In the Yard

 Hoping our grass will grow....at least the mud pit is covered for the time being.  

 I have so many little garden things now... it seams every time we visit the home improvement store I pick something up,  a little garden stake or a little bug statue.  And we go to Lowe's and Menards a lot so I'm starting to have quite a collection!

 We put our strawberries in.... with the decoy strawberry rocks to fool the birds to believe our strawberries are inedible!

My tomatoes aren't doing so hot.  They looked really great when I put them in, but after three days of crazy wind and rain they are looking pretty rough.

There are lots of new leaves though so I'm going to hold off on replacing them.   But the leaves are so dark around the edges I'm not sure if that is okay or not.  I was really patient about hardening them.... but those three days of 30 mph wind with 50 mph gusts just whipped the crap out of them.  So sad.  Whenever I'm out in my garden getting discouraged I remind myself there must be a learning curve when you are trying to grow things in a climate you aren't used to... RIGHT???!

On a happier front....

 My beans have been popping out.

 And the cucumbers are starting to come up. 

 The lettuce is coming up in clumps... I'm not so sure why.  

 The spinach is getting new leaves.  

 The peas look great!  

 Thankfully the fence has been working to keep Bonnie out of the garden.   She likes to sit and watch while I work.  

Mrs. Bird's babies have hatched.  There are a few puffs of feathers in there.  We love getting to watch this little family in our front porch.  

What's been happening in your yard lately?

The Path

Thank goodness we got this taken care of with our three hands!

The Little Things

 It's these small things that I love grabbing my camera for.  Even if it is my phone camera.... 

....father and son watching it rain from the front porch.

 Listening to the sound of our drought hopefully being a thing of last year....

 the sights...

 ...and smells..

 ...of our evening walks.

free clothes drying....

.. the found bacon fork.

  Watching storms roll through.

 Homemade cookies

 A big box of books!

....and a big step taken.  Lots and lots of gallons on paint purchased to finally paint our home. 

By the way.... I want to peer pressure you into setting your DVR or clearing your schedule on Sunday nights so you can watch the North America documentary series on Discovery Channel.... it is INCREDIBLE.  

If you don't watch it we can't be friends....just kidding... sorta.

Summer Fun

 With all of the excitement around here I lost this post in my to do list.  Better late than never!

I know it is still technically spring, but since Nate's school let out the things we've been doing fall under our 'summer break' umbrella.  

The day after school finished up we went to the hills to meet friends at Reptile Gardens.  Oddly enough nearly ALL of my friends have boys.  So when we plan things its kinda like 'ahh boys love that'... or 'we'll drag them fabric shopping they can just play with cars'... So we planned to meet at a place filled with...

 Lizards....

 and snakes

 and freaking huge snakes..

 and spiders, and turtles, and frogs, and gators, and birds....

 and big ass snakes you can pet... unless you are my son, then you get an inch from touching it, then you gag and yell that IT'S TIME TO GO.  

  Besides one of our friends busting his lip.... it was a really fun day....

 The boys really enjoyed it.

 ... and I think us moms did too... minus the bloody lip mom... she enjoyed it less.

 They played around... we had lunch

 it was a great way to start our 'summer fun'

 despite this sourpuss smith pic

up next on our summer fun... movies in the park, t-ball, a trip to see grandma and grandpa, camping, VBS, lots of gardening... and fun 

Blooming in the Backyard

 Our yard has been really blooming!  

 When you step in our backyard you can smell the lilac.  It is incredible!

 And they are so pretty... and here I wanted to chop those bushes down.  

 But the privacy in the spring/ summer/ early fall is unbeatable... and the flowers are insane.  

 My moss roses have been growing and blooming.  In the pot with the spiral grass they look so fun!

 In the front porch in the paper box we don't use a bird has made a nest and has some eggs in there.  Nate has named her 'Mrs. Bird'  

 In the backyard I finally hung our freaky tree guy.  It was a housewarming gift... but he is kinda freaky.

 The hanging plants along the deck are doing well.  I'm really happy they are thriving.

 Inside we have some new fun life too.... my succulents bowl is finished.  The plants were from Lowe's  $2.50 a piece.  I used cactus soil and bought the bowl at target on clearance for 12 bucks! 

 This one is my favorite.

 Everyone else likes this one the best.  It looks like it belongs in the ocean!

I also picked up a new houseplant.  He is hanging in my kitchen near my Hoya.  This one is called a 'lipstick twister"  I just think its really neat!!!

The veggies have all been planted out back too!  I've been watching nervously as our area has had lots of thunderstorms popping in and out recently... some producing hail.  Keeping my fingers crossed my plants wont get hailed on.   In the raised bed we have LOTS planted... here is what it looks like!  

Two of the tomato plants are actually Cherry Tomatoes.  We have zucchini seeds in a separate container.    We are going to get dirt and plants today for a container of strawberries.  I'll post more gardening stuff soon I am sure!

Happy Spring!!