Tulip Time

I am really enjoying the early spring flowers in bloom right now so I thought I'd share a sampling :)

First off- Hyacinth :) They smell nice and most of mine came up purple so what's not to love?



And now for the excessive Tulip footage:

Last Saturday was our church's Easter Egg hunt. Brad was a little under the weather so he missed out, but Wes and I had a great time :)

Hello, Springtime, Is that You?

Last month's snow was absolutely gorgeous... I always love a good snow day because it justifies (sortof) the cold and wet weather if you get to have a day of fun to make up for it.

BUT SERIOUSLY!!! I am so ready to be done with Winter! I know lots of you are ready, too. So imagine my delight when I started to see a little green in my flower beds :) Whew, thank goodness! Spring will be here soon!

The first evidence we had was on the fig tree - as you can see it has gone crazy!!
Remember it used to look like THIS!

We might still have to wait for the figs to be delicious and plentiful - so in the meantime, enjoy these sights from my front yard:

Ah, dafodils - all of mine are restricted to this patch in the rear / center of the flowerbed... not sure who planted them like that so I'll probably redistribute them when they quit being so beautiful :)

This little sprig is new growth on my hydrangea! Yippee! I can't wait to see how it does this year! It had better bloom!!

These are some hyacinth bulbs I clustered in a pot - actually 2 pots - on my front porch :) They'll be so pretty when they bloom :)

The pansies have really taken off now that we have had some sun mixed in with the wind and rain :) Here's an impressive bunch:

And just look what I found over in front of the Iris bed - a hyacinth about to blossom :) in the background you can see the irises beginning to make little green shoots:

And we have something new to look forward to this summer - Last year Brad gave me the pink and white rose bushes for Valentine's Day and this year he sweetly gave me a Red Rose bush. I put it in the ground last weekend and look at how much it has grown since then:

Yes, I am officially looking forward to spring and summer time. I've got lots of bulbs in the ground and I can't wait to see how they do. I have alreday chosen the perfect spot to sit and watch the garden grow...

I'll save ya a seat if you care to join me :)

Fun Christmas Commercials :)

Well, it has happened again. The Christmas commercials have arrived and Foldgers has a new sentimental commercial that makes me tear up! Have you seen it yet? I can't find it on youtube, but the premise is this: a brother comes home from being away in West Africa for a long time. His sister has waited up for his arrival and they go to the kitchen to make coffee (naturally!) He hands her a gift. She smiles then takes the bow and sticks it on him saying, "You're my present this year" *aw!!* I tear up just remembering it - Reminds me alot of an old favorite:



And who can forget the Hallmark commercials with the Father of the Bride couple!

This year, we've really been enjoying the Target commercials for their 2-day sale. Have you seen them? They feature two very different sisters preparing to Christmas shop :)

I LOVE the face the blond makes at the end of this one:


We laugh EVERY time this one comes on:




and lastly:


Hope these put a grin on your face like they do for us :) Enjoy the coming month with all the festivities :)

Camping at Roosevelt State Park

In case you haven't heard, we went camping this weekend! And what a picture perfect weekend it was! Brad, Wes and I camped in one tent. Kim camped in Connor's tent (without Connor though) and her new friend, Chad brought his tent. Everything was so perfect: the site, the food, the weather...

Ok, I'll admit, at times, it was too cold for my taste! For example, the first night there... We shivered and froze and prayed the warm sun would rise! Saturday morning, Kim, Chad and I climbed out of our tents to the sound of owls hooting! Yep, we were up THAT early!! Luckily, the morning-time views made us forget the cold!





I packed the fun hats that Cheryl had knit and I am SO thankful I did. I think Wes and I were completely cozy in our coats and hats - and I'll even go so far as to say we looked pretty darn cute, too!

Throughout the weekend, we really were surrounded by beautiful views and I think we all took several photos of the lake alone! The fall colors and Saturday's sunset made it fairly irresistable!




Another site I enjoyed was something fairly special to see... Brad and Wes often snuck off to read together several times. I think if you look reaaalllly closely in this photo you can see it - a special bond is forming.



Saturday we took an extended walk on a few nature trails. Unfortunately, this was BEFORE we got to see a map of the trails... It's ok though, we lived to tell the tale!


As you can see, Wes kept up with the grown-ups and sometimes even outpaced us!

Along the way, we got up close and personal with nature... When it was lovely scenery we didn't mind, but when it was a spider web attacking the lead walker it wasn't so well received!!

Once we found our way to the end of the trail, we had to document our success!

We all had a wonderful time, at some wonderful food, and saw wonderful things. Sunday morning came too quickly, but I think we all packed up quickly once we envisioned turning on our heaters and climbing into our beds! We will all be looking forward to another camping trip soon... But next time we'll pack more blankets!!!

I'd say it was a picture perfect weekend! What do you think?

The Bulb Post

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we won two cases of bulbs in the Fall Fest cake walk. So, as promised, I will show you all the awesome flowers I hope to plant in the near future.

As you scroll through, you'll see the quantity and price on each package - so keep that in mind as you see just what we got for FREE! (AND, keep in mind that this is only half the prize since Cheryl also got two cases of all these flowers)

On some of the flowers, if the photo I scanned doesn't do it justice, you'll find a link to a better image :)

Enjoy!

First up, there were a few varieties of daffodils:





In addition to the daffodils, there were a variety of tulips
These are called "Happy Generation"


And there was a mixed set of tulips, as well.

And, a bag of 40 Ile De France Tulips



The next tulips are aptly named Beauty of Spring

There were also 30 Anemone bulbs for each of us... I've never grown them before but they look like my kind of flowers :)

There was one set of Dutch Iris bulbs and Cheryl left those with me since she already has Irises in her garden.


Another special flower that I am *really* excited about is the Ranunculus Linda gave me a pot of Purple Ranunculus awhile back and I LOVED them until I killed them. So... Now that I have 15 "bulbs" to plant and I *will* be victorious! I just found this article that makes it sound so easy to grow them :) and I know Wes will love the color:

Another new flower I'm looking forward to growing is the Paperwhite. I love how people plant them in clear containers and let the roots show. So beautiful - and I hear they smell lovely too. I want to plant them somewhere in a glass in the kitchen.

One of the plants that I am most thrilled to try is the Hyacinth! They're beautiful, fragrant and they come in PURPLE!

Now, we are drawing to a close - I've saved the two most spectacular surprises for last.

They are both a variety of tulip...

First up, we have the beautiful Abba Tulip

And, lastly, the most striking, most surprising treat in the box (there was only ONE package so I split it with Cheryl)

The gorgeous and unique...
Queen of the Night Tulip

Isn't it so beautiful?

So, now you know what I'll be up to in the next few weeks!! Bring on the sunshine because I want to go play in my garden!

Halloween

Happy Halloween!

I took this photo of a business downtown - they went all out!

I'm waiting for Trick or Treaters while Brad and Wes are travelling throughout the neighborhood in search of goodies - or should I say, Pirate's Booty!! AR!

But, before it was All Hallow's Eve, we had a day full of TREATS!

Brad's parents came to spend the day and we got a big BIG treat.... Here's a hint:


That's right, we got an extra painter for the day!! and you can tell by Brad's smile that he was thankful for the help :)

Meanwhile, Cheryl and I took Wes to our Church's Fall Festival. He was super good at all the games - and I know this because he played ALL the games!! :)

There also was an awesome prize at the cake walk station! They were giving away CASES of Van Zyverden Bulbs!!

So Cheryl and I did the Cake Walk *several* times! :) We each got two cases :) And let me tell you - the bulbs will have to be a post all their own!! I can't wait to show you all the awesome flowers I'll be planting soon!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with our sweet family portrait at our haunted front door!

Happy Fall, Ya'll !!

Well, judging by the cooler temperatures, I'd say it's officially Fall! We've been keeping busy which is weird because I had expected our weekends to clear up after Summer ended. Turns out, we're still just as hectic as before :)





One thing we're really enjoying is working in AWANA. I've been working with 3rd and 4th grade girls as they learn their bible verses and Brad works with 5th grade boys. We both think our group is the best and I think we're both right :)





Here is the whole group gathered together to listen to Mr. Josh and Mrs. Mandi:








You know, I don't think this picture quite does it justice! The kids multiply when it's game time! Haha





Maybe this short video will better convey the boisterous fun we have :) After we go over verses in small groups, the boys all meet together and the girls all meet together for a devotional. Our girls sing several fun songs before we start - In this video you can see some of my 3rd and 4th graders in the foreground... Hint, they're the little ones :)











I'm sure by now you've all heard that Wes got an award in AWANA - He was the Clubber of the Month. That means he had perfect attendance, behaved well, and recited more than the average amount of verses! He has really put alot of effort into his memorization and we are all SO PROUD! We can't say enough good things about this! So, instead, I'll let his big grin do the talking:








That picture was taken right after he found out he had won the award :) Earlier that week he had also brought home several A+ papers in his school work so he was basking in the glow for several weeks. He summed it up by saying, "Lots of A's... Clubber of the Month... I've been being so good. What are you going to do with me?" :) Indeed!





We've been so blessed with how well he's turning out and I couldn't ask for more :)


Oh, and I told you about his AR goal, right? He exceeded it this past semester and he's already doing well on this semester's goal :)





Ok, I doubt ya'll can handle much more Blatant Mom Bragging!





So, I'll move right along to today's update :) I have had a lovely day even though it's chilly outside. With the drop in temperatures, it's time to start bundling up and staying cozy ... Here is Wes enjoying Granny's latest creation:




I may not be pleased with how the forecast has been going... But, as the weather has cooled and the rain increased, our roses have just gone into overload! We've had at least a dozen blooms from the white bush and a slightly smaller crop of pink roses. And each one is more beautiful than the last... Case in point, what could be more beautiful or peaceful than this:

But, back to today... After lunch, Wes and I went to a local nursery and stocked up on flowers! I had been wanting some purple mums lately and maybe a few other flowers. This particular nursery did NOT disappoint! I found lots of wonderful things for our garden:

Sorry this first one is such a blurry photo (even though the soil is in perfect focus...)

These snapdragons are going to be absolutely gorgeous and Wes approves of the fun color. I know Brad always liked them when he was younger so I think everyone will enjoy them:



For a clearer picture of how they'll turn out click here

I also wanted to add some pansies. Last time we planted pansies was at Shenandoah and they were hard to see. I think a lighter color will show up better so I got a flat of these:

Now, about those mums I wanted. Wal-mart had several around 1 foot tall and a few that were a foot and a half...

But nothing could beat the ones I found today!!! As soon as I spotted them I snatched them up!!

I think they make a lovely addition to our front porch, don't you?

Happy Fall, Ya'll !!