Grow

This was my garden back when I first planted it. My plants were so tiny.

This is my garden as of yesterday. It is abundant and overflowing...literally! I actually had to pull the pumpkin vine out of the garden because it was taking over the backyard and the bottom of the plant was starting to rot due to moisture.

My first watermelon...doesn't it look YUMMY! 

My first cantaloupe. 

Some cucumbers...Austin and Abi love these cold, sliced, and in a little vinegar/water mixture 

This is a bloom on my okra plant. Isn't it pretty? 

This is an okra that I picked this week! IT'S HUGE!!!

Some of my yellow squash. I've picked a LOT of this so far!!! 

 On the left, green onions. On the right, carrots.

 My jalapeno plant, there are currently 3 peppers on it.

So, all in all, my garden is growing nicely! We're enjoying the veggies and fruits we've picked so far.

Which brings me to my next topic. My hair. I have been trying to let it grow out...which is hard for me! Since I was a sophomore in high school, I have kept my hair short, as in above my shoulders! It's so much healthier and easier to take care of that way. In fact, here are some throw back pics from back in the day!

Senior pic

Mom and me at graduation

Me and Mark after basic training graduation

Clay, Ali, Aaron, Brandon, Mark and me on our wedding day

Shortly after we were married...yup, that's my $30 wedding dress, the total cost of our wedding!!!!

My pic from my pharmacy tech school training days

When I was preggers with Austin, his Houston baby shower

Mark has never seen me with long hair before, so I told him that I would try to grow it out. However, the longer it gets, the more I am reminded of why I like it short!!! The longer it gets, the more difficult it is to control the frizz...in Houston humidity, that's not fun! It also is starting to get curly...not in a cute way! My friend, Jenni, shared a website with me that I have taken some tips from: naturally curly.com (Thanks Jenni!) So far, I am loving it! My new hair regiment looks like this: Day 1 wash with conditioner (Herbal Essence featherlight) then wash with a mixture of olive oil, coconut milk, coconut water, and aloe vera juice. Always rinse with cold water. Day 2 same. Day 3 wash with regular shampoo and conditioner. I can already tell a difference in how soft my hair is, and the frizz is almost non existent!!!! I'm undecided if the new wash schedule will stick, but I am happy that it is going well so far.

Mommy's day, a done deal!

Abi wrote me a song for mother's day this year. Here's the translation: You're the pumpkin pie to my heart. You have the prettiest smell in the world. You can dance lovely. Nothing can stop you from dying. [another word/sentence I can't read] You are like a queen to me. She also gave me a little porcelain snowman that  she painted. Austin gave me the new Fireflight CD, which I love!!! Mark gave me the Francesca Battistelli CD, which hasn't made it into my CD player quite yet!

Austin and Abi both made me a multitude of cards. Another mother's day in the books. Another day I was and am so blessed to be a mommy. I often try to remember things from when they were smaller. They both always ask Mark and I to tell them stories from when they were little. One of Austin's favorite stories is from when he was about 9 months or so. We came home from work, Austin was hungry so I put him in his high chair. I warmed up a gerber graduate container of spaghetti and meatballs. I went to change out of my BDU's. When I came back, there was no spaghetti on his tray. The dog was licking the container clean. I threw my hands up in disbelief. As I looked up, I noticed that there was spaghetti strung across the ceiling even to include around a corner into the front hallway!!!

This past weekend, Abi and I went to have our hair done while the boys went to a shooting range. Abi wanted desperately to color her hair pink. As a compromise, we let her cut about 4-5 inches off. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about the end result. But wouldn't ya know it...she looks so darn cute with it short too!

In exactly 20 days, Mark and I will celebrate our 9 year wedding anniversary. The kids are going to Grammy's house for a few days, then Mark and I will celebrate. I am REALLY excited about the big 10 because we are planning on going on a cruise. Our original plan was to go alone, but the more we thought about it, the more we have thought about how much fun we would have with some of our friends! So far, we have at least three other couples that want to come with us. I can't wait, it is going to be so AWESOME!