Thursday, July 21, 2011

Veggietales

I just love the children's cartoon Veggietales. It's a christian DVD series and it gets Ethan dancing and his Dad and me laughing every time while we learn/are reminded of God's love though bible stories or stories they put together like "Lord of the Beans" or "Pistachio" (instead of Pinocchio)... clever and cute.

But that's actually not what I'm posting about... just thought it would make a cute title :)

Vegetables in our garden are growin'!!

Some of them look like they might be on steroids, but they are as organic as they come! It's a bit silly how giddy I get when I see something new growing in or have just harvested a new batch.

Here is a look at what we're cookin' up at the Young Household :)

Cherry Tomatoes
"Sweet 100"


Zucchini... I'm running out of things to make!
I've made zucchini bread, roasted zucchini (with the tomatoes, onions, etc.), sauteed zucchini...


My first harvest :)



Our cherry tomato plant is out of control!


Mint (contained in it's own pot)
Would you judge me if I told you I only wanted to grow it to make Mojitos?
Though you might ;)


The beginnings of our bell peppers...
we're expecting red, yellow, and green!


Cucumber... I'm going to leave it on the vine for a bit longer...


String Beans


Japanese Eggplant


Yellow Squash


Another over sized tomato plant...
I think this is what Mark was afraid of... veggies taking over our yard!
also, Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Oregano, and Strawberries


One strawberry... I think the season is about done for us!
Cherry tomatoes


Beans, if you please :)


My gigantic veggies... they don't look like much until...


I use a pen to draw everything to scale!


Almost black blackberries


Okay, so it's not a vegetable, but it's a new addition to the yard. My topsy turvy tiered plant holder that originally held most of our strawberries was fried during the week we were in Hilton Head...
it's the only thing not hooked up to drip line (for obvious reasons)... thought it could use a face lift!



An amazing lady and equally fabulous neighbor, Kathleen, nursed several different types of seeds to plants. She had so many she asked if anyone wanted some.
To Mark's delight I said, "Sure!"

We ran out of garden beds and wine barrel space so I planted them in our lovely, rocky, El Dorado Hills ground. Yup, straight into the Earth. I used potting soil and plant food, Mark hooked 'em up to the drip line, and we have watched them grow quickly!

3 more tomato cages later and now we are expecting Black Heirloom tomatoes (black tomatoes?! awesome!), Fantastic tomatoes (slicer tomatoes), and more cherry tomatoes that I can't remember the specific name for... also, a Mexican pepper plant!

You can see the plants and cages against our fence...


And that's all!
Happy Harvesting!!
It's darn hot enough! :)



Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Escape to Seascape... also, my Hubby the "2011 Maino Cup Winner"


Every year in July my Dad attends a golf conference at the Seascape Beach Resort in Monterey Bay... lucky for me, I have a husband who loves to play golf... and added bonus... likes to play golf with my Dad. This means... we get to tag along to the Sutter Gould Golf Conferences!

The first day we arrived, on Thursday, we went to the beach. Seascape is a super family friendly resort... there were lots of kids around (to Ethan's toothy smile/waving delight). One of the nicer offerings they have for their guests are golf cart rides to the beach. And with a little guy... we took them up on it!



Once we got to the beach, it was hard to get Ethan past the sand...
but who could blame him? Beaches have the biggest sand boxes!



Chasing birds with Daddy



Splashing around in freezing cold water!





Little foot prints :)


Digging with Dad



A nice landing spot for parachutes I guess...


Our boy was a snuggle bug in the spa... we were soakin' it up!!


Dinner out at Bittersweet Bistro



Watching the fish eat up watermelon slices



Back to our room in time for the sunset




The next two days, my dad and Mark went golfing.

Meanwhile, my mom and I lounged at the resort during Ethan's nap time, went to lunch at Gayles Bakery, and let our little guy go nuts at the playground, pool, etc.
I



So, my dad did actually attend a class/meeting and did actually get some units out of this "medical conference"... but did so in between 2 rounds of golf.

To make the conference more fun, the Doctors compete for the "Maino Cup"
(The Maino brothers are the founding Dr's of Sutter Gould)

Mark and I have attended this same conference for 3 years now (I think... maybe 4) and have watched as Dr. after Dr. received the title of Maino Cup Winner at the farewell dinner. They have other fun prizes too... lowest score, sorest loser, etc.

But this year... Mark took the cup home!
My Dad was a proud Father-in-law :)


Mark considered himself "lucky"... as he just played a month ago in Hilton Head and scored nothing close to his scores here...




Along with the cup, Mark won $125!

We immediately used $25 of his winnings for a sitter Monday night...


And that is why I can't get enough of my champ :)