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Confirmed: My bees have a queen. Not only that but they now live in a 5-story mansion instead of the one little box I had before. I am going to visit them on Saturday and am kind of nervous to deal with this many bees. In one box, I had about 30,000 and now with five boxes, I must have over a hundred thousand! Still don't think I will get any honey this year due to the fact that my bees got combined so late in the year- oh well. There's always next year.

Erin and Joe are coming to Vegas with us! I am so excited! This will be our first "couples" vacation and will make things a lot more enjoyable for everyone, I think. Phil and Joe can golf while Erin and I shop, we can hang out together or separately. Their hotel isn't far from ours and we are planning on seeing Cirque du Soleil. I also want to see "Jersey Boys" and the "O Show."

Vacation countdown.....52 days!!!!!

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Last month was busy. I think we were gone every weekend. Josephine and I were in a wedding (fun)! We spent a weekend up north with the girls (Heidi, Klara, Ashley, Payton, Ange, and Eli). Lots of fun. Josephine is now 18months old and she is repeating every word I say (I gotta watch my mouth ;-) ) She enjoys learning with phonics. Her favorite letter is C. She also got two more teeth which brings her grand total to eight! WWWHOA!

My bees have a new home in Bethel and are being combined with another hive- one that has a queen. I am really excited to go and see them again in a couple of weeks. There should be some honey and brood this time!! I want to turn this in to my career. I am having so much fun with it and love that I will be able to use of the bee's products- the honey and beeswax.

Other than that, I am looking forward to the state fair and Vegas!!!!!!!

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BEES! I had so much fun meeting my bees for the first time. My bee mentor was coming over at 10am so I suited up at 9:45. He ran a little late and ended up getting there are 10:20 and surprisingly, I didn't get too warm in my suit. We went out to the hive and I took the cover off, then the top frame, and I examined the hive. I pulled out the cell that was third from the left and saw a few bees, pulled out the next and saw more, pulled out the next and the cell was completely covered with bees! It was amazing. The bees even waxed the comb! I saw lots of nectar but no brood. After examining the whole hive, we realized I didn't have a queen; my hive could not populate.

My mentor is going to bring me another swarm if he gets a call this week- this way we can combine the swarms and have a queen. If he doesn't get a call by Wednesday or Thursday, he is going to bring over a cell from one of his hives with brood and my swarm will make a queen from the brood. Because of this, I am not sure if I will get honey this year due to population and I don't know if my bees will make it through the winter, but one can only hope for the best. I have about 25,000 bees in my swarm right now and would like at least 40,000 by fall to ensure their survival throughout the winter.

Pictures to come in the near future (maybe even tonight).

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Ange is telling me to update.....

Throughout the past two weeks, I have decided to be a beekeeper. I have been making homemade granola lately (LOVVVE it) and am going through a ton of honey. I was at my parent's house last week and my dad told me his friend, Phil, keeps bees. We went over to Phil's house and he gave me two books, a couple of websites to check out, and a lot of information. I ordered my suit right away and ordered my starter kit a week later and will be able to start my first hive on Saturday.

I am not sure if I will get any honey this year since I am starting out kind of late, but my bees might produce 50-60lbs. I will keep you updated about my bees and if all goes well, I might start a beekeeping blog.

Nature is beautiful!

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I am so frustrated with Phil's job right now. He works his shifts and the chef's shifts. Phil also does work at the apartment building we live in (we get discounted rent). I just don't understand why the work he does is never enough? He always gets compared to his brother-in-law, who is a very hard worker- he works at the restaurant, at church, and he does work for the restaurant and around my in-laws house.

Phil shouldn't be compared to his brother-in-law and he shouldn't be judged by how many hours he works but the work he puts in to the hours. Everyday, there is something new. Here is a prime example. Last year, Phil's brother-in-law, and family went to Romania. The day they left for Romania, Phil's mom got sick and the chef at the restaurant was hospitalized. Phil got stuck working his shifts, his mom's shifts, his brother-in-laws shifts, and the chef's shifts and he didn't complain once. We go on vacation Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (Phil normally has Saturdays off, but works Fridays and Sundays) and when we come back, Phil's mom has him scheduled to work an extra shift for his brother-in-law AND for another manager who works there TO GIVE THEM A BREAK!

Phil is waiting for the electricians union to call him with a job. They called him about a month ago and asked his permission to give his information out so now he is just waiting to get hired. Please pray for him to be hired as an electrician apprentice and please pray for my sanity.

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I was at the bookstore today when I came across a book called, "Awkward Family Photos." I couldn't stop laughing. Here are a few of my favorites. ENJOY!

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Planned the Vegas Vacation!!! We aren't going until October, but I am very excited. It will be a week to ourselves in a place we have never been but I fear I will miss Josephine too much. We might have to hook up Skype (is that how you spell it?) before we go. I am in crazy planning mode anyway right now. I am in a wedding this summer and am planning parties left and right, my dad is turning 50 in November so I have his party to plan and my dear dear friend, Ange is HAVING A BABY (!!!!!!!!) so I will have the honor of helping to plan a baby shower.

I like planning. Maybe I will put some of my ideas up on my blog.

Loves!!