Is it the Great Pumpkin?

Eli saved some pumpkin seeds from our pumpkin carving at Halloween. In May, he planted them. In about 5 days we had sprouts! 22 sprouts. As they grew bigger, I thinned them out to 4 plants. Jude pulled one out and I could not save it. One of these three (on the left of the photo) really took off. The other two (to the right) are smaller. Each plant may produce 3-5 pumpkins. We're anxious to see what will happen.



The image below is of a "rogue" pumpkin plant that somehow got missed.
We didn't even notice it growing there until a few days ago. It's about as big
as the big one in our other bed.

BMX-E

July has been a busy month for Eli! Here he is finally racing in his first BMX race. It took us all summer to get here. He practiced several times over the Summer. Roger found him a bike that was more suitable for his size and speed needs (thanks Paul and Tammy.) Then he fixed it all up. Now with only 2 weeks of Summer vacation left, he finally raced his first race.


Before the race.


Action shot!


In the gates for his second race. Rog had to go up and
help him because he wouldn't put his wheel in the gate
for the first race. The announcer gave him a little ribbing
and Rog got upset. Eli was just scared, he'd never raced with
the gate before (they don't practice with the gate.) I can
see how it's a bit intimidating.


More action. He raced 3 times to qualify. He didn't
end up qualifying for the main event, but he didn't get
upset about it. We won't give him a hard time about
the fact that he got beat by 4 and 6-year old girls!

All I Want for Christmas (In July)

Yes, he's lost his second tooth! This time there was a Tooth Fairy snafoo, though. He forgot to put his tooth out, but the Tooth Fairy may or may not have remembered to stop by that night. Rog saved the day and told him they could send the T.F. an email. All was saved. She came and found the right pillow and paid up. Only like 18 more teeth to go, right?

Cousins

In June, we also got to see our niece, Leah. She was visiting from Denver. She's grown up a lot since the last time we saw her. It makes me sad! She's 12 now. Who told her she could be 12? Wasn't me.


We discussed the whole "Kissing Cousins" thing with
Jude later.


Well, at least he stopped kissing her.


I'm pretty sure Leah likes Jude, too. But not in that
way.

Railroad Days

Perhaps I should catch up on posting today. No, I did not win any prizes for my photos. Not even an honorable mention. Maybe next time around. It's not going to stop me from taking a gazillion photos, though. Just to get that one great shot.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago (ok. maybe almost a month ago) we went to an event sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad. The event is called Railroad Days. It consists of 5 stops for $10 for the entire family. You park your car at one of the five stops, then you can get on a bus or trolley to see the rest. You could choose from the botanical gardens (Lauritzen Gardens) in Omaha and 4 museums (all boasting railroad themes) in Omaha and Council Bluffs. We only made it to two places, but it was fun. Perhaps we'll go to the other three stops next year.



The gardens had trains on display.



And, of course, flowers.


A little train to ride!


And trains on display in the flowers.



And miniature architectural wonders.



Of course the bus ride was by far the most exciting
thing for the boys.


Jude had never been on a real school bus before!


Durham Western Heritage Museum.