Heleconia

Heleconia, originally uploaded by Mark Andrew Photos.

I love this flower (Heleconia). I used it in a couple of beds for a customer this year. I also kept a couple for myself, but, sadly, grasshoppers have enjoyed the leaves of one :(

It had a rough start this May after I received them from Florida. After they (Sixteen 8" pots) arrived at the beginning of May our temperatures turned chilly. All of the tropical plants I had ordered did fine (quite a shock compared to the temps in Florida) with the cooler nights (40's I believe) and days (50's-60's), but the Heleconia plants did NOT. I should have probably taken them to a local garden center and placed them in one of their greenhouses that they let me use during the late winter and spring. I'll use Heleconia again next year, but probably not this dwarf variety and I'll definitely put them into a greenhouse immediately upon receiving them.

Little Weeder

Andrew came to work with me again today - he's doing a lot of weeding for me. He does an awesome job and likes to learn about the plants while we work.

He named his prices (yes, prices - plural) while working with me the other day: $10 p/ hour - $8 p/hour if there is complaining. Yes, I'm being very generous for a 7-year old, but - what can I say, he's worth it. Plus - he's saving for that Wii he wants to buy so badly (wink wink). Guess he'll be able to use the money for something else - like Webkinz I'm sure.
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The Beautiful Women In My Life

The Beautiful Women In My Life, originally uploaded by Mark Andrew Photos.

The Beautiful Women In My Life

The Beautiful Women In My Life, originally uploaded by Mark Andrew Photos.

Portrait Playing

Portrait Playing, originally uploaded by Mark Andrew Photos.

Messing with Photoshop while watching the Olympics. Just trying to learn more about layers. I kind of like this one. I'm usually not much for sepia, but it turned out pretty well.

Purple Coneflowers

Purple Coneflowers, originally uploaded by Mark Andrew Photos.

Lady bugs for lunch

Laurie made this for the kids today :)

Work from storm

Below is a picture of a couple of large limbs that came down at a customer's house this morning when a storm came through. I hate using a chainsaw, but I like the job security. I'll definitely be busy the rest of today. :-)
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Wii - CHECK :)

Since last Christmas Laurie and I have been searching for a Wii for the kids. First it was going to be for Christmas (nope) - then for Easter (nope) - then for end of school year reward (nope).

I had assumed we were probably looking at Christmas, but while Laurie was in Toys 'R Us a couple of weeks ago they had just gotten in several. So, after sending me a quick text message while I was in Austin, she quickly purchased it (trying to keep it hidden from the kids - although, Laurie is pretty certain Andrew saw it come up on the digital display at the register).

So... Today I went out to get the rest of the gift - Wii Play package with remote, another nunchuk and two games: Star Wars, the Complete Saga (surprise surprise) and Hannah Montana, Spotlight World Tour. The console comes with Wii Sports, so with what we have we'll be busy for awhile.

Now if you know Laurie and I, we don't go crazy with presents for the kid's birthdays - spending about $500 on their birthdays is a lot for us. But - they're MORE than worth it. And, this is our FIRST game console - some of our friends have an XBox, PS2, PS3, Wii and a Nintendo DS for each person in the house... I think we'll stick with just the Wii :-)

And, it's really more of a family purchase - I have a feeling Laurie and I will be using it quite often after the kids go to bed :-)

I still remember the Christmas when I was young that our family received a Pong and then a couple years later an Atari - I thought my mom/dad were the coolest parents in the world!! As I think back, though, my mom played with that Atari more than the rest of us (Pac Man). She was unbeatable.

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And a little more break

And he got a little DVD watching in, too :-)
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Break from work

Andrew did take a little break from "work" now and then today :)
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Helping Hand Today

Andrew came to work with me this afternoon - he'll probably help a little, but he brought lots of books, a portable DVD player & DVD's. And of course there's the sand, the lake and a trampoline :) I'm sure he'll keep very busy.
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