CSA

Joel and I joined a CSA this year. That stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You purchase a share in a local farm and you get a box of vegetables a week. Here is one example of what is in our weekly box. We got tomatillos, onions, garlic, potatoes, beets, herbs, peppers, corn, and carrots. There are very few things that I have to throw away because we didn't use it up in time. The food is all so fresh and organic. We've loved it. I cannot say enough good things about it. We get some pretty cool vegetables that we would have never tried. See the pretty purple potatoe at top. I think those are the coolest thing. You can make purple mashed potatoes with them which are a big hit with the kids. I've become quite the creative chef when it comes to making dinner and I've been really enjoying making dinner since we've joined the CSA. I highly recommend it and if you want more details just ask Joel or myself.

Spider-Man

Ty's costume came in today. He is still wearing it and has asked to wear it to bed. I may have a hard time getting him out of this thing.

This and That

Deacon enjoying a Smore! He got so messy that I just threw him the tub to clean him up.

Tyler riding down the hill at our house. He enjoys the speed he picks up on it. Such a daredevil!

Deacon, Destiny, and Tyler in Uncle Bubba's boat.

Destiny playing on the boat

More Banning State Park Pictures!

They were standing at the end of the road just yelling. They were having so much fun together and looked so cute!

My boys!

This was our last day at the park. We did a short hike pretty early in the morning. This was my favorite hike and if we go back, I'm spending way more time here. It was perfect because you could get right next to the river and the views were spectcular! We had so much fun and I cannot wait till next year when we can start our camping season again.

Banning State Park

I think they were tired of me taking pictures.

This was an awesome camping trip! The best one we've been on yet with the boys. We went to Banning State Park which is an hour and half north of the Cities on I-35. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! The Kettle River runs through this park and they have some of the most challenging rapids in the state. We just enjoyed the views of the hikes that we did. They also had a ton of wildlife that was not scared at all of humans. Our first hike was Wolf Creek Trail to see the Wolf Creek Falls. Along this trail we ran into the hornet's nest which I thought was very cool and then the squirrel that sat there eating it's nut and didn't appear to be concerned at all about our appearance on the trail. They had chipmunks around the bathrooms that would come right up to you. We spent so much time around the bathrooms just watching the chipmunks running around. Tyler named them Tylermonk and Dekeymonk. We also saw a skunk running down the road, but we weren't going to get too close that one! The boys had a lot of fun playing in the campsite. This was the most I've seen them playing together. As you can see they had a lot of fun with buckets. They would put them on their heads and yell in them and were generally being cut-ups. The next day we did the Banning Quarry Trail which was a self-guided hike. Very interesting stuff about the Banning Quarry and some of the most amazing views. Tyler and I enjoyed going off the beaten path and getting as close as we could to the river. Joel couldn't follow as easily with Deke on his back. We explored old ruins along the way as well. They had huge boulders that Tyler really loved walking on. Such a fun trip. I can't wait till next year when we can go back!

Slacker

I am such a slacker. It really has been too busy for me to find time to post much on this. I apologize for those that may check it on a regular basis. I'm going to try to get better at this. Deacon has been a major fusspot recently. Hoping its just his teeth and that it will pass soon. Tyler has needed some attitude readjustment, but we're working on it. The ticket idea has been a lifesaver. When he gets home, he gets three "tickets". Anytime he smarts off or we have to repeat ourselves, he loses a ticket. If he loses all three, then he gets a timeout. If he has at least one ticket left before bed, then he gets a special treat. An extra book at bedtime or something like that. (the specialness of the treat depends on how many tickets he has left) He hates losing a ticket and I hate putting him in a timeout for every little infraction so it's been great. We're going camping this weekend so hopefully, I'll have a lot of new photos and stories to tell.