Ralph

Growing up, my sister and I lived on enough land to have lots of creatures romp through our yard on a regular basis. The poor little animals; anytime one caught our eye, we immediately grabbed a box and "saved" it. We caught everything from birds and lizards to rabbits and mice. Unfortunately, it usually didn't end well for the animals.

Douglas and I lived in a small apartment for the first 6 years of being married. I desperately missed being outside and seeing little animals run through the yard. So you can only imagine my excitement when "Ralph" showed up on the front door step of our new house this morning. When I saw him, I let out a squeal and I immediately wanted to "save" him. But I held back, brought him some lettuce, and as soon as the coast was clear, he booked it into the woods. Good call, Ralph, you narrowly escaped from being "saved."

Flynn: One Year Session

Little Flynn is a year old! This sweet little boy had his one-year photos taken on his actual birthday, so it was extra special! The session was packed with location changes, fun props, his first cupcake, and photos with mom, dad, and grandma. As always, Flynn was adorable...he just gets cuter and cuter each time I see him!

Not So Green Thumb

When Douglas and I bought our house this year, I couldn't wait to plant my very first garden. After only a few months in the house, March rolled around and I rushed to buy as many veggies and herbs as I could muster. I planted rosemary, cilantro, sage, chives, and basil. I tended to my cucumber, pepper, leek, and zucchini beds with care. I had visions of overflowing herb containers and having so many veggies that I could share them with friends. I imagined zucchini bread baking in our oven, cilantro garnishing every salad and taco, and fresh basil topping our pastas.

Never did it occur to me that I really didn't know what I was doing. I mean, how hard could it be? I grew up gardening and you basically plant, water, and harvest. So simple. Well, it wasn't so simple. As the season went buy, my zucchini and cucumber plants got a gross, slimy fungus, and the sage and cilantro shriveled in the heat. My green peppers were tiny and my leeks looked pitiful.

It was a sad garden, not the bountiful garden I'd imagined. But I'm holding onto the small victories. As the summer comes to a close, I have more jalapeños than I can count, I managed to pick two cucumbers and zucchinis before the fungus infestation, and the basil and rosemary are growing out of their containers.

So although I may not have the greenest of thumbs, at least I can grow one mean jalapeño!