Asher's 2nd birthday

Happy 2nd birthday little Ashy!  Asher loves Elmo so we decided a Sesame street birthday was fitting.  He loved playing games and opening presents, but if you know Asher you'd know his favorite part was eating the cake.  He has grown up into such a sweet silly little boy.  He's talking a lot and is keeping up and holding his own with his older siblings quite well.  Along with the territory of the terrible two's he's already discovered that "no" is his favorite word in his vocabulary.  I can't believe my baby has grown into a little boy but lucky for me he still hasn't lost his adorable and irresistibly kissable cheeks.  Happy Birthday big boy!

 His Sesame street cake

 

 Asher playing "Cookie monster's cookie toss".

 

Caden's turn

 

 Elmo playing "Pin the nose on Elmo".  Asher thought Elmo needed a belly button rather than a nose.

 Tea reluctantly playing the game (why can't she just be cooperative).

 Our dirty little birthday boy.

 Asher was so excited about his presents.

 Riding his new Thomas tricycle.

 Caden decided the dogs needed to be part of the party too.  Poor Leila.

 Keelah is always such a good sport.

 Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar and Big bird cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Tea and Daddy

Happy 4th birthday to our little girl.  Téa LOVES Dora the explorer so that was the theme of her birthday.  The kids had to go on a real adventure to find the pinata that "Swiper the Fox" had swiped.  With the help of their maps and backpacks they made it safely through "Fiesta Forest",answered the questions so they could cross the "Troll bridge" and ended safely at "Foxes fort where the pinata was hiding.  The kids seemed to enjoy it and Téa was definitely worn out when the day was over.     

Daddy also celebrated a birthday this month (the day before Téa's party actually).  Poor guy his birthday always gets overlooked since Téa and him have birthdays 3 days apart.  Happy 36th birthday to mu handsome hubby!

The kids ready to go on their adventure.

Téa checking out her map.

The kids popping bubbles in "Bubble Bog".

They also helped Boots the monkey by playing "pin the boot on Boots".

Then they had to cross the grumpy old troll bridge.

And hop across the stones in Alligator lake.

Next they caught stars in "Ticos tunnels".

And found the pinata in foxes fort.

Here Téa is with one of her favorite birthday presents.  Thanks Uncle Cody for the enormous teddy bear.

Garden Time

Yay, it's the Kaizen Family's favorite time of the year.....Garden Time!  We've worked really hard this year to get our garden up and running.  We've added 2 new rows to our terraced hillside garden, and added lots of new plants.  My Christmas, birthday and mothers day present this year included 10 new fruit trees, 50 strawberry plants, grapes, raspberries, blackberries and boysenberries.  I was one excited lady.  I also wanted to get an early start on my garden this year so my wonderful hubby let me also order a small green house.  The kids have had a blast picking strawberries from the vine, pulling radishes and carrots from the ground and are anxiously awaiting their turn to dig for potatoes.   Here's a glimpse of the Kaizen family Garden. 

Our garden area- we terraced the hillside by hand (not an easy task) and built 4 rows.

Our experiment this year.  The bean tee pee, big enough for the kids to play in.

Row #1 - radishes carrots and tomatoes starting to take off.

Row #2- more tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower.

Broccoli- yum!

Aleverda cauliflower (it's a light green color)

Bell Peppers and sunflower.

Peas!

More pepper plants

Corn and squash

radishes

The potatoes are starting to sprout.

Tomatoes, beets and Pak Choi

Cabbage, turnips and kolrabi

Daikon radishes and chard

Celery

Strawberries

My herb garden- sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, lemon balm, parsley, chives

Blueberries

My "hardening off zone". 

The bean tee pee.

Aprium tree

Gala Apple tree

More tomatoes

Plum tree

Cherry tree

lime tree

lemon tree

 

My little green house

My first sprouts of the year

Naughty Chickens

More of my hardening off and anti-chicken zone.

Graffiti cauliflower (it's purple), and giant mustard.

Fuji apple tree

Raspberries

Grapes

Avocado tree

Tangelo tree

Looking down towards our lower yard.  The chicken coop and run are on the left and the terraced garden area is on the right.

 

We decided rather than paying for landscaping rocks we'd use what mother nature provided to us.  We've been rock hunting and climbing down hillsides after these beauties.