I last updated this blog 5 weeks ago. FIVE WEEKS! Holy cow, has it ever been a long five weeks. This is gonna be a long rambling post.

We were in Oklahoma for 34 days and it seemed like it passed in a blur. We had such a good time getting to visit with family and friends and not feel like we had to rush to get to see everyone in a short time. Even though we were there for so long we STILL didn't get to see everyone. (Sorry if we missed you!)

The kids were good but it was hard on them to be away from home for so long. Plus my grandma's house, while a wonderful place to visit, is not exactly babyproofed. When the kids got bored or tired they knew just where to go to get into trouble. I lost count of how many times Audrey cleaned off Grandma's table beside her chair and rearranged the candle holders in front of the fireplace. It was a fun but exhausting trip.

Now we've been home for almost 2 weeks and are just settling back into our routine nicely. I was sad to leave Oklahoma but happy to get back to my own bed, my cat and West Virginia's cooler temperatures. Oh and Jason too! I did kind of miss him too. :)

We came home to a burnt up garden. Oklahoma wasn't the only one having some hot temperatures during that time. All the hard work we put into our garden, plants and flowers and now they are almost all dead. I could have cried when I saw my herbs on the deck just dried up and way past saving! Oh well...there's always next year! Hopefully I'll get started earlier next year and we'll actually get some veggies from our garden.

Last weekend we took the kids to Marker-Miller Orchard for their Peach Festival. It was nice weather for it. Warm but not too hot, cloudy with a cool breeze every once in a while. We picked a peck of peaches and both kids really enjoyed picking a peach right off the tree. They both came home covered in peach juice. I don't think I've ever tasted a better peach! We also got some zucchini, some amazing Ginger Gold apples, and some of their famous "apple cider doughnuts". Now let me tell you about these doughnuts. I lived here about 5 or 6 years and kept hearing about how good these doughnuts were. Even the 2 year olds at the daycare I worked for knew about apple doughnuts. Everyone here raves about them like they're the best thing you've ever put in your mouth. And they were mighty good, don't get me wrong. But with a name like Apple Cider Doughnuts, I was expecting them to taste...well, APPLE-y. Nope. For those of you who haven't tried an apple cider doughnut, think cake doughnut rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Now those of you who are locals reading this blog, don't get me wrong...they ARE delicious. But I think they need to change the name a little. When apple cider is the next to last ingredient on the list I don't think that is a very fitting name.

Anyway, enough ranting about weather and wrongly named doughnuts. I can't believe it is August 20th today. Where did the summer go?! Now it's apple season and back to school time. And I cannot even believe it is time for me to start planning Easton's birthday party. He's turning THREE! Holy cow! I am excited about another Fall here and making apple butter but feel like summer sure did pass me by. How about you?

I never promised you an herb garden...
Pictures of the herbs growing on my deck.
Basil


Flat-leaf parsley


Mint


Chives. Barely up through the soil but they're coming along.


I've also got cilantro, rosemary and lavender but I planted the seeds later than the chives so they're not quite up yet. Hopefully I can manage to keep these all alive. :) I either overwater or underwater but never water just right.

One morning I was sitting out on the deck enjoying a cup of coffee while Easton was taking his morning nap. I looked over at my lilly and WOW! It looked so beautiful aainst the bright blue sky I just had to grab my camera.







I just divided these lillies a few weeks ago and was praying I didn't hurt them in the process. I'd say they're adjusting well, wouldn't you?

Roses after the rain...
I'm so proud of my roses! They're doing beautifully and I'm so surprised I haven't managed to kill them yet. My brown thumb has accidentally killed many, MANY things in our garden but not these.