Another gardener...

This has been a wild memorable weekend. It was a well planned adventure that didn't go according to plan, but was much better. On Friday, I was able to get off work early so that my wife and I could go to Portland, Oregon for a little holiday. We left our two girls, Lucy and Helen, with grandma and grandpa. There are three wineries in that area (Shea vineyard, Domaine Serene, and Eyrie) which I enjoy drinking the products thereof and we were going to visit and purchase a bit of this and that. 

We made it there alright and went out to dinner with some friends who live in Portland. (if you go there are want some really good, delicious and expensive food, check out DOC) I have no idea which area of Portland it is in, but as we weren't doing the driving it didn't matter. Joey Harrington (if you are a football fan you'll know who that is) happened to be there eating two tables away. It wasn't the kind of place you run up to celebrities and drool on them asking for autographs and pictures, so I didn't make the usual fool of myself and don't have anything to show. (you'll just have to believe me)

Saturday was the planned kickoff for the royal run around of all of the wineries. It started out nice, we slept in and no one came pattering into our room to wake us up early. We ate breakfast (eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast accompanied with orange juice and coffee if you were wondering) and we deciding what to do before noon when all our plans changed. My wife informed me we were going to have a baby instead!

Hurried calls to the hospital about what to do (drive back to Tacoma or wait it out) and quick packing, checking out, getting the car... then going back to the room to get the forgotten cellphone led to being at Tacoma General in plenty of time. At 11:23pm Paul Benjamin Phares was born. He is our third little urchin and looked quite gargoylesque - as (in my opinion) all newly hatched children do. He will probably grow into his features and turn out to be a handsome brute (like his father), but if not he is still a keeper. 

The Lord has blessed us tremendously and now you can all be glad to know another gardener has entered this world to "go forth and subdue the earth" plucking asunder weeds and thorns and growing lots of good stuff (like artichokes and roses). 

Below are few pictures of the girls meeting their new brother. Helen enjoyed saying "bonk" and hitting him on the head and laughing. Lucy was a bit skeptical when first introduced, but warmed up and now enjoys holding him as long as he doesn't move or cry. 

Well, you probably also want to know how does the garden grow, but I am not too sure yet. I am hoping everything will be OK under martial law for a week or so while we adjust to this new part of our wonderful life.

Camping and more...

As it is plenty warm around here, it was time for our annual camping trip. We like to go up into the wilds of Mt. Rainier National Forest and pretend like we are roughing it for a day. Then we realize we aren't mountain men or settlers of the old days and come home to our comforts. It is very beautiful and green right now. We also some ROUSs there (rodents of usual size). I only captured a couple on camera, but we saw more and heard even more. 

Back at the old homestead, I am planning our fall/winter gardens. I planted for the fall garden this weekend. I know it is a little late, but with being busy I didn't get to it two weeks ago. Maybe we'll have an indian summer and it won't matter. I also ordered all of my winter garden seeds from Johnny's Seeds, so that will be the end of Aug/beginning of September project. 

Things have really warmed up here and I am having to water to stay on top of things. I know this is nothing to most people, but I don't always have to water as we get so much rain around these parts. The corn is almost ready and the peppers are close. Lots of good stuff!

A weekend in Montana...

I know it is a little late, but late is better than never. I could see the readers of this blog looking and saying, "He writteth not." It was not that I had forgotten, just that I was a bit busy. Our small family packed its bags and headed to Bozeman Montana. My step-sister's wedding was on last Saturday and we were among the merry throng. Then we drove back on Sunday night. It was a whirlwind tour, but very enjoyable. Grandma (my mom) was able to spend time with her grandchildren and it was pretty country to boot. Below are a few pictures we took. There isn't anything about gardening in this post, but as you can imagine, if you take a week off, the garden doesn't and the weeds seem to grow even faster. I am spending the rest of this week trying to catch up. Hopefully I'll have a more gardenic post for you soon.

On the 15th green