it's a dirty business!

our new plant markers.

most of saturday was spent out in our garden.

(oh how i love to say our garden.)

it was all sunshine, and dirt, and sweat, and impromptu water fights.

and was fondly reminiscent of my childhood.

because gardening was always a family affair growing up.

even the most uncooperative could not escape it.

the lunch hours, evenings & saturdays of early spring filled themselves with planting.

and those precious first days of heat found us side by side in the dirt.

dad would dictate what, where, and how much to plant in the vegetable garden.

and show us the particular ways of placing the different seeds.

inevitably the frustration of teaching 6 kids under the age of ten the intricacies of gardening would get the better of him. and angry outbursts were as much a part of this ritual as the childish giggles that followed.

mom coordinated flowers.

the endless arrays that filled both the boxes out front and the pots out back.

gardening alongside her i found that her favorite flowers quickly become my favorite flowers, until i was old enough to recognize my own opinions.

and where dad's gardening was exhausting, mom made relaxation out of work.

and so when we're in the garden, i can't help but remember those early years.

and look happily forward to gardening someday with our children.

also ryan has this really cute habit when concentrating,

of sticking his tongue just slightly out of the side of his mouth.

adorable!!