Joel and I got to start out the weekend with a date. My mom was yearning for some Rosemary time, so we said, “Take her!!” We ate at a local place called Decoy’s and it was pretty ho-hum, but still nice just to be out together. Then we went to see Prince Caspian and we absolutely loved it. I was really glad we picked that over Indiana Jones – especially since I hear Indiana Jones had aliens in it! O_o

I got to sleep in on Saturday morning! Joel could have as well (Rosemary was still at my mom’s), but he wasn’t able to sleep. I got up at 8 and he made me an omelet. Awwww. We picked up the kitchen to prepare for our new appliances (stove, microwave, dishwasher), which were going to be delivered that morning. And then I ran a couple of errands on my way to pick Rosemary up.

My mom had planned to go for a bike ride with Rosemary, Jack, and Mary Kay (Jack’s grandma) - but Rosemary would have NOTHING to do with the bike buggy. She’s been in it before, but only a couple of times at the end of last summer. My mom was hoping she would give the buggy a try once I got there, and sure enough I coaxed her in (of course, I also had to coax a giant stuffed teddy bear and Ducky in). Once she actually got in, she loved it and we went for a little bike ride around the neighborhood. On our way home, we stopped to visit my mom’s neighbors, who were moving out. It’s so sad! They’ve lived there for at least 20 years. And it’s always scary to not know who the new neighbors are going to be. Especially since the neighbors on the other side just had their house foreclosed (Ridiculous planning on their part because they’ve lived there for almost 30 years ...) - losing both sets of neighbors in the same year is not easy!

I digress. My mom was kind to make us lunch, so we visited until Rosemary could barely keep her eyes open and then we went home. She fell asleep within minutes of getting into the car. At home, Joel was working on installing the appliances. I put Rosemary in her bed and decided to drive up to the garden center. I have had some big dreams for my yard and didn’t know exactly how I was going to fund it all. I really wanted to put hanging potted plants and window boxes on the fence, plant some shrubs along the sidewalk, and mix some perennials throughout the lacking garden in the back of our yard. The last couple of summers, we have been so busy that our yard has been on the back burner. I feel like I am going to have time for the yard this summer and I really wanted to put some work into it. I had been praying that we would be able to do some things, and I kid you not ... a few weeks ago we found an envelope in our mailbox with $100. It was from Joel’s aunt and uncle and when Joel asked them what it was for they said, “I’m not sure, but God told us to give it to you.” What an incredible blessing! I immediately felt like it was for the yard, but wanted Joel to be sure. This weekend he gave me the go ahead to spend it. So I bought annuals for the potted plants and window boxes, perennials for the gardens, and we had already bought some bushes (russian cypress) that Cub had on sale. This weekend we got to work planting everything.

Saturday kind of got ahead of us, so I only got the window boxes planted before we had to start worrying about dinner. Joel spent most of the day installing the appliances; and we are both happy to say that everything is working great!

Sunday morning we went to church and then, since it was supposed to be an icky day, I decided to get all the inside work done. Joel went to the grocery store and I gave the kitchen a deep cleaning, cleaned the floors in the dining room, folded laundry, etc. It actually turned out to be a beautiful day, so I made sure to sit out on the deck with a magazine and I finally painted my toenails! We went to Adam and Sarah’s house for dinner. Sarah made one of the most incredible homemade pizzas I have EVER had. I was worried because it looked very deep-dish ... and I don’t really like deep dish. But it was amazing. (Which reminds me, Sarah – can I get the recipe?) I thought it was really nice to visit with them and spend some time with “Baby Winter” (as Rosemary calls her). I cannot stinking believe how fast time is flying – Baby Winter is nearly 6 months old!

We were all completely ignorant to the fact that, while we were visiting, a tornado was completely ripping up neighborhoods to the north and east of us. It is absolutely unbelievable the devastation. Actually, I have seen tornado devastation like this before on the news, but it doesn’t seem as real when it’s in a place that you’re not familiar with. The tornado hit about 30 minutes north of my home, 8 minutes north of my mom’s home in Hugo. Joel and I lived in Hugo about 5-6 years ago. We have a lot of friends and family who live there and everyone we know is okay; none of them lost their houses. They all have hail damage, and some have window damage, etc. But it’s nothing when you consider that entire houses have been wiped out and a two-year-old boy lost his life. It’s really sad, and I can’t help but tear up when I see all the pictures in the newspaper.

Monday morning we started the day out with a walk on the Snail Lake trails. We saw this really goofy looking bird-watching guy. He was decked out with binoculars, suspenders, and gadgets of every kind hanging off of everywhere – his belt, his hat, his suspenders, in pockets, etc. When Rosemary saw him, she started laughing. Sometimes her lack of filter inspires me. :P When we got home, we really buckled down on the yard work. We moved all the ugly peonies to less conspicuous areas along the side of the house. I am simply not a big fan of peonies and we had them lining our sidewalks. I didn’t want to just throw them away and didn’t know anyone who wanted them, so I decided to move them to another area of the house – and I think, if they survived the transplant, I’ll be pretty happy with them where they are. Then we planted the russian cypresses and split a bunch of hostas up, planting them more evenly along the sidewalk. Joel and I both worked pretty hard cleaning up that area – it’s a project we’ve needed to do for a couple years and it just felt good to be doing it. That area of our house is the most high traffic and also the most neglected (we live on a corner with sidewalks, near a park, so we get a lot of pedestrian traffic). I cannot tell you how excited I am to watch it grow this summer.

Time got away from us and all of a sudden we realized we were going to be late to have cake and ice cream with Joel’s family in celebration of his grandma’s 91st birthday. So we cleaned up as fast as we could, woke Rosemary up and got moving.

A very nice weekend! Full, but a good kind of full. You all get bonus points if you read the whole thing. Now, what did you do this weekend?

It feels so good to be outside working on the yard. Last year we just did not have the ability to spend much time in the yard. Our house was nearing the end of the most stressful remodeling project ever. Rosemary was new to the world and she spent the first few months of her life making us pay for bringing her into the world. I was stressed out because my baby cried all the time, refused to nurse, and oh a myriad of other things.

I do sincerely hope that when I'm done having kids, I can say Rosemary was the hardest baby. I know they're not all like that. I've seen many examples.

Tangent aside, Joel strapped Rosemary in the kelty this morning and went to work raking and then seeding the back yard. I pulled out my trowel and some fertilizer and went to planting. Last weekend I bought a Gerbera Daisy plant, a whole bunch of zinnias, and this orange daisy-like plant with a purple center. This weekend I got to work planting them. I'm not kidding when I say I bought a "bunch" of zinnias. I think I bought 24 ... maybe 30. I have visions of great flower bouquets on my coffee table.

I'll have to get some more annuals to fill in where the tulips are (since they have finished blooming and the green will go away) and then I have to worry about the gardens in the front yard a bit.

Ooooh. Worrying about gardens, sounds like fun!

I need some advice. We have a fence around our backyard. On the outside of the fence on the west side is a garden area and then a sidewalk. It's an area that gets mostly shade. Maybe a little sun when the sun is in the east. It used to have ugly flowers (I just don't like peonies, sorry) and a bunch of hostas planted in it. Last fall I ripped out all the peonies and gave them away and then transplanted the hostas to other areas in my yard. I would like to plant some sort of shrubs along the area. I would like the plants to be there year-round, so I'm thinking it has to be some sort of pine something or other. But I don't want to spend $300. And I don't want them to grow more than 3 or 4 feet tall.

Any suggestions?