The Melons are In!

Well, I thought I would never say it, but the garden is finally finished!  Ok, it may never actually be finished, but everything is finally planted.  I've had 2 watermelon and 2 cantaloup plants that have been in dire need of getting into the ground for weeks.  Remember this side of the garden?  This is where I intended on them going to they would have plenty of room to spread their vines.

Luckily it didn't look this bad this morning.  About a month ago I sprayed the heck out of these weeds with Round-Up and spread weed-blocker over the area to keep weeds from coming back.  But I still felt overwhelmed thinking about tackling this portion of the garden.  Thanks to my step-dad and his farming knowledge, I think we are in good shape now.  He brought the tiller over and we made a nice mound in the center to allow for proper drainage.  Watermelons and cantaloup require lots of space for the vines to spread out, so we planted each of them about 3-4 feet apart.  Here's our progress before and after we laid out the weed-blocker.

 I actually had 2 more tomato plants also, so we placed them in the middle.  We used some rocks and 2x4s to hold the edges down on the weed-blocker.  And I'll get some pine-straw to cover it all and clean it up a bit.  And the other side of the garden is making a lot of progress as well.  The cucumbers have EXPLODED!  They are out of control!!  Let's take a look at the garden when it was originally planted...and then what it looks like today...

 See all that green in the middle? That's cucumber vines!  You can't hardly distinguish between the plants anymore.  Next year, the cucumbers are going somewhere else where they can spread out more.  See the little cucumbers starting to sprout?

And here's our tomatoes on the porch...before.....and today.

So the fruits and veggies are making some progress.  Unfortunately, there are some bugs getting to the plants out in the raised bed, but hopefully some Seven Dust will take care of those.  Fingers crossed everything continues to do well, or even better!

Can we stay forever?

What else have we done this week?  A lot more beach, a lot more pool, a few more bike rides, a yummy dinner at the Red Bar, and just some good family time.  We figured out there's a pool right next to the house we are in (literally right across the street), so it's quick and easy to get to (and, another bonus, it's MUCH less crowded than the pool by the beach).

 

 

Bennett has gotten more and more adventurous in the pool (and the ocean) throughout the week.  He was loving swimming on his own with his floaties and being thrown up into the air.

 

 We've been taking more trips to Seaside since it's just a quick bike ride down the street.  Callen, Houston, Greg and I hung out at the Marketplace (ya know, the one from The Truman Show) just sitting on the porch, chatting and laughing at some pretty ridiculous conversations between the 4 of us.  Back at the house, we've been trying to cook a lot of meals to help save money.  But last night we went to dinner at The Red Bar.  It was so good!

We've had so much fun this week!  It's been so nice getting away from everything and enjoying a whole week at the beach.  And Watercolor could not be more perfect.  We've been away from the crowds and craziness of the bigger beaches and condos.  Everything around us is so kid-friendly since we're walking and biking distance from everything we've done this week.  The house we're staying in is GORGEOUS, and sweet Elizabeth who has opened it up for us to use this week is an angel.  What a wonderful week this has been!

a perfect match

I want to take a break from beach posts to write about my dear friends John and Leah.  May 6th was a beautiful Sunday, perfect for a quiet garden wedding.  Leah and John's relationship started out similar to mine and Greg's.  John instantly fell for Leah, but she needed some convincing.  But these two could not be more perfect for each other, and it didn't take long for them to figure that out.  They are both very outgoing, fun-loving, outdoorsy, family-devoted people, and I'm so happy I could be part of their special day.  And they stood right by our side for our wedding day as well!

Oh, and at our wedding, Leah caught my bouquet and John caught the garter!!  AND THEY GOT ENGAGED THE NEXT WEEKEND!  We love them so much and could not be happier for them :)

The weekend started out wonderfully with a bridesmaids luncheon at Nabeel's in Homewood.  Ever since college, it's been one of our favorite spots to eat when our girlfriends all get together.  And it was so nice having ALL our girls together in one city again.  We figured out we had not all been together since college graduation day 4 years ago!  Saturday evening's rehearsal went smoothly, and the rehearsal dinner was right next to the Alabama Theatre downtown.  They even got the theatre to put their names on the marquee!  (Photo courtesy of 205 Photography.)

 Then Sunday was the big day!  John and Leah didn't see each other at all that day.  And it was so sweet when they finally met eyes as she walked down the aisle.  I couldn't see Leah from where I stood, so I watched John.  And he was so sweet!  He kept having to look down to hold back a tear, which of course got me and Dana tearing up.  The weather was beautiful, and Leah was stunning!

 

She picked out these beautiful pinkish/purple dresses.  It was so fun that the whole bridal party was made up of our closest girlfriends.  These girls mean the world to me!

 

 The day was perfect!  Congrats John and Leah!!

beach life

 We are having so much fun this week.  Our second day at the beach was just as great, if not better!  I actually got in the ocean today to ride some waves with Evey.  Yesterday, Greg and her daddy had to take her cause it was too cold for us other ladies ;)  But, I braved it today with them and she laughed and had a ball!  Even Bennett (who cried tears at the beginning of our beach day yesterday when the ocean water touched him) was out in the waves with us having a great time!  We buried Greg in the sand and then later buried Evey.

After our routine beach and pool morning, we came back for lunch and naps.  While the kids napped, Greg, Callen and I went on a bike ride over to Seaside.  We walked around a little, then took the scenic route back to the house.

Then Greg and I went fishing for a bit.  Yesterday's fishing attempt wasn't too successful, so today Greg got us some live shrimp to use as bait.  It worked much better!  Greg caught one, and then we had 3 others that got hooked but squirmed their way off the hooks before we could reel them all the way up to the bridge where we stood.  I even hooked one! (but, he was one who got away).

 All week we'll be dividing up dinners amongst couples to save money not going out every night.  Tonight was our turn to cook, and we made meatloaf and garlic red potatoes.  Luckily, I think everyone loved it :)  After dinner, we took the kids back out to the bridge to fish before bedtime.  Our shrimp had mostly died by then (or maybe fish just aren't hungry at that hour).  No luck this time.  But we'll definitely try again tomorrow :)