Garden (-ish)

How does your garden grow?  Ours has finally started to ripen!  We've had a few cherry tomatoes and yesterday we ate our first (and last) peas!  We barely had enough for dinner (everyone wanted more), but we had them!  And the kiddos are still finding pods that weren't large enough to pick for dinner.  They love to pick them and eat them fresh (I have to admit, fresh, uncooked peas is not something that I can do).  

We have pet snails.  They really do make great pets.  Give them a bowl of water and a few leafy greens and they're happy.  Forget the water and greens for a few days (maybe a week or more)?  They'll be fine.  No need to find a pet sitter.  They don't make any noise.  There are no major messes.  Added bonus?  If you keep them as pets, they won't eat your garden.  The only problem is, there are an awful lot of them, and if you have a child like mine, when they find them, they add them to the "Snail House".  I thought we had 8 snails.  WE HAVE 12.  Oops?

And just in case anyone is grossed out, we do have a rule that you must wash your hands with soap and warm water after touching them.  'A' loves that rule (Playing in the sink ranks pretty high on his list!).  'N' doesn't so much like the warm water part.

Perspective (a.k.a., PARKS)

Things change.  So does perspective.  I was recently planning a get-together with an old friend.  In a town where I lived for 4 years of my life (aka, COLLEGE).  Now, we both have children and I haven't been in that town for {ahem} a while.  I had NO IDEA where to find a good park.

I lived in my current town for 3 years when I was single.  My last year here, I ran a couple of days a week with a friend, at a park near her home.  I recently found a "new" park for my kiddos and I to visit (one of my summer goals is to go to a "new" park every week).  Lo and behold, it was the same park where I used to run.  I had NO IDEA there was a playground at the park.  I had never noticed it.

Now, as we're driving around town, in any town, parks are one of my top priorities to find.  Road trips?  Parks are a definite must.  We were driving to Las Vegas and needed a park.  Any one know of a park in Beaver?  There is one.  And it's the BEST PARK that I have ever seen.  There is something there for everyone (adults, too!).