Official start to summer .. what are you looking forward to?

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I know many of you have your skids a lot of the summer and are probably looking forward to the day you can send them back }:) ...

But what are the plans for the rest of you?

We're taking the skids to the beach for a week, and then DH and I have two shorter long weekend adults-only trips planned .. REALLY looking forward to those

We'll be battling out a custody change order with BM in the next couple weeks, so I'm focusing on the positive things I can really look forward to!

DH's parents will be visiting from California for a week or so, so we'll be hosting them .. luckily they're a ton of fun and will gladly entertain skids for as long as we'll let them

Going to Disney, Universal

Going to Disney, Universal and Seaworld with my son! We leave in less than five days and I can't wait.

I'm also looking forward to the series of dates SO and I have planned when my son goes to camp. Painting, Wine tasting, drive in movies. We don't get a lot of time to ourselves with the kids always around, so when they're all gone at camps or other parents - it's date time!

Awesome! We did Disney at

Awesome! We did Disney at Christmas time .. it really is a magical place

Date nights/weekends are always highlights for me .. I enjoy my skids, but man oh man, after a while we can BOTH use a break

I'm glad we're fortunate enough to be able to afford vacations both with and without the skids!

Then end of September, when

Then end of September, when DHs kid turns 18. It will be late summer, early fall fireworks between her and Uberskank. CS will start going to his kid directly while she is in her senior year of HS. }:)

Wow .. I've never heard of CS

Wow .. I've never heard of CS going directly to a SK! Does your BM know this is going to happen?

Sending SS to a lot of camps.

Sending SS to a lot of camps. I can't afford some of the bigger ones, but I hope he likes the ones I can afford. The more they tire him out the less of a PITA he'll be in the evenings!

Other than that? I have a lot of vegetables that will be producting food soon. I'm sure salami-loving SS is going to LOOOOOVE that.

I picked my first 3 banana

I picked my first 3 banana peppers and 2 jalapenos from my garden yesterday! I have a total of 96 plants out there, so I'm looking forward to coming up with some new recipes to try

Wooooo! I planted some

Wooooo!

I planted some Oaxacan heirloom tomatoes two weeks ago. They're going to look so cool!

Awesome! I have about 18

Awesome! I have about 18 tomato plants in right now, 6 of which are cherry tomatoes.

This is my first year growing eggplant .. so I'm really looking forward to them! I hear they look really cool in the garden

I'm not a HUGE fan of eating eggplant, but I figure whatever I don't eat, the chickens will surely gobble up

I like eggplant parmesean...

I like eggplant parmesean... breaded with spaghetti... mmmmmm

Oh I will definitely give it

Oh I will definitely give it a try! I've only cooked with eggplant a few times, so this is sure to be an adventure

UGH! Any luck in getting rid

UGH! Any luck in getting rid of them? I'm so hesitant to use bug sprays and pesticides .. I've read some really horrid things about them .. part of why I grow my own veggies to begin with.

I know some oils can be beneficial in keeping bugs away .. and I've heard ladybugs help (but I don't know if too many ladybugs is a bad thing or not).

Oh my .. it's hard not to

Oh my .. it's hard not to laugh at all that!

How many bats do you plan on getting? Hopefully your ladybugs will still survive at least enough to keep your aphids at bay! I've never even considered getting bats as a mosquito control .. I'm not sure my lazy cats could catch a bat if they wanted to

As for the deer and rabbits, you can buy deer repellant to keep them off your plants. There's a few organic options out there (not sure if that's a concern for your hostas or not). Between my dogs and cats, we don't have too many problems with critters (big or small) eating our plants!

I couldn't imagine not having a bunch of animals hanging around, but I know they're not for everyone

I have the hardest time

I have the hardest time getting herbs to take in my garden. It's like the one thing I can't grow successfully! My oregano and parsley do okay .. but I'll be damned if I can get a good crop of cilantro!

Maybe that's my problem ..

Maybe that's my problem .. I've never really tried to grow them indoors ..

Hopefully your lady bugs handle your aphids .. do you have bats in your bat house yet? The ladies might get a good head start on the aphids if your bats haven't shown up yet!

Hahaha!

Satan has another name... and

Satan has another name... and that name is aphid.

Holy crap! NO joke!

We just harvested a boatload

We just harvested a boatload of cayennes and jalapenos! We've been harvesting and eating tomatoes, eggplant, onions, broccoli ........ The jalapenos aren't terribly spicy and very meaty so we roasted them in the oven. OMG they are fantastic.

I got a bit of a later start

I got a bit of a later start than normal this year, so I haven't harvested much of anything yet. We grow tons of peppers and tomatoes and make all types of salsas

I'll have to give the roasted jalapenos a whirl! I have thrown them on the grill in the past with some chicken or kabobs. I planted 6 of them this year, so we're bound to have plenty

same here!

}:) same here!

I knew there would be at

I knew there would be at least a few!

Very nice What is your

Very nice

What is your normal schedule like? Is this more or less time with your skid around?

Unfortunately, I've got

Unfortunately, I've got nothing! No vacation this summer, no foreign BM to ship the skids off to for a few months!!

Concerts with my DD15 (who

Concerts with my DD15 (who arrives tonight for the summer), DH's high school reunion next month, BBQ's, floating on tubes down the river, 4th of July fireworks at Invesco Field, DH's birthday and spending time with my two favorite people in the world! (DH and DD15)