemed to be growing ok until they were overcome by other plants, so...fail here but I would maybe consider trying again with better spacing.


Butternut Squash
I tried to grow these vertically and I think they really need their own space and support from the ground.  I will try again with more space next time.  We did get a few though, so it was worth it.

Tomatoes
I only put in one plant and I can't imagine why I'd ever do more than that.  This plant was a beast and I don't even like fresh tomatoes apart from a good salsa, so anyway, one plant forever.  I bought mine from Lowes rather than doing seed.  It was an heirloom beefsteak.

Bell Peppers 
Like the tomato, I bought this plant.  I've never had great success with peppers.  This was my best plant yet, but I'm not sure I'll do it again because the yield just isn't what I hoped.  When you spend $3 on the plant, you better get at least 5+ massive peppers to offset the cost, which is kind of depressing to think about!  Maybe I expected too much per plant.  I may do these again, but I'm not sure.

This year was a total success!  I'm excited for next year's plans as well.  If you're as much as a Grandma as me, feel free to talk gardening any time. :)

We have two boxes of this size. It is the perfect setup!

Alpine 2018

The Good Times

The last few months have felt like the "good times" at our house.  I'm sure trips to Hawaii and Wyoming and a surplus of holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries have certainly helped; but even the day-to-day has been awesome.  I can't say enough good things about Scott and I both working from home.  It's the dream!  Also, summer is the best of all the seasons.  I will eventually embrace boots and broths, but for now I am still consuming watermelon with reckless abandon.  It is the best.

Anyway, I thought I'd walk through a regular day of our lives so I can remember the details.

6:30 AM - We get up, shower, and get ready.  Ivy's still asleep or ok in bed waiting our arrival.  Dry shampoo is my friend, but we do get fully ready every day.

7:00 AM - I start work while Scott and Ivy make breakfast.  I normally hear Ivy ask Scott if "Mama working?"  Then she'll usually say, "Ivy work sometimes..."  Sometimes they come visit me for a minute.  

8:00 AM - We all eat breakfast together, often including Teddy.  We eat a lot of scrambled eggs in our house but we also have oatmeal sometimes and french toast every French Toast Friday. 

8:30 AM - Scott starts working while Ivy and I go exercise.  These days we do p90x3 or ride the exercise bike.  Then we pick up the house and get Ivy ready for the day.  She always petitions for her rainbow shirt and shorts.

9:30 AM - Our sweet babysitter comes over and I head back to work.  I listen to podcasts and relish using my brain.  I've got giant projects this year, and it feels good to get all the things done.

11:30 AM - We all take a lunch break!

12:00 PM - Ivy naps while we go back to work for a few hours.  

2:00 PM - Scott gets Ivy up from her nap.  They normally exercise or play with blocks.

3:00 PM - I finish work and Scott passes Ivy back to me.  We take time to do things around the house, play, or go out.  We do a lot of library trips or shopping.  Then we come home and make dinner.

5:30 PM - Scott's done working and we eat.  Chances are about 100% there is some sort of zucchini on the table.  It's a gift and a curse.  After dinner we relax and play with Ivy or finish up things around the house.  We get her ready for bed.

7:30 PM - We pray and I sing a few songs to Ivy while she drinks her final glass (out of like 600) of milk.  We do her "letters" on her wall and then sing "Quinkle Quinkle Little Star" together before we leave her to fall asleep.  Scott and I enjoy our prime time together.  We like books and back scratches and sugar-free pudding.  This is a routine we can continue through our 80's fortunately.

And that's a wrap!