Spring Break

Easter started off our Spring Break.  I made my people wear blue this year.  Why must we coordinate?  I don't know, but it seems like the thing to do every year. We went to church that morning, and then we headed to Alabama to visit with Mimi.  My mom fixed a wonderful Easter dinner.  She got Brody and his cousin Alex helicopters, and they had a blast flying them. 

Next we went to Louisiana to visit Ryan's parents.  Nanny and Pops live on a pond, and Brody went fishing everyday. This kid likes to be outside. We ate good food there every night too.  I seriously gained 5 lbs. in one week.  It was worth it because it's not often that we vacation as a whole family. 

Brody learning to play baseball

On the way back home, we stopped at Mimi's house again.  She took us to the Birmingham Zoo.  We love that place!  Alex came too, and he got to spend the night with Mimi as well.  Brody thinks he is the coolest.  He is a very sweet kid, and we are blessed to have him in the family. 

The first thing we did when we got home was check on the garden.  The seeds finally started to grow.  Yippee!  Looks like we might be farmers after all. 

Brody likes finding worms to put in the garden boxes.

Planting Okra

Boysenberry bush growing

potatoes

Blueberry bushes blooming

Brody digging for more worms.

Happy 7th Birthday Brody

Seven years of Brody fun! 

Seven years of Brody quirks! Like make a cake with no icing.

Seven years of Brody hugs!

Seven years of Brody smiles!

Seven years of Brody surprises! Why hello 2lb. Baby!

Seven years of Brody laughs!

Seven years of Brody adventures!

Seven years full of blessings!  Words cannot even express just how blessed we are to have him.  We love this awesome kid! 

For his birthday, we asked him what he would like to do for his day. He wanted to see his grandparents. So we have adventured to Alabama and Lousianna to see Mimi, Pops, and Nanny.  This speaks volumes of what his heart is like.  He loves "his people." 

Happy 7th Birthday Brody! 

Garden Experiment- Irrigation System

Happy Birthday Ryan! Even on "his day," he was out working!

Part II

In All New Square Foot Gardening, Mel says, "With Mel's Mix you cannot overwater. I repeat: you cannot overwater."  Ok Mel, we are holding you to your word!  His mix is made like a sponge. Each little piece can hold moisture so a plant root can grow around that piece and take out the moisture when needed.  When that little sponge gets saturated, the rest of the water drains out through the bottom.

The Brice family is using a drip irrigation system to water our plants.  Here is our building process.

 The timer- can put out 300 gallons as hour. So far we are up to 11 gallons an hour.

50 feet of hose.  Yes, we will put the hose underground.  HOA would not be happy with us.  By the way, our plant boxes were HOA approved so maybe you could try this in your neighborhood.

 First we put drips at the blueberry bushes.  We have six of those.

 Next is the first box. Known as the salsa box. More plants coming next week.

 This is where the potatoes and carrots are.

 Drip system in action

 Brody learning about irrigation.

 The boys cutting off the extra hose.

Next, they added "The grid."

The Brice Family Gardening Experiment

Ryan and Brody in the backyard

For the past couple of years, our family has had a few vegetable planets every summer.  This year we are taking it a step further.  Our garden experiment is Square Foot Gardening.  We brought Mel Bartholomew's book "All New Square Foot Gardening."  Because if you can read it you can do it, right? Maybe?  So I'm going to blog along for the next few months on this adventure.  The Brice Family makes no claims to being gardeners.  We are average folks wanting to eat healthy and have a family hobby.  I think many life lessons can be taught through gardening. So keep checking back in on us to see how this works.

Step 1

Build boxes

     4x4 Square feet garden boxes (16 square feet)

     Six inches deep

Hubs used 2x6 lumber for a sturdier box.

Step 2

Soil Mix

     1/3 Peat Moss, 1/3 Vermiculite, 1/3 blended Compost

We mixed the 3 components on a tarp.  Yes, this takes time. 

Step 3

Plan the garden

Now because we want to grow carrots, an extra 6 inch box was added to one of our boxes.

We left Yukon Gold potatoes out of the bag for a couple of weeks until they sprouted.

Step 4
Plant!
     It's still a little early in Spring so we have only planted 2 things.  Last night's low was 31.  It's supposed to warm up next week.  Then some more planting fun will be begin!

carrot seeds

potatoes

Brody really enjoys planting.

Add a little more dirt on top of the potatoes.

Even Maggie comes out to help...or sunbathe. 

Step 5
Water and Wait

We are hoping this will be a fun, yet rewarding journey!

Brody's Latest Bird Watching and Calling

Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?  ~Rose F. Kennedy

Brody loves birds, and I love his excitement about birds.  It makes me smile when we are driving down the road and he asks to stop to see a bird.  It's our version of stopping to smell the roses.  

I should carry my camera around with me more often to capture what he sees.  Brody has a bird book that he looks up birds in to find out what kind of bird they are. 

Last week we had a red tailed hawk visit us in our backyard.

One of our other visitors last week was Brody's grandfather, Pops.  He brought Brody a great present.  It was a fun, but loud Crow Call.  So Brody has been trying to get the local crows to come visit him too.  No luck yet, but he will keep trying.