Bedlam in the Backyard

Holy cow. If you could see our yard right now -- it looks like a small tornado came through! We decided today was the day to tackle our weed problem. We've been out there for a couple hours pulling, ripping and chopping down about two truckloads of weeds. We also decided to take on the backyard weed jungle -- a disgraceful section of our yard that has never been anything but unruly weeds, lost dreams of vegetable gardens and the bane of our neighborhood.

Not anymore, baby! We're turning that weed patch into an awesome family area! We're pulling the weeds, putting down plastic to keep them from returning and then covering the entire area in a bunch of mulch. It will be a playground for the boys, complete with a swingset, picnic table, sand box, grilling area and whatever else we come up with. Now that we have a vision, I think we can get it done!

Hopefully our nephew's will be willing to make some money tomorrow and bring their truck down to haul off the tree branches and weeds we've accumulated.

In other news, the boys and I went to the Downtown Farmers Market this morning. It was so much fun! Beautiful weather, relatively small crowds and happy boys! I had a great time. The boys helped me spend our $25 market allowance on the following: 1 slice breakfast pizza, two chocolate cringle cookies, two cucumbers, two pints of fresh raspberries, 1 butternut squash, 1 lb of fresh green beans, 1 cantaloupe, 1 small bag of kettle corn for Bo, 1 bottle of water and a 50-cent donation to a nice man playing the saxophone on the corner.

Now we're taking a break for lunch, putting the boys down for naps and then I'm cleaning the house while we watch the Iowa vs. ISU football game. Go Cyclones!

P.S. Sorry if you logged on this morning and my blog was down. I don't know what the heck happened to it. I think my fancy new design was too much for the system. :) So I'm back to a plainer design, but it will load faster. And after all, that's what's most important in the end.

Blue Gill Poboys

Growing up, we often went fishing with Grandpa Pud and the one fish I remember catching the most was blue gills. A delicious, delicate native Iowa fish that thrives in farm ponds. Anyway, I was delighted to discover that a new bar in town, Mullets, serves Blue Gill Poboys! And many other tasty foods, like crawfish quesadillas, fried pickle chips, frog legs and much more. Mullets -- love the name and all their photos of people sporting mullet hairdos -- is a great place for a beer and bar food with friends. I was there tonight for a coworker's going away party. I can't wait to take Shawn and the boys there for breakfast some morning. It's located across the river from Principal Park, not far from Graziano's Italian Deli.

Anyway, enough free advertising for Mullets. :)

Lots of plans for the weekend: farmers market with the boys in the morning, cleaning house/collecting items for a garage sale for the rest of the day, movie night on Saturday night (postponed tonight b/c Mazy was in a mood...) and then on Sunday we're going to Adventureland with Aunt Jean, Uncle Doug and Marla. And if Mazy is feeling up to it, his first 4-H meeting is on Sunday at 3 p.m. I'm very excited about 4-H, but I don't know if he is.

So that's the plan. Hope you all have a great weekend!