Sometimes the sun shines in Oregon

And we make the most of it!

Saturday was a gorgeous day, the nicest day of the year so far. So we took full advantage. We’ve rented a garden plot at our local Community Garden, so we spent the morning pulling weeds and planting a few more things. So far we have planted peas, radishes, lettuce, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, parsley, turnips (because Lexi wanted them), onions, and probably something else I’m forgetting. Here’s a shot of the garden, not from the best angle, but you can see how big it is (the plan is that the fence in the frontish will eventually be covered in peas). We were expecting something no bigger than 4’ x 6’, sort of like the garden plots at the University Village, and wound up with a 20 square foot garden!

Vicki spent the morning planting the little plot we’ve given her. She planted carrots, broccoli (good girl!) and sunflowers.
Lexi and Ellie mostly played in the rocks, but they had a good time and think it’s really fun going to the garden, so that’s all that matters.
Surprisingly, despite the beautiful weather, we were the only people there all morning long. In a way that’s nice, but we’re kind of hoping to meet a few of our fellow gardeners, especially the ones with the plot that looks like they’ve been cultivating it for years! We need some tips!

In the afternoon we decided to run over to the high school and shoot off the rockets the girls gave Chris for Christmas. We invited our friends the Humphreys to come with us, and the kids had a great time. We managed to only lose one of the four rockets we shot off, the smallest one, whose fluorescent green color stood out great in the snow at Christmastime, but didn’t work so well in the green grass of the football field. We found the motor, but the rocket is apparently gone forever. Vicki shot off her rocket that Uncle Blaine gave her…

…and Chris shot off the two that he painted himself (the colors in the kits are pretty cheesy, especially for a design-minded person). We call this one The Black Widow.
Everyone had a great time, and we’re really glad we spent most of the day outside, since by Sunday night it was raining and cold again. However, the good news is that after living here for nearly three years, we know that the sun will come out again!

Here are some more random pictures from the day:

Lexi posing for the camera (this is what comes naturally for her whenever there’s a camera around. What am I going to do with her?)
Ellie peeking through the fence. I know she looks like a jailbird, but it’s a cute picture!
Ellie and her very best friend Anna. I finally got a shot of them hugging!
By the way, if the pictures all look a little blue, it's because the light setting on the camera was somehow set for incandescent light, which, not surprisingly, doesn't work so well outside in full sunshine. So I fixed them on Photoshop the best I could, but I know they still don't look quite right.