Old Fashioned Water Pump Flower Bed

This is the site where Sarah wants to put a flower bed.

These are the bricks and rocks that were hiding under the site where Sarah wants to put a flower bed.

This is the dirt that goes in place of the bricks and rocks that were hiding under the site where Sarah wants to put a flower bed.

This is the boy who ate the dirt that goes in the place of the bricks and rocks that were hiding under the site where Sarah wants to put a flower bed.

Ta Da!

Blooming Bushes at Our House!

Beauty Bush
Thanks Ruthie for the identification!

Rhododendron

Weigela

Really Big Giant Worms

Patio Herb Garden

There is this 18 in x 14 1/2 ft bed that runs along side our patio. It would be perfect for a kitchen or herb garden. Except for the fact that it was until a couple of days ago jam packed with more plants than I can count. However, I can name them all. Irises, Day Lilies, Astilbe, Columbine, Star of Bethlehem, Green Hostas, Wood/Wild Geranium & one lonely 2 inch tall Jackmanii Clematis! I regret that I did not take a before shot.

The plant "line up"! "After"

Lily loves planting!
The Celosia will actually be finding a permanent home in our front beds...

Lily was very much into getting them in the ground!

Daddy Dresses!

My friend, Nicole, sent me this link to a tutorial on craftster.com on how to make little girls' sundresses from a man's button up shirt. Royce has 2 Aeropostale shirts from 8 years ago(!), that I have repeatedly tried to put in the Goodwill bag...but he repeatedly rescued them.

So...I decided to make these shirts into summer clothes for the girls to wear while Daddy is away!

(Sorry, Honey, but they were worth it!)


Lily's dress front
(There was a hole, so I put a rose over it...didn't work out so well, I'll be changing that.)


Lily's dress back


Action back


Action (posed!) front view


Lovely Lily close up


Lily's dress in its past life!
This is in July 2002!


Disassembly!


Nora's dress front


Nora's dress back


Nora's dress in action (back)


I got them done just in time for Royce's brother, Aaron's, 31st Birthday party.

Lily's Valentines

We were in Georgia for my dad's brain surgery in February. We missed Valentine's Day at Lily's school. So Lily and I finished her Valentines and gave them to all the children and teachers the day before the last day. They were a big hit.

You can't really see from the picture, but they are little hand held drums made with a paper mache circle box and a dowel and 2 beads on strings. They are the ones that you roll the dowel in your hands and the beads whack the middle of the circular part and make a thunk.

No, I didn't make them, I ordered them from the Oriental Trading Company. But we did paint all of them!

Front walk beds

Last week, the week of May 18, I worked on 2 of my front beds, they exist on either side of my front walk. I've edged them and laid a brick wall to separate them from the lawn. I also re-laid a limestone paver at the end of my front walk, and put bricks around that (pics to follow). It is still a work in progress. I wish I took before pictures. But I will update the blog as I go!

I have ordered more plants from Springhill, but they are sending them in 3 different shipments! Aargh! My front porch floor is also about to be ripped up and replaced. Then I will hopefully install porch railing...so I get to put very tall things in the back of the bed...Yay! Anyway, here's what I've done so far.

Garden!

Yesterday, Royce's family came over and put in my vegetable garden! Here are some pictures from the day. I can't believe how much gets done and how fast things happen when people work together!


Lily (5 1/2), Thayne (9 mos) & Nora (almost 3)


Asparagus to the right & compost just beyond.


Aaron the Master Tiller!


Aaron & Michael connecting the fence to the post.


Aaron & Michael finishing up the fencing. (Nora watching on the far right.)


Heidi (with 1 month left to go!)
& Joel (2 yrs)

My Mother's Day

We celebrated my Mother's Day on May 6th this year. We went to Lowe's and Menard's and bought some perennials and annuals and just planted flowers all afternoon & evening.

Lily planted the window boxes all by herself (I only helped a teeny bit with placement).






Nora took photos.





And Thayne ate dirt!

Pin Wheel

I can't believe this is actually true...but I do not own a pincushion!! I have seen pictures and descriptions of these and I thought I would try it out! So this is my very first Pin Wheel (or pyn wheel)!