Attack of the Killer Tomato (Worm)

Carter and I planted a fantastic garden this summer. We even protected the tomato and pepper plants with netting. When we returned from California this past weekend, we checked on the plants. To our dismay, our tomato plant was missing branchfuls of leaves. D'oh!

We thought it might be an animal getting through our netting based on the large grenade shaped presents left for us at the base of the plant.

After a few more branches were eaten clean, we got FED UP. So at dinner tonight I Googled "What eats tomato leaves?" It turns out, an insect does!!! It also turns out it camouflages so well with the plant you often don't see it. We had to go out for a second look, and based on the size of this Tomato Hornworm, I can't believe we missed it the first time. It was the size of a finger and it totally blended in with the plant!

Carter was brave enough to endure my shrieks and dump the worm in soapy water (it doesn't bite, but that knowledge didn't deter my skittishness). Carter even pulled the worm out of the water so we could get this last image. 

The enemy is DONE.

Long live the tomato plants.

Oh the reasons I love my mom!

Because she'll still do stuff like this!

well, that is not really the reason I love my mom, but it sure makes her fun! :)

My mom has given up her last two Mays/Junes (her favorite time of the year in Chicago) to be with her kids during important times (our wedding last year, this year to be on the east coast for three reasons: to be with Jamie, Chad and Milo during and post Milo's surgery, to be with Dan post surgery, and to go to Rob's wedding!) She is so supportive and we appreciate her so much... I don't tell her enough! I don't think there is a day that goes by that I don't talk to her on the phone... even if I don't have anything new to tell her.

Thanks for all of your support mom. I love you!

spring planting...

Today has been absolutely lovely in terms of weather, so we decided to be outside as much as possible. We raked the grass (or Carter raked and I tried to rake :)  ), picked up sticks, mowed the lawn and planted some edible delights. :)

Below are some pictures of the results!

Cilantro, sweet basil, lemon basil and sage in the left pot, and a container tomato plant in the right pot.

Red pepper, green pepper and jalapeno's in the left pot and rosemary, oregano and mint in the right. 

We really have no clue what we are doing, and are a little scared of what the rabbits that run rampant in the back yard will do, but we thought we could at least enjoy them for a little bit as they are!

Spring has sprung!

I've been really antsy for warmer weather so I can ride my bike outdoors. The only problem was I have COMPLETELY worn my tires down to the threads...

The inner tubes still held air, but I wouldn't feel comfortable riding on the road like this anymore!

Yesterday was the first beautiful spring day and I just couldn't resist getting ready to ride outside again. 

I now have new tires and was even able to get a short ride in before sundown. hooray!

     

MAC CHAMPS!

Now that I have a job at a bank, I don't have as many free hours to blog! The next few posts will all be things we have done/been a part of since our parents visited in February (that's right, a month and a half ago!)

Carter's season just ended after a fantastic run in the post-season. Post-season play began in Cleveland with the MAC tournament. Ball State upset Bowling Green in the last minute of the Championship Game, earning the teams first ever trip to the NCAA tournament. The game was SO STRESSFUL, but so fun at the same time (It helped that we won)! My parents surprised me by coming to the game on their way home from Philadelphia, and I have been kicking myself for not getting a picture with them at the game!

The game was at the Q, where the Cavaliers play, so that was a fun environment to be in as well. 

Here are some pics from the games...

Carter cutting down the net!

MAC Champs! Time to celebrate :)

Carter continues to test his cake baking/decorating skills. This cake actually made the newspaper. It was part of the NCAA selection show festivities :) oh yeah, it tasted really good too! 

Who turned out the lights?

During the winter months of grade school the above was a common saying, as long as it was tied to a joke. One kid would pull down another kids hat in front of his/her eyes and say, "Hey, who turned out the lights?" Well, last week Carter and I were graced by the visit of his parents and my parents. We had a few technical difficulties though. On Wednesday we were hit with a big wind and rain storm. This was our street...

We went to Carter's game on Wednesday night and we returned home to no power... until FRIDAY morning. We were one of the last 32 homes to get their power back... out of 21,000!! What a way to treat our guests!

The house got pretty cold, especially by Thursday night. We went to get some hot coffee from Starbucks and they don't brew decaf after noon (that seemed very backwards to me). Thankfully they brewed us a special pot so we could keep our guests a little bit warmer! Also, we had no hot water, so on Thursday night we went to Ball State to get cleaned up in the locker rooms! I told Helen and Jay that we just wanted to put some more adventure in their lives. Really though, we still had a blast with them and were SO THANKFUL they came out!

Helen and Jay by candle light...

The flash of the camera was the most light we had all evening!

What's so funny?

On Christmas Eve Grandma Shaw came over and everyone got a turn to take some pictures with her. By the time it was time for Carter and me for this special privilage, Grandma got a little goofy! She was laughing so hard it made all of our tummys' hurt. Also, we ended up taking some very serious pictures because we were trying so hard not to laugh. And don't worry, I did not egg her on at all ;-). I only said before every picture, "Don't laugh Grandma!" Definitely good memories from Christmas!

February 4, 1993

Today is my getting braces anniversary. On this day in sixth grade I got braces. They were so cool. I also got to wear headgear at night, which made me drool. 

awesome

 

Praise the Lord and pass the gravy!

