What 7lbs of lavender looks like…

The kids are in bed on time.  Chores are done so the house is not a disaster area.  I made a wonderful dinner pulled from the garden (buttered cabbage with dill!  YUM!).  And yesterday I spent about an hour harvesting lavender.  It smells like it in my house too.  Tiny bunches of lavender are hanging from strings and I keep wanting to make a garland or something out of them for the mantel.  But I can’t seem to take it from the basket it’s so beautiful!

I have such a torn relationship with this stuff.  Honestly, it’s an ugly plant...  Except when it’s not.  9 months out of the year it looks like a hedge of dead tumble weed has landed in my front walk…  but in June and July the stuff couldn’t be more stunning!  And I make things out of it every year. 

Blueberry Lavender Jam (INCREDIBLE!  It’s now a family favorite I give away for Christmas.)

Lavender and Twig Stars (Amazing for a mantel or hanging in a window as the weather starts to get colder.)

More garden posts to come, because it’s all going crazy out there!  I have pounds and pounds of peas pouring in (3lbs just today!), cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and the start of the years herbs including basil which is starting to bush out and really produce!  The weather has taken a turn for the beautiful and I am out there most of the time, just sucking it up!

Hope summer is treating you all well!

{Spontaneous Gratitude for Boy’s Day}

Today I am so incredibly grateful for…

For this incredible little boy, basking in the sunshine.

For this amazing big boy, doing the same thing in the next room.

For this baby, resting.

For the warmth of an almond milk latte with a hint of caramel.

And for some new crafts for a ‘girl’ moment.

Have a blessed and peaceful day!

The history of Spontaneous Gratitude.

Boy’s Days

Cyan went to stay at a friends house this weekend.  So it was just me and the boys.  I was in cleaning mode when she left which led to a discovery in Alex’s closet.  I don’t think that kid had a scrap of clothing that fit without holes in it!

So while I was thrifting this weekend, I was on a mission for pretty much a whole new wardrobe for that kid… and he got one! He is set for the summer and the start of the school year. This lead into a 4 hour clothes fashion show with his new duds so I could compile a list of outfits that were tasteful, modest, and looked good together.  We ended with taking pictures of his newly arranged outfits and making a photo collage so that he can reference this for outfit ideas when he is stumped.

From then we moved on to fun. 

First, some sports camp at church:

Then, Ultimate Frizbee on the most beautiful day we have had in weeks!

Dad went to work and I stopped by the store to grab some diet Coke and Mentos to play with:

     

And after making their favorite dinner (Stroganoff with Bison meat) I got out some duct tape and made a jet pack out of the diet Coke bottles for Logan.

  

He has worn that jet pack for the past 24 hours strait if you don’t count sleep time.  He jets all around the house with it.  He is demanding I make him a wrist band that controls the jet pack and is requesting a helmet as well… we shall see buddy. 

Luke this whole time was content to putter around and have tastes of our root beer floats which were the requested ‘boy’ dessert…  But Logan has grand plans of making him a jet pack too… out of the smaller root beer bottles!  What can I say?  Give boys duct tape and recyclables and they will create a whole world!