Update

It has been two weeks since our last post, so I figured it is time to update, although there is not much to update! We have been busy as usual with work, school and Annika. The best news we have is that Lee will graduate on Friday with his Masters Degree! We are both very excited for this to be over...Lee is looking forward to NOT driving back and forth to Jacksonville for class anymore - it's over an hour each way - and I am looking forward to having a full-time husband back! I can barely remember a weekend that wasn't planned around homework and papers that were due the following week.

We have spent the past few weeks at home building a second raised-bed garden. The soil here is very shallow, with lots of rocks and boulders beneath it, so raised beds work well. And, I can contain what we are growing. Last year we were a little over ambitious and the garden was crowded. I'm hoping that we spaced things out better this year so that the plants will produce more! We have planted lettuce, carrots, onions, peppers, beans, squash, zucchini, cucumbers and strawberries...yum, yum! We have already been able to use some of the lettuce, and it's great! There are also a few strawberries blooming on our plants, and our tomato plants have multiplied in size, so I think we'll have a good "crop" this year! It's a fun hobby for us, and it's especially fun this year to see Annika in the back yard with her garden tools, digging in the dirt and watering the tomato plants with the little watering can we bought her.

Aside from working on the garden, we have been busy. Last weekend we went to the Rome International Festival and listened to music downtown performed by an International Fusion band. Annika loved to listen to the music and danced around. The weather was beautiful. We also went to a 3rd birthday party for Ryland, our neighbor, in Ellijay. All the kids had so much fun playing on the beautiful playground equipment and splashing in the creek. Lee had to hold Annika back from jumping right in!

This weekend, Lee has played golf - several times - and I went shopping with Jenni. We spent 13 hours hunting down the perfect living room furniture for their house, taking a few margarita breaks along the way. It was a lot of fun, and most important - we were successful! By the time we made it home, the guys had all the kids sound asleep, and we enjoyed a campfire in our backyard. We are so lucky to have great friends/neighbors. They really are our "family"!

Right now, Lee is golfing with his brother, and I'm enjoying a few minutes before Annika wakes up from her nap. Looking forward to the roast that's been cooking all day, and the fresh pear cake that just got out of the oven. Our next big adventure will be this coming weekend...Annika and I will be flying to Michigan! We are coming to see my dad - I haven't been to Michigan since he was moved to the nursing home - and also visit Tulip Time. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of family and friends, and getting to eat all the horrible junk food that goes along with the festival!