Today I was going to put up some more pictures of Christmas at the Shaw's house, but before I could Carter found our camera that has been missing since the middle of October!!! I am SO THANKFUL. I have missed it so much :) Therefore I am going to put up a picture or two that was still on the camera that I have finally been able to download!

Eleanor, Ezra and I have a fun time rough housing

Breakfast with College Buddies.

Some of the Trick or Treaters that visited our home. Actually, they are his co-workers! So fun!

I love snow!

As many of you know, we were hit pretty hard with a snow storm Tuesday night. Officially we got 12.8 inches of snow, more than Muncie has gotten in 50 years! In order to save money this winter, the mayor had announced they were cutting back on salting and plowing, particularly overtime hours and side streets. Well, I had to work on Wednesday and getting to work is a story on it's own! NOTHING had been plowed and my little Nissan Sentra just LOVED getting stuck in the intersections... scary!

I work on a very busy road and it didn't get plowed until one in the afternoon. It turns out the mayor was on vacation in Hawaii, and she got back late Wednesday. She missed out on all the fun! When I got home from work the sun was just setting and they had just plowed our road. Thankfully, our neighbor had shoveled our driveway, so I didn't have problems getting into the garage. However, after work I did have to get shoveled out of my spot and then pushed out!

Anyhow, it was just BEAUTIFUL outside when I got home and I couldn't resist some pictures. This is something that I have enjoyed since moving here!

Our little miracles!

Carter and I received an Aerogarden for Christmas. When we first moved to Indiana, we thought that we maybe would be able to have fresh herbs all year round in our outside garden, but it turns out the 4-8 inches of snow we are going to get tonight may prevent that (oh, and the cold, ice, sleet that we have been getting ALL winter may prevent it as well!) Ok, we didn't REALLY think we could do that, but we did think we could grill in the winter. So far, we haven't even been tempted ;)

Anyhow two weeks ago we planted our crops in the Aerogarden: Sage, Genovese Basil, Lemon Basil, Parsley, Thyme, Oregano, and Savory. 

Here is Carter trying to stop my from taking his picture by making a goofy face... has that EVER stopped me before?!?!?! :)

Take Two: Carter deciding which 7 of the 14 herbs to plant

After two weeks, we are seeing the fruits of our labor (or electricity bill, not sure which ;)  

The Genovese Basil is our strongest competitor so far, with the others following closely behind. I think we planted the Oregano in the rocky soil, because it sprouted up quickly and has since withered to nothing but a very small sprout. I am not sure that is the right analogy (maybe the shallow soil?), but you get the idea. We'll keep you posted on how our little babies are growing. :)

Spoons...

My last night in Philly Maddie and Evie came down in matching Wheaton shirts and tutus... very cute! 

Then I went upstairs to the CLEANED UP girls room. Evie was so excited that she had floor space, she and Jamie decided to have a hoe down and do some do-ce-do-ing. :-)  (I have no idea if any of things are spelled correctly... please forgive :)   )

Evie also did some spinning...

And after the kids went to bed, our family broke from our traditional games and played spoons. The game did get pretty vicious, but there were no broken bones... thank goodness. It was a very active and very fun change of pace from the norm! Chad, Brian, Dad and Kristie all made it to the final four, with Brian ending up winning.

Such goofballs (in a great way!)

Carter and I were fortunate to fly to Utah over Christmas to see his parents and his sister Jeanne and her family. We also got to see some of his extended family too, which was great! We had such a good time... The time was just too short! We took a few pictures on Christmas Eve and by the end of the photo shoot, we all went a little crazy! :)

Girls Nights Sleepover

Over Christmas break I visited the kiddos in Philly (and the siblings in Philly too :)  ) We arrived in Philly around the kids bedtime, and Evie immediately asked me to sleep in her room. I told her I'd think about it, and asked her where I would sleep. She told me she would clear me off a space on the floor. Well, I got up there when I went to go to bed and this is what the room looked like:

I don't think there she got around to clearing a space!

Evie and I took a self-picture in the morning...

and here is Maddie showing off her Christmas present from her lofted bed!

work and snow

For those of you who are reading this and don't know, I recently took a job at a bank. Last week during training our trainer let us go home early because of snow. I took this picture to show all of you in Cali what it's like here on a pretty regular basis: gray and dirty snow :)

Actually, you can't tell but it was snowing a lot in this picture and we ended up getting a good amount of snow, so this day ended up more pretty than "non-snowing" days. :)

catching up...

So I haven't blogged in a while, so I figured I would just post a different pic every day. Here is a picture of a BEAUTIFUL Indiana sunset we had last November. I am hoping that we get some more of these soon :)

We're not in California anymore Toto... I mean Carter!

I came up to Chicago to visit my brothers who are in town for Christmas and was surprised (ok, not really) by yet another Chicago winter storm!

Here is Sunday's forecast...

A high of TWO

And here is the storm advisory. 40 mph winds and temps near zero... sounds fabulous!

And there was also an ice storm before I left Indiana. All the trees looked like there were under the spell of the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. This is at a rest stop...

Ezra being goofy

Eleanor showing off her reading skills.

Uncle Dan being goofy.