Wyatt is 8!
We had a little family fun yesterday because his party is going to be this Sunday. We picked up some cupcakes and he received one of his presents and we just hung out together for most of the day.
 I'll do a complete run down of some of the party highlights this weekend but I couldn't wait that long to post an update.
To my crazy, drama boy,
You keep the world on its toes and a light shining bright in our home.
Love you buddy.    
                                                

*Carrie*

 Arizona Highways Friday Foto

Yesterday I submitted this photo to AZ Highways Friday Foto.
I've never submitted any photo there before, but I found it extremely satisfying to see my photo on their blog today.
I was actually stalking their blog all morning because I love a good monsoon photo.
Did you actually believe that last line?
Sucker!
From the looks of things they pretty much showed anyone who submitted a photo.
But who cares! Hundreds if not thousands of people are going to see it. Yeeeee HAWWWWWW!
One of my dreams is to actually have a photo in their magazine. It's something that I'm striving for.
Have a great one.
*Carrie*

On Saturday a group of 12 kids from on church came back from Fuge camp in Glorietta NM.
I was asked to "sponsor" one of the girls that went. Sponsoring is my way of saying that I provided a care package filled with goodies and inspiring cards for everyday she were there. I also had to connect with my young lady and pray with her before she went.
Oh and wouldn't you know it, I forgot to take a picture of the cards I made.
I wonder if she kept them? I'm gonna ask.
Anyway on Sunday the kids came back all filled with Holy Spirit and just charged from the camp.
One young lady in particular really caught my eye. Normally she is standing there watching everyone as they sing during worship. She doesn't usually smile and I don't think I have ever seen her sing. This time she was standing on a chair rocking out with this huge grin on her face.
Now most people would be totally aghast with standing on a chair during service but if the good Lord led this young lady, I say You Go Girl!

After services I was talking to her mother, and told her what I saw and how I wanted to tell her daughter how awesome she was but I was afraid of how it would come off, so I said I would send her a card. Her mom and Rob encouraged me to tell her but I wasn't confident enough and when I mentioned the card she said that was a fabulous idea because that is her daughters language, that she also sends her daughter notes.
With that in mind, me being me, I procrastinated a couple of days but yesterday I knocked this card out. I must say this is one of my favorite cards I've done. It's all my idea, not scrap lifted and one that I'm very happy with.

This card also represents my idea from a YEAR ago about using all my cricut cartridges. Considering that my cartridge number is now over 170, I better get my butt in gear.
This card used Nifty Fifties for the background, Rock Princess for the young lady and Phrases cart for the You Rock.

Oh and I forgot, yesterday afternoon I