Tomatoes

We have four tomato plants growing in our yard. Two are overflowing with unripe tomatoes, one is starting to show promise, and the last was only planted a couple weeks back so it has some catching up to do. We've had a handful of tomatoes in our meals this past week and unfortunately I never though about photographing them in their bright red glory until after they were picked, cut and eaten. Figures. So here's a photo of an almost-ripe tomato. I imagine we'll eat him this weekend, along with a few of his close neighbors and friends.

Now, I know what you're thinking: another boring blog post about tomatoes. Either swimming lessons or the garden--time to show us something new. And I agree with you. These next few weeks are going to be action packed so stay tuned for fun different posts with cute photos. At least that's what I'm hoping...

Miss Congeniality

Thursday was the last day of swim lessons for Maggie. It's a little disappointing because we had such a great time, but I know there will be more swimming in store this summer and we'll definitely do lessons again next year. Here is a photo from her gold medal ceremony. Thankfully she didn't try to jump off the podium as I expected she would. Also, here's a photo of her crawling on the floating duck. Notice how Maggie's the only one on it? Well, all the other kids jumped off and swam to their moms. Maggie decided she wasn't quite ready for the lessons to end (it was the very last thing we did that day) so she decided to stay on and play. It was hilarious and everyone in (and out of) the pool was laughing. You're not? I guess you had to be there...

Nevermind

Here's a photo a swim instructor took of Maggie underwater last week. Hard to tell that she's enjoying herself because she's not wearing her usual smile, but she really did like it. Promise.

Peach Party

On Friday Maggie and I went to a peach party. It wasn't your regular everyday peach party though, it was for someone famous! OK, not hugely famous, but a local organic grape and peach farmer, author and regular columnist for the Fresno Bee. His name is David Mas Masumoto and my dad introduced me to his column a few years back. He's a great writer and to top that he seems to be a humble, hardworking, genuinely nice man.

The party was to celebrate a huge honor for his family and his farm: they were featured in the July 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living. In a 10-page spread! Hello! I love peaches, organic fruit, parties, and Martha Stewart so of course we had the party on the calendar as soon as we heard about it.

Unfortunately in a rush to get there on time we left the house without my regular camera. Bummer!
Sadly Maggie and I had to cut out soon after the party started (pesky nap schedule!) but we were there long enough to get our copy of the magazine signed by the man of the day and to taste a sampling of his super sweet, juicy, healthy peaches.

Summer Sandals

Maggie has some new summer sandals. They are super cute and she likes them. Apparently they taste as well as they look because the first time we strapped them to her feet she started gnawing on them.

Fans of Fans

 

Since this was Chad's first Father's Day Maggie wanted to make it a Father's Day Weekend instead of just one Sunday. To start it off she gave Chad fans for our outside patio. He's wanted them for awhile now but neither of us made it a priority to get them. Maggie decided that now was the right time so I took her to Lowe's to pick some out. She didn't pick the right ones but at least he had something to open and compare. Early Saturday morning we were off to Lowe's and Home Depot in search of the perfect ceiling fans. And we think he found them. After we got the fans home our friend Mark saved the day and helped us install them. For about 3 1/2 hours! They greatly improve the look of our patio and will definitely come in handy during the warm summer months.

Happy Father's Day

Today is Chad's first Father's Day as a dad. And I'd say it's a pretty great day. He's a super awesome dad and Maggie loves him so much. It's only 10am and he's already been playing with her non-stop, as you can see below.

To all the dads out there, especially to my dad and to Chad: Happy Father's Day!  We love you.

Asparagus and Raspberries

For the past three weeks we house-sat for our neighbors. They have a super fantastic backyard with a pool and a garden. And they grow unusual things. OK, not unusual, but plants I've never attempted to grow before. Like asparagus. And golden raspberries. While they were gone we ate the stuff that was ripe. Oh come on, it would all rot otherwise and we certainly didn't want that...

Early Harvest

So far not much in our garden is ready for harvest. We have lots of greening tomatoes and I expect many of them will be ripe in the next few weeks.  Our grapevine, surprisingly, is doing really really well. We can't believe how many bunches of grapes are growing. Since this is the first year they've sprouted we're not sure how long it'll take for them to be ready to eat. So here's a photo of what they look like at this point. To give you some perspective, these grapes are each bigger than a pea but smaller than a marble. That's the best comparison I can muster.

They Call Her Flipper

Maggie had a great first week of swim lessons. Tuesday of this week, however, was a bit of a struggle. She loved playing in and splashing the water but hated being forced to go under. There were intermittent cries and by the end of the lesson that day she was over it. Thursday, on the other hand, was a different story. My parents came to watch (and cheer her on) and she did really well. She waved and smiled at my dad between each swim and seemed to enjoy herself again. In fact, she wore flippers for the whole lesson! (Not everyone in the class has graduated to wearing flippers yet so let me brag a little, OK?) Next week she tries out the snorkel and soon after that we're looking forward to a class field-trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

Carboat

A few weeks back Maggie received an inflatable carboat floatie and this week we've gotten lots of use out of it. Sunday we went swimming with some friends who have a pool, and for a little while now we've been house-sitting for some neighbors who also have a pool. With the weather warming like it has been we thought it was the perfect opportunity to get a little swimming in. Or in Maggie's case, floating. She definitely likes the carboat, as you can tell by her newest super happy face in the photo. I like it because it keeps her entertained and the top keeps her shaded and sunburn-free.

Grizzlies

Fresno has a minor league baseball team called the Grizzlies. We got tickets from Groupon to watch the game on Saturday and we invited my parents to come along. The first part of the game (against the Sacramento River Cats) was slow, but as soon as the Grizzlies started scoring it got exciting. The breezy weather was wonderful. Going to the game was a great way to spend a Saturday evening for sure.

Farmers' Market

Every Friday during the spring and summer seasons our town has a farmers' market. It's a nice little event with fresh local fruits and vegetables, plus live entertainment, booths and food. We went to the first market of the season and it was chilly and windy. Weird! Unfortunately my point-and-shoot camera battery was about to die, but here's a photo of Chad and Maggie at one of the booths. See that top row of zucchini just to the right of Chad? We bought that. It was delicious.

New Kicks

Maggie is already just like us. For years and years I had pink shoes like this. In fact, I just finally tossed them when we moved into this house. Chad has Vans snowboarding boots like this, only his are black and a bit thicker for the snow. Even though they're a bit big, we wanted Maggie to wear them early so she'll have lots of time in them. Too cute!

Like a Fish

For Mother's Day I was given Mommy and Me swimming lessons at a local swim school. They are scheduled for twice a week through June and today was our first day. Fortunately Chad was able to come by and watch Maggie during his lunch break this afternoon.

Each lesson is 30 minutes and already Maggie is doing well. She didn't cry when I put her under the water for a few seconds, but did look a bit shocked and surprised each time she came up for air. She gleefully kicked her legs during the entire lesson (Maggie's tell-tale sign of happiness) and smiled for most of it. It's going to be a fun month!