Zach received 3 different “awards” including A/B honor and two teacher awards.
He also presented the teacher awards. I was very proud and impressed with his ability to do this!
After the 3 hour ceremony, we all enjoyed lunch together!
Braxton had a pre-school graduation ceremony on Friday June 7th. Haley flew in to attend along with Zach’s 8th grade ceremony. Of course we all showed up in force to celebrate with him!
Braxton and “his wife” Dallas who we all love and adore!
This winter has been extremely mild and wet. Last weekend, the temperature was around 60 degrees. We took the opportunity to get outside and started working on some areas to grow foods. I am hoping to be able to can more than I have in the past and I also want to grow more than I have in the past. I decided that I needed to make a couple of changes for this year.
We removed the large and tall, wire that was on the back of the building. Last year, I attempted to grow cucumbers and had limited success, even with using starts that I had purchased. I decided that I would try something different. We decreased the size to just about my height and moved the wire to a 12 foot bed. The ideas is that I should be able to grow at least 24 cucumber plants along this trellis! I am going to try to plant one side and then about four weeks later plant along the other side. My goal is to can a years supply of cucumbers and make cucumber relish as well. Time will tell.
I want to try and grow lufas this year and needed a space so we attached another section of wire to both of the beds. The lufas should grow down and feel the space.
Today 2/17/2024, I planted 50 seeds for spinach. It would be nice to start getting some fresh spinach but also grow enough to freeze for use next winter. I started 12 broccoli plants inside as well. I have attempted to overwinter some green pepper plants in the greenhouse but decided to go ahead and order seeds as well. I would love to grow enough peppers not only for fresh eating but to stock the freezer as well. We will be attempting to grow bell peppers, wax peppers (these worked really really well in salsa and some lunchbox peppers as well.
This is totally Matt’s idea but it is a great idea so I wanted to share. This is the bike rake that fits in the Tahoe trailer hitch. Matt drilled a couple of precise holes in the frame of the trailer and put the hitch in the side. This way it keeps everything off the ground and also prevents the straps from getting broken off.
This week we also headed to Goodwill to try and find some clothes that were needed. We ended up with 7 shirts for $22. Next stop was Belk’s by shopping the clearance racks we found 4 shirts for Zach for $42.00.
Remember every little bit counts!
I am starting to feel better again! I started with a new and much more fun cold last Thursday. I came home from work on Friday and literally stay in the house spending most of the time in bed until Monday morning. Today, I have lots of congestion, but no headache and less coughing!
I am going to continue the pantry challenge into both February and March. The rules are that we only purchase items we are out of. So far the lack of fresh fruit has been the problem so we did purchase some last week. We are planning a trip to Costco this weekend. I am going to work hard to only purchase our drinks for a month which is 2 cases of water, 1 case of diet cokes and 1 case of Dr. Peppers. Matt is getting his tea on subscribe and save so I am going to omit the case of regular cokes. We also need flour and rice, bacon and sour cream. This will not be a cheap trip but my hope is this will help us hold the course. I have also reviewed and decreased our Subscribe and Save for February as well, I know that this will be $200. I also need to order more laundry detergent for Lily which is $70. Along with the Costco Trip I will be doing well to keep the budget at $500 for the month. I will also be purchasing some fruits and veggies for our Junk Food Sunday. Again I may end up around $700 for February. I am going to be ok with it because I am still saving money and rotating the pantry. I am starting to see a difference in our pantry and freezers so this is all a good thing.
On a positive note, we are currently getting an average of 4 eggs a day which definitely helps with protein intake and grocery expenses
We have started with our busy Spring Season of sports. This week we have both swim and baseball practice. Which means that Friday is the only evening that we will not be running somewhere. I have been enjoying my easier, cook or heat meals so we will continue with those which will also help with our grocery budget.
It has reached our 60 day mark for our spring Disney Trip! I was able to get up super early and got all the reservations that I wanted! I can’t wait!
Braxton got his face painted as well! 
The girls headed to do a little bit of shopping at Target and Ross. Lots of football was watched as well. I ended up back at the camper early. But everyone else set off fireworks and played with sparkers! It is always nice to spend time with family.
I put my toes in the water, it was cold. Zach and Braxton played in the water. Everyone else watched them as the water was too cold. We all enjoyed just being on a beach the first day of 2024!