Journal Post and Garden Stuff

I've always wanted to have my own garden and I've waited several years to finally do this. It's still weird to think that we own our own house and have our own yard and can do whatever we want with it. Starting a vegetable garden was a must. We are starting small this year to learn how and get the hang of things. In our final backyard landscape design, we have a garden space as big as our house. We've made room for a large greenhouse and space for outside plants and berry bushes. This year I tried to start seedlings inside using the Aerogarden starter kit. I can't say that it was successful. It really didn't work well for plants that get big fast or for seeds that are big to begin with like beans. When I moved them outside to start hardening off they snapped and withered. Next year, I may only try tomatoes because they are the only plant that really needs to be started early. And use a fan everyday to help them be more sturdy. Any suggestions are welcome.

Our other goal this year is to get our front yard landscaped. We've drawn up a design for that and can't wait to get started. We like the look of lawn and flowers and tree's, but are trying to keep it fairly low maintenance. Most of our neighbors have mainly gravel front yards and it suits the look of their modern homes. We've tried to stick to a country-cottage look and may stand out, but I hope that it adds beauty to the neighborhood. It's been fun to spend evenings outside with the family working on projects.

Jared and Kendi have been going to the pool everyday for about a week and half now. Jared is teaching her to swim. I've gone with them a few times and I'm very surprised at how well Kendi does. She can swim faster than me. hahaha. Kendi used to hold her breath and dunk her head until her nose touched the water and that was all she would do. Now, she will dive under and kick her feet so fast and comes up grinning. They only spend about 45 minutes and she wears herself completely out. I'm so proud of her and the progress she's made.

Aydri has been potty training for more than a week now. I'm not sure I can say that its going well, but it's not going bad either. As long as I tell her to go she does fine, but she never goes on her own. She has to go every hour or she wets in her pants. This is so different from when Kendi potty trained that I don't know what to do next to get her to progress. I've been pretty relaxed about the whole thing. I feel like maybe she needs a consequence that will make her stop wetting in her pants and going to the potty herself. Making her practice ten times by going from the place she has an accident to the potty is like a game to her. Time-out isn't going to do it and I can't bring myself to give her a cold shower. What kind of punishment is appropriate for a two year old? For the time being, I'm just setting a timer for every hour and hoping she'll catch on.

New Niece and Nephew

Yes, another niece on the Barnes' side!! Can you believe it? That makes eight girls and zero boys. hahaha. Little Kollete was born more than a month and half ago. She is just as precious as her sisters. Congrats Greg and Jaelyn on three beautiful girls!!

Tammy and Adrian just had their baby this week. A little Boy!!! That is big news on the Bulloch side. We don't even know what to do with him. Actually, with all the adventure that we're used to I'm sure he'll be just fine.
I think I see some Tammy in there. . . .maybe. I haven't seen him in person yet. Congrats Tammy and Adrian!!
His name is Levi and he shares his birthday with another niece of ours, the oldest pictured above.

And here is a semi-updated picture of the Barnes Family. It's missing Jerika and Kollete. Pictures are outdated before we can even get them on here. hahahaha