They've gone on back to Texas

Twice a year my bestest girlfriend in the whole entire world comes out to visit me. She comes to help me with Cameron day and to share my kids insanity with me. Once a year she brings her hubby with her and he just goes off with my dad and plays golf till he can't walk anymore. He calls that fun- whatever.

Those two visits a year keep me going. Kinda like she comes out and recharges my battery of fun and happiness. I am so blessed that she is able to do this. Now that the youngest is going into kindergarten I hope to make it out to her place once in a while to hang - Texas style.

Here they are with the kids before they pulled out to hit the road back home..

And here is the "Clampet truck" all packed up with all the goodies she got while here.

Here is to their safe return home - except for all the dead flowers that someone didn't water.

Empty that truck and head on back soon so we can fill it again.

Miss you both- 

Community Garden Time

A few of us in our neighborhood have discussed over the years about leasing a city lot and doing a community garden. Well this year we decided to stop talking about it and do it. The lot is leased and the work began. The lot was covered in trees and tons of ivy and other nastiness that people had littered there for years. 

It was all tilled by Mike and Denise-you go girl she did an amazing job with that large machine. Then compost was spread.

Even the kids got into the act..they are good with shovels and dirt right?

Of course have a trailer with dirt - add kids and it is an instant play place or the worlds largest sandbox.

I'll keep you all posted throughout the summer to see the bumper crop we have.

We did get all the seeds and plants in and have all the posts ready for the fence. It is an ongoing process and one that I am sure we will learn from immensely. I just want some tomatoes, cukes, corn and some zucchini and I'll be happy. Here's to sunny days and a low water bill.

A Tour of Liz's Home

A lot of great things happened even though the trip to Texas was for a sad unfortunate event. The kids and I stayed at my BFF's house. Liz is an amazing woman. She is a true giver. She does so much for everyone and I am proud and lucky to call her my friend. She comes out to visit me twice a year since it is hard for me to visit with the kids. Though now that they are a bit older I hope to grace her doorstep at least once a year.

While there I told her I was taking pictures so I could give a tour of her house.

She is an amazing decorator and has an awesome talent for creating vignettes.

Lets visit shall we?

Here is the hall tree she has upon entering - see she is welcoming you.

This is her living room. You see this immediately upon entering. Actually right now it has crown molding as my hubby did it for her before he headed back to Afghanistan - it is the least we can do for her.

Notice all the wonderful items on her walls and her very cool lamps.

To the left of the living room is her dining room..my fave room. It is done so well. I adore that sideboard.

Here is her bathroom. Very nice. Though she is getting ready to gut it and redo the whole thing. She even displays the toilet paper in her cool way.

This is her very nice sink. I love the whole area. It was funny as I told her- wow I love that mirror and she laughed and said - well you should you gave it to me. WOW it has been a long time since I have been there.

Next we have her room. Her bedroom furniture is so nice and it is antique. The bed is so high she surely must take a flying leap to get up there. Don't you adore that mirror back there?

See that armoire- yeah you can do the ahhhhh with me. 

Now on to the least favorite room in the house to her - the kitchen. Not that she doesn't like to decorate it - she does. She does not like to cook. She loves big kitchens as they give you tons of room to display and she is a hoarder of dishes...so she loves to display them all.

This is the far wall in the kitchen..notice that nice hutch. She is going to get a new sink, faucet and counter tops. A mini makeover yeah...she deserves it. 

This is the back family room. She had way more in it but has put some away - basically due to dogs. :)

They rarely use this room now that her son has moved out and has his own place so I told her she should turn it into her craft studio..and she loves that ideal. By the way I didn't get a pic of her craft room as we stayed in there and I always had it too messy. Dang because it is one darling room.

Now we will head out to the back yard. It is a garden to die for. Liz has the most green thumb of anyone I know and her back yard is wonderful. As we enter the backyard we are greeted by this pergola that is covered in cross vine. She has it done so well.

Next we head behind the garage; where this secret garden is..I

love this area. 

This is the seating and cooking area..Don't you just want to lie down and take a nap?

Well that is a tour of Liz's house. We'll head in after one more look at those lady banks roses on the fence line- amazing aren't they? 

Thanks Liz for letting us crash your pad. We had a great time there- well except for the puppy pooping on the floor- gross. I'll have to come again when it is time to set up the craft studio so I can help you out.

It's Spring Break 2010

It's that time again, when college students head south.

Gone are the days of bikinis, baby oil, nasty hotel rooms, all night drive to get there, tequila, oysters in the half shell and running out of money. Ahh good times.

This spring break will be spent in a more family way. We get to spread more compost to get all the gardens looking like this- nice huh?

We'll be doing more of this too- yeah new roller blades .
Can you say need more band aids and icee pops to stop the pain?

We've got our little cousin coming in from Michigan for the weekend before he heads off to spend his spring break at the beach..so gotta get some cousin time going on. 

We've got the little man's 7th birthday to do on Saturday- hmm how do you top a great big wheel like that? 

And we have Easter to do on Sunday- yeah we do a big egg hunt in our yard and our neighbors yard with tons of eggs and then some nice brunch food. Like we wont' have tons of candy already in our bellies by then. 

So, with all that going on you'll have to pardon me as I will need the week off from posting. I have a lot to do and many little kids to keep me busy. I'll still pop in and read other's posts but mine will have to wait a week.

So, until then you all have a great week-

hunt for lots of eggs-

craft away-

hug your little ones-

and hopefully have wonderful gardening weather. 

Saturday Soccer

Well it is Saturday and time for more spring soccer. Spring you say? Well it was so cold this morning some might just argue that season. We had 3 games today as it was double header weekend for the son. Yes we spent 3 hours out in the cold to play soccer but we didn't let it damper our mood at all.

Here is game one - with Sophie all wrapped up in her coat to play.

You'll notice that her coat is now under her jersey- yes we had to do some creative redressing on the sidelines to put that jacket underneath. Her coach seemed to have an issue to her wearing her jacket on top of her jersey even though the other team was doing it- oh well.

 

Next we hit Jack's game - we already put his sweat jacket under his jersey. The sun was starting to shine more but that dang wind sure kept it chilly.

And after 3 hours in windy, sunny, chilly soccer games this is how Jack felt..I'll admit it. I felt that way too.

Great game kiddo's. Now we have a week off with no practices or games next weekend- yeah it is spring break. Time to get tired by just playing all day with our friends who didn't go to the beach :)

What we did on Friday...

We decided to hit the field of daffodils down the street. It was so pretty and warm out and the day just screamed to wander through some flowers. I had the best models in the world to shoot.

This area just gets more beautiful every year as the flowers keep spreading naturally. There is something about nature- she just does her best all by herself.

Enjoy our walk through nature.

This is how we roll on Saturdays

How do we roll on Saturdays? Well we are at the soccer fields most of the day that is how.

This was opening weekend of soccer and after such a long, miserable and wet winter we were so happy to see the sun and feel some warmth.

The kids did amazing. It definitely is their calling. They were so excited to get out and play again.

Here is Jack - looking good boy. He scored twice and was all smiles.

And after his game we went right over to the other field and then watched Sophie. Great job girl. She scored 4 times and of course pointed it out to Jack. 

So, if you are looking for us on Saturday for the next couple of months - this is where we'll be. Stop by and enjoy the sunshine with us if you want.