and now we sit and wait…

i’m burnt, i’m tired, i’m dirty, and i've got some paint on me too.

seriously…i’ve spent the last two days busting my butt planting. and these pictures are all that I have to show for it…i know i know it’ll keep growing and filling in and I should be getting some nice zucchini, squash and tomatoes sometime later this summer...apparently i’m into instant gratification, none of this waiting around and watching things grow at a snails pace. but whatever, i can’t make time go faster (trust me i would make this year go in a blink of an eye if i could!!!)
can you see the chain link fence? its EVERYWHERE... I hate it, and I can’t justify spending thousands of dollars putting in a nicer one…it does the job and it came with the house…so, the plan is to plant vine-y things all around the fence so that i have a “natural” privacy fence thingy…so like in a 100 years I’ll have the perfect fence with vines and flowers all over it…I should just get the stupid fence.

this by far is the favorite that i have going on right now...i love how it hangs over the basket

I’ve totally slacked off on sewing. since I’ve practically lived outside for the past two days and we had story time at the library, my kids are doing baseball and soccer, thank heavens I didn’t sign them up for swimming lessons… I haven’t even seen my sewing machine. It’s cold and lonely and it’s feeling neglected but i’m planning on sewing today…on the schedule is to make a skirt out of a pillow case i got at a thrift store (50cents), and I’m sewing outside pillows for my chairs in the back patio area. Oh yeah and I’m hoping to finish that darn doll quilt that’s been sitting there staring at me every day as I pass by it. Big plans… lets see how much I actually get done. wow is anyone else sensing a sour mood…hmmm. I need chocolate…oh wait i’ve already been abusing the chocolate…i mean i need MORE chocolate.

Inspiration in all the right places

this is my uncle, and this is his backyard…isn’t it amazing? he built the little house (it used to be the playhouse when i was growing up, and now it’s his little retreat) he made the pond (we used to swim in there as little kids) it even has a water fall and bridge. As i’ve grown older i look at this backyard (that I’ve been staring at for over 30 years now) and I see it in a different light. it used to just be a backyard with endless possibilities for the imagination to go wild with play, but now it’s amazing and inspirational and i see the endless years and devotion and hard work that this man has put into this beautiful backyard masterpiece.

this is my sis-in-law chadley and her husband rob’s backyard. i love the vibrant colors i love the mirror, i love love love topiaries, soooo you know i’m loving it all.

anyways yesterday i decided that i was no longer going to be inspired from a distance…i’ve actually started my transformation from “winter yuck” to “summer yum”.
the planting has begun, i spent yesterday planting flowers and vegetables. today i am going to go buy a few more pots for my garden, i’m painting some outside "furniture" and I can’t wait to show you my progress tomorrow! Happy planting (even though all of you have been doing it for a while already!)

what i realized on my trip...

** my 6 year old can read REALLY well. well enough that i had to ban him from reading the billboards in las vegas.

**going cold turkey off of diet dr. pepper, projects, and blogging...after shakes and rocking back and forth in the corner for a couple of days...it was nice to see that going back to "simplicity" still drives me crazy and i need to have a million things going on, so while in san diego the first week of our trip i read 2 books, went to the pool, beach, and park on a regular basis with the kids, and went to legoland and seaworld. while in the central coast, i read some more, talked and laughed a lot with old friends from college, went thrift store shopping, and the kids had a blast with the kids who's house we stayed at. (thank you kate and brian! and thank you for stocking your fridge with diet dr. pepper!!!)

**i have great friends and family in california.a cute little farmers market style barn in san luis obispo

**flowers and gardens grow better and fuller when it's NOT 8000 feet high. i have pictures (still need to go through them all) of gardens from my uncle's amazing back yard and my friend's and sis-in law's gardens...i have been truly inspired, and am going to take bits and pieces from people and try to make things work up here in the high altitude. i'm going to research what will and wont grow . **california has a sick sense of what is not wanted stuff, but that just meant that i got to go to thrift stores and find things that made me sooooooo happy sometimes it hurt! this enamel ware and crochet hot pad was a great find. and exactly what i was looking for to hold katie's utensils.
cute little chair i got for 50 cents.
and oh. my. gosh. yeah i HAD to take this dresser cause it was $30!!!!! why would anyone get rid of that? i'm planning on slapping paint on it and am debating of just using that one for katie's room and using the big one (her great grandma's one) in the barn that jake is going to start working on restoring into our little get away when he gets home

**i have the the coolest church and people around me...seriously...i got a call while on my way to cali and it was my neighbors saying that the church (leaders) would like to know if i would mind if they had some youth mow my lawn while i was gone, and also that they heard through the grapevine (not a very long one in this town) that i had gotten rid of my goats and that i was concerned what to do about my pasture and the rapid growing grass in the area...they were wondering if i wanted to put a couple of calf's in there just to keep it down. first thought was "i don't think i want to buy any cows right now thank you" but noooo, someone would put THEIR calf's in there so they "mow"down the grass and they would come and take care of them ( get them water, and bottle feed them) i came home after two weeks and sure enough, my lawn was mowed and there were these two cute little calf's staring at me. my 8 year old finally has forgiven me for getting rid of the goats....there's even talk that the cows are even better than our goats...nice. thank you middle of nowhere people!

**i love my home no matter where it is, it's always nice to be back home.

**i am soooo ready to start working on my gardens (it's finally okay to do so up here without fear that it will freeze) and i am sooo ready to make stuff again! it was a great break, but i'm back with a vengeance!

for fathers day i hate you...

10 things I hate about you:

1.you are a wonderful husband... I hate that I miss you everyday.

2.you are a great father...I hate that the boys don’t have you around to do fatherly things with.

3.you baby Katie to no end...I hate that she will not know you till you get home.

4.you take care of me... I hate that I’ve had to figure out photo shop (and not very well) all by myself.

5.you are the hardest worker I know...I hate that the boys don’t have you as a role model all year long.

6.you are a sponge for knowledge... I hate not having you spout off useless facts.

7.you are funny...I hate that when I laugh at something, it’s not something that you said.

8.you are eccentric at times...I hate that you are not here to complain that i am facing you at night in bed and my breathing makes your arm hairs sway back and forth.

9.you are super organized...okay well I don’t hate that one, you can be kind of annoying when you can organize to no end everything and then organize those things you organized into more organization. I guess I hate not being annoyed at your organizing skills.

10.you are not here...and I hate that.

happy fathers day hun from me and the crew

we had a blast

seaworld, pools, family, friends, legoland, beach and whole heck of a lot of driving... and i survived...but it sure is nice to be home again.