A few things that are going on around here.

 Spencer and I have been trying to battle the pesky Aphids in our backyard.  We started out with the spray them off the bushes trees, etc. approach. But...they just kept coming back.  I thought that might be the case with this conservative approach...I just hoped it would work so we gave it a try.  But dang it...it didn't.  We decided to go with another organic approach, the praying mantis!!! Down at Star Nursery we got a few containers of praying mantis eggs in a cocoon ready to hatch. AWESOME!!! We should expect thousands of these babies to hatch and hopefully eat up the aphids within the week.

Not only are the aphids eating our plants but they also cause a sticky substance to form on the leaves that in turn attracts the ants.  And I'm not talking about a few either.  Ants are swarming all over our brick wall.  It's really gross. Ants really love us and we just can't seem to get away from them. For the gross Ants I bought some high powered Ant killer powder. There's no other way with those guys!

While at Star Nursery I saw a yard flag that I really liked. I have been trying to decide how I feel about them for quite a while now. I finally came to the conclusion that I like them and the color they bring to a yard. So I got one.  And I really like it. The boys don't really like it so much.  Spencer said, "Grandma's have yard flags and drink Cherry Seven-up.  Well except his grandma and his Oma but Oma likes cherry seven up." So there you have it. I guess I'm like a Grandma since I do one of the two things Grandma's do. I am of the yard flag variety.

 Eventually, I want to actually have color in our yard from real live flowers. But for now this makes me happy even if it's just a picture of the flowers I wish were there. One step at a time. Notice how nice and trimmed up our tree is?  And how about the gravel...you can't see any leaves or twigs in there can you?  Tyler cleaned it up and it looks good. Now we need to do some major weed picking and some planting of bushes and plants. I would also at some point like to paint the house so it has a little more contrast.

 While driving back from the store I was thinking (for some reason I do my best thinking while driving my little group around the town back and forth and all around again) I was thinking about my boys and how they are so willing to obey me and follow my directions if what I ask is clear and consistent. If I am kind they will do most of what I ask of them and I felt so grateful for these good little boys I have the privilege to raise. It's when I am confusing or unkind, frustrated, or have unreasonable expectations that they struggle.  I hope I can try each day even though it is really hard to remember how I should treat these special special boys. I love them so much.

Wich leads me to the next thing going on around here. Grant has been asking me if we can have a "Suggestion box" at home I thought it was a good idea and kept saying yes but never got around to making one. Untill finally a light bulb went off in my head. The next time he asked I had the presence of mind to say, "Sure, why don't you make one for us." He made it right away and seemed really pleased with the responsibility and my interest in the idea. It has three suggestions in it so far. I love each one of them. They are in Grant's handwriting and two at least are signed differently. He's trying to figure out how to sign his name. Matt, MGH? Is that cute or what?  So here is the first suggestion.

Since I cut dairy out of my diet and since Spencer needs a low-fat diet I don't use a lot of cheese in my meals. Grant has a mild milk allergy as well, even though he loves, LOVES dairy.  Tyler loves it too. So I have tried to bring more of it into our diet lately in a way that works for everyone. Last night I made a soup from our leftover ham and added a little CHEESE to it for those who can have it. I hope Grant notices how much I appreciate him and that his ideas and desires are important to me.

We picked up an Angry birds shirt for Spencer at H&M in Salt lake when we were down/up? there with Mary and Joe.  Tyler is really good at finding cool gifts for people. Things they really like and want at a killer price. He is always on the look-out for stuff like that. I love that about him!

Speaking of what people want and like and Tyler doing a good job providing that...Josh LOVES for his dad to throw him up in the air and he especially loves it at the dinner table where everyone is watching him. It's pretty adorable.  It even got me out of my bad mood. I am telling you the evenings are hard for me. I feel much better in the mornings. I am wiped out by 3 o'clock and I really struggle. So thank you family for dealing with me and doing fun things like making funny faces and laughing and being cute to help me get through the day.

Aphid killers

We noticed a few days ago that our plants have been infested with Aphids:(

Spencer and I tried to spray them all off today.  We read that doing this a few times a week might drive them away.  I hope it works.