Today the girls came over to have dinner with us and to celebrate Don's birthday (which is actually on Tuesday). He's going to be 40-something. If the truth be known, this will be the last year he will be 40-something...but don't tell him that I let the cat out of the bag. Ha Ha Ha

We had a nice steak dinner and then chocolate cake (Don's favorite) with nuts on top. Jenn had to leave for work, but Nicole stayed and played a game with us. It was an enjoyable afternoon. Happy birthday week, Don!



Don and Nicole.

Champions

Friday night was the last game for this season of soccer, and Don's team won the championship! He held the other team to zero points! YEA DON!



Congratulations from the other team.



Championship T-shirts for all!


Saturday was the team barbecue and swim party...the perfect ending to a great season. CONGRATULATIONS!

God Be With You

I wanted to take a moment to post this picture of Nathan who has been deployed to Iraq as a member of the United States Army Dental Corps. We are very proud of his service to this nation that we love.

My father and all of my uncles served in WWII...my father as a medic in the Army on the front lines in the European theater. On my mother's side, my grandfather fought in WWI and my great-grandfather fought in the Civil War.

The Carters have been in this country since before it was a country (the 1600's) and have fought for this nation in every war she had had including the American Revolution and every war since. Don and his brothers served in the Army's 82nd Airborne; his youngest brother served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We have a deep and abiding respect for those who have served in our military.

Nathan, you come from a long line of service on your father's side of the family as well as my side of the family. You honor all of them and all of us as you serve. May your unselfishness and that of your wife and children be answered with blessings upon your heads. We love you!

"...How Does Your Garden Grow?"

The garden has begun to grow! We not only have fencing all around, shade cloth up, and birdnetting across any open spaces, but we also put a barrier cloth down on the ground to minimize the weeds. It looks like a light gray fiberous cloth. We cut holes in it to plant the seeds.

Here's the first squash plant coming up--YEA!


This is one of about 15 different pepper plants. This plant will end up producing golden bell peppers.



There are also at least a dozen green bean plants. We sure are looking forward to fresh green beans all summer!


The peas are also growing. We put them by the fence so they would have something to hook onto as they grow.


The strawberry patch doesn't look like much yet, but we are very hopeful.

These are some mixed herbs in a pot. It should be fun to see what grows since we don't really know for sure what kinds of seeds were mixed together.

We have several buckets around the edge of the garden where we are growing onions...

and tomatoes...lots of tomatoes...in several varieties.

We are looking forward to eating the fruits of our labors this year. Last year the rodents and birds ate more than we did. This year we hope to win the battle and maybe have enough in surplus to share with neighbors and put up in canning jars. Time will tell...

Easter With Family

We thoroughly enjoyed watching General Conference this weekend and appreciated the wonderful talks about the Savior, His resurrection, and our need to follow His perfect example.

We had Easter dinner at my mom's with family members who were in available. I was glad to see my niece, Angela, and her husband and kids. Holidays are much more fun with kids around.


My mom watching Aiden who collected most of the Easter eggs. But the eggs were not filled with candy as they were when we were kids. This time they were filled with Hot Wheels cars for the boys to play with.



My cousin Roger had to work (it's still tax season and he does people's taxes), but we were glad that his wife Jean joined us.



I should have gotten a better picture of my sister Susan. This one makes me smile because she and Don spent a lot of time playing with their cameras which are almost alike.



I spent a lot of time on the floor playing with Aiden and Tyler and wishing that my own grand kids could have been there.

This is Jon with Tyler (who will be 2 years old next month).

This is Angela, my niece. there was plenty of food to eat...and strawberry shortcake for dessert. YUMMY!

It was a fun time. I wish Nicole and Jennifer could have been there, but they were both working. It's hard to get everyone together with their busy schedules, but we try. I'm glad we have family close by.