A Walk Through The Garden

After a month of sunshine, the rain has finally come back (much to the disappointment of everyone). The garden however, is very happy with the change in the weather...

 Rain drops collect on the flowers and leaves, causing the patches of color to sparkle even more against the lush green of Juneau's temperate rainforest. 

Not only are Melissa's flowers and Paul's vegetables doing well, the wildflowers are blooming all over our yard. Buttercups, forget-me-knots, and the white dogwood flowers brighten the patches of yard that Melissa hasn't yet been able to plant garden of her own.

To capture this beauty, Quinn and I made a video tour through Melissa and Paul's lovely gardens. We hope you enjoy a close-up look at the pretty flowers and the large leafy greens they've been working so hard to grow. 

Our crosses from Easter are still firmly planted in the crook of an old stump.
But since summer has come, dogwood flowers have grown up around them,
making the sight an even prettier and happy reminder of Jesus's love for us.

A Mother's Day Well Spent

Hello everyone! 

We wish you a happy late Mother's Day!

We spent our Mother's Day out in the sunshine!

After a busy morning at church, we all met at home to sit out on the front porch and have lunch together.

Abigail had been very creative!

She had hung jars of flowers and candles to set the mood for our Mother's Day meal.

In just a week, the flowers in Melissa's garden have grown abundantly! Pretty daffodils and tulips graced the porch, and with the sunshine, it felt like summer indeed!

Meanwhile, Paul was busy on the back porch with the grill, and soon the smells coming from the backyard had us all longing for lunch time!

Days like these are best spent with the people you love, and that's just what we did.

I feel so blessed to have two mothers now in my life, as a married woman. And I know our whole family would not be the same if Melissa wasn't here. 

For one thing, we would be a person short in our badminton playoffs!

Oh yes, we are all soooooo stylish!

 

After our lovely lunch out on the front porch, we all gathered in the backyard for what will go down in our family as the stuff of legend: the epic badminton tournament! 

Melissa and Abigail were up first, one verses the other. 

Though Mom tried hard (and it came down to two points difference), Abby won!

Next up was Quinn and I! 

We were tied up until the very end...but Quinn took the win.

(Shhhh! I actually let him win. But don't tell him!)

Quinn and Dad played next, with the winner of the match slated to play against Abigail in the final playoffs.

It was a close match, and us girls screamed and cheered them on!

Quinn won it at the last possible moment, and so he and Abby got ready to go head to head!

Quinn had an interesting way of getting ready...

Well let me tell you, it was a hard battle. 

Quinn started off in the lead, hitting the shuttlecock back and forth fearfully over the net. But Abigail took over and scored several points as well! It came down to 4 - 4, with 5 points needed to win the game.

Who would triumph!?

Quinn! He was the victor!

Because he won, he took on all three girls! 

We started out very good (I got two points right off the bat!), but even though there were three against one, Quinn still took the gold.

Congratulations Quinn, 

you are the supreme badminton master.

Though we must warn you that Mom has said she is going to start practicing so she can beat you, LOOK OUT!

After all the excitement of the day, Melissa wandered off to her happy place: her garden.

We hope all you mothers our there felt loved and cherished yesterday!

We wish you a very happy Mother's Day!

Puttering in the Garden & Quinn's Slip-N-Slide

It was a beautiful early spring day. The family was gathered out on the porch, all of us wishing we didn't have to go in and practice (as our lunch break had just ended). 

I frantically searched my mind for a reason we could maybe skip practicing(just for today). 

After all, it was such a sunny afternoon, and the weather was supposed to turn to rain the next day! That was it..."What if we spent this sunny afternoon in the garden?" I asked.                                                                                                                         It worked! Melissa jumped at the chance to putter in her beloved garden! 

Soon we were all working together in the bright sunshine, listening happily to the chorus of birds over our heads (and often suffering scolding from the stellar jays, who were impatient to start digging in our newly turned over garden beds).

Melissa told me later that she's usually the one preparing the garden every spring, all by herself!
I'm sure the job went a lot faster with all of us pitching in. 

Paul had just erected the garden framework the previous day. It doesn't ever get quite warm enough during the summer for the vegetable garden to thrive, so making the garden into a greenhouse does wonders! 

Here's Quinn spraying off the huge sheet!
It covered up the whole yard! 

Paul had gotten a big sheet of plastic to put over the garden, but it was covered in dirt and sand. Quinn and I were given the task to wash it off the night before, which we did. But little did I know that Quinn was hatching a plan...(you'll find out about that more later!).

Melissa and Paul had not yet had a chance to get into the gardens and do any work, so it was nice to dig and get things ready for planting! 

The usual time Melissa starts planting is the first week of May, but because of the mild winter we've had, planting will be getting done early! Quinn and Abigail may still be sad about the lack of skiing, but Melissa and I are excited about the flowers that are starting to grow!

Like I said before though, Quinn was busying himself with something else. Paul had him help cut the giant sheet of plastic that was to go over the top of the garden to keep it warm, this was his chance...

Any ideas of what he was up to?

He was constructing a slip-n-slide! Yes, he had taken a sheet of the extra plastic and had covered it in dish soap and (very cold, cold) water from the garden hose. The temperature outside? 45 degrees. 

Abigail wasn't totally convinced this was the best idea. Neither was I really. But we both went inside and got our bathing suits on. After all, we're Alaskans. And we don't shirk away from the cold.

Doesn't Abigail just look thrilled? Yes, she is wearing a blanket. 

Quinn tried to do some jumps on the trampoline to warm up: 

I guess he was a bit cold too...

Maybe jumping jacks will warm them up?

Even mom helped out! Though she wouldn't agree to go down the slip-n-slide with us. 

Finally, Quinn could hold it back no longer, 

he dove!

Abigail soon followed after him!

And even though it looked super cold, I did it as well (and am very glad I did!):

Overall, a very happy day filled with sunshine, gardening, and very cold water! We've all promised that this slip-n-slide will be making another appearance later down the road this summer! We simply can't wait for warmer weather (anything over 45 degrees will be great!).