Outwit, Outplay, Outlast

Despite the challenges brought on by chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, deer and even raccoons, we finished the growing season with one beautiful sunflower plant, a plentiful amount of grapes and a tree full of apples.  We thought we outwitted the chipmunks by starting our sunflowers indoors, but other animals (and kids, though they won’t admit it) decimated all but one of our plants.  The flowers have been blooming for the past couple of weeks outside our kitchen window.

Sunflower & Busy Bee I
Sunflower & Busy Bee I
Sunflower & A Busy Bee II
Sunflower & A Busy Bee II
Pair of Flowers
Pair of Flowers
Sophia and I outwitted the raccoon this year by picking our grapes before he could devour them in his nighttime feedings.  Mike actually saw the raccoon last night when he let Daphne outside.  Apparently he has been eating well this year, without our grapes, as Mike said he was HUGE!  He must have come to check out the if the vines were ready for picking.  We did leave a few that weren’t quite ripe, but still have two  huge containers.  I made the mistake of telling my Dad how many we had picked.  Now he is expecting me to make grape jelly.  Wish me luck!  I haven’t done any canning since I was a kid and helped my Mom.  Needless to say,  I don’t remember a lot of the details.
Grapes
Grapes

We are still waiting for the apples to ripen, but they are coming along nicely.  There are about 6 dozen apples on the tree.  Most of the apples are high enough up to be out of the reach of deer.  Sebastian is looking forward to the harvest  since last year there was only one apple on the tree.  The year before we picked three.  We have quite the bumper crop this year in comparison.

Sebastian’s First TD

Sebastian recently completed week 2 of Flag Football. His team, the Boiler Makers, consists of 2nd and 3rd grade kids…many of whom are his buddies. In addition to having a great time, the kids learn the basic fundamentals of football. They play two games a week for five weeks. After a tie in game 1, the Boiler Makers have amassed 3 straight wins. Our ESPN highlight of the week (below) shows Sebastian taking it to the house with a fake reverse for his first TD of the year.

Favorite Photos (& Video) Of The Week

This photo taken last night at Sophia’s last soccer game of the season.  We brought Daphne with us to the game.  Sophia was more excited when she was on the sidelines playing with Daphne than when she was out on the field playing the game.  This photo was taken during one of the few moments that she was watching her teammates on the field rather than playing with her new dog. 🙂
9.16.09
Serious - Photoshop Action "Soft & Faded"

This second photo was taken at Sebastian’s first flag football game of the season this past Tuesday night.  The wind had picked up off the lake and it was freezing.  I think Sophia told us that she was cold about 40 times.  I promised her that we would bring hot chocolate to the next game.  That seemed to do the trick.

Smile - 9.15.09
Smile - Photoshop Action "Seventies"

Here is a short Sebastian “Jared Allen” highlight from his first game.  Sebastian is in the white pants and yellow shirt rushing the QB.