june in our home

june was a great month, and a busy month.  summer has begun and so has the activity of summer!

this past month saw esther's debut as a flower girl. true story: i used to think that ring bearers/flower girls were a useless part of a wedding.  we didn't have either in our wedding.  but, of course, now that we have a daughter and i am convinced that she is the cutest thing on the planet (because she is), i was so excited to see her as a flower girl.  esther loves being the center of attention and she didn't let her audience down, pausing halfway to the alter and doing a dance before the ring bearer noticed that she was missing and went back to grab her hand.

i was also in the wedding, as the bride was one of my best friends in college.  the wedding weekend was a ton of fun, as i got to see several good friends whom i haven't seen in a year and a half.  the weekend was busy, but refreshing, and certainly a lot of fun.

june also saw the beginning of our tomato harvest!  i have been missing fresh tomatoes since last summer!  i refuse to buy tomatoes at the store, since they just don't even compare to homegrown.  we have had green tomatoes on the vine since mid-may, but they didn't start to ripen until the end of june.  i think they needed heat, and june started off much too cool (well, i for one liked the cool weather, but the tomatoes didn't).  we have also gotten our first harvest of beets and radishes, as well as the last of the spinach and lettuce.

june also saw baby girl's first overnight visit with her mom.  certainly a bit bittersweet, but have been waiting for the social worker to approve these visits for a while, so it also felt a bit overdue.  esther was certainly excited to see her "lala" come home, but didn't ask for her when she was gone, so i think she is getting used to her coming and going once a week.

my june goal was to learn to start a fire.  after watching numerous youtube videos, i have the head knowledge about starting a fire, but not the experience yet.  living in wildfire-prone so cal, its not like i can just start a fire in the back yard (unless we decide to invest in a fire pit... but i don't see that happening any time soon).  i did have two possible opportunities to try it out during different hang outs with friends, but neither worked out.  so.... if you need a fire started, give me a call :) we even have tons of kindling in our yard.  but for now i will keep waiting until i can put my knowledge to the test.  we are going camping in september, so maybe then.

what was june like in your home?