the "l" stands for leeks in this "adult" macaroni and cheese. the pasta, cheeses and seasonings are cooked in the same pot, all at the same time.
to try it is a must!
it measured almost an inch in diameter and was super yummy!
2 more were ready to be picked yesterday and were also yummy!
2 tomato plants each have a new development.
they are so tiny and cute!
there are also 2 bell pepper plants with little buds.
a cucumber plant has a blossom which will hopefully mean a cucumber eventually!
while it may have been too late, i replanted zucchini seeds and they are doing well.
blossoms on a green chili plant.
this watermelon plant is doing awesome! and getting tall!
once again, my amazing sister-in-law has managed to turn a photo shoot in to a work of art.
july birthdays
over 30 - jay's group.
and under 30 - my group!
after all the festivities of the night, we brought grandpa jay home. i love these guys! 
monday: all the family met up at a community center in washington for a bbq and water fun. the water play area was pretty cool. it was complete with a slide, lazy river and 2 kiddie play areas. inside was the gym (2 to be exact), rock wall, work out facility and tumbling area. all was ours for the day. needless to say, much fun was had by young and old! the end of a wonderful reunion...but not the end of our stay.
after riding 0.8ths of a mile we hit a road closure. our only choice was to go the rest of the way on foot. it was a nice day for a hike anyway. miss ava came along for the ride.
it got kinda warm and my tag along fell asleep but once we reached the top we could see it was worth every step. 
after a quick lunch we were in search of these narrows that jay and his family had hiked in years ago. well, we found them and they didn't exactly look inviting. they were really narrow! while the kids had no problem, the adults were a little hesitant.
miranda was our fearless leader. you were fearless right?!
the ones who stayed behind.
good thing this man o' mine is skinny!
almost out of the canyon.
here is a the top view of jay's dad giving it a try....i'm pretty sure he had to turn back from here.
me and my love.
enough hiking, it was time to hit the hotel pool! seeing as it was not the weekend anymore, most of the hotel guests had checked out leaving the pool to the remaining rasbands. nice! and on the menu for dinner - cafe rio! but as jay and i were looking over pictures, we noticed we didn't have any with grandpa, so we nabbed his mom and had our last visit with grandpa jay before we left.
along with hanging out with all the family, we planned to go to the st. george temple. 
and sunrise.
wednesday: get up early (the only day this vacation) to make it a session before we have to head back to the valley of the sun. it was so worth every lost minute of sleep. the st. george temple is the first temple completed by the saints after their forced exodus from nauvoo.
it is the oldest temple still actively used by members of the church.
after our temple session, we met up with some of the family to tour the jacob hamblin home. he was known as a missionary and friend of the indians. he helped smooth the relationships between the indians and the mormon settlers.
after having a delicious lunch at the olive garden for the birthday girl (my mother-in-law) it was time to hit the road.
all in all, i love my new family and enjoy all the time i get to spend with them.
bell pepper plant
nice work caprice!
alexis with a tomato plant....don't think she likes tomatoes much though lol
day 1 is complete - bell peppers planted, tomatoes planted, radish seeds planted, cucumber seeds planted, zucchini seeds planted, green bean seeds planted, watermelon seeds planted...whew!
one month later...
biggest green bean plant
we also added green chili plants thanks again to my mother-in-law. they were looking pretty weary but have since perked up tons. 
these cucumbers were the first and only ones to sprout for a while.
here rests in peace my zucchini plants. they sprouted and looked good but died somehow.
these guys have gotten huge and we expect them to just keep growing.
biggest tomato plant. it has blossoms but you can't really see them in this picture.
bell pepper plants still doing great.
blossoms on the biggest bell pepper plant.
the watermelons were the last to sprout. we had pretty much ruled them out but they surprised us all.
i am enjoying gardening. something i never thought i would like to do. it is rewarding to see them grow. much like our testimonies of the gospel. alma taught us of faith, the desire to believe, to change, can be as a seed that will grow, sprout, and bear fruit. (alma 32:27-43)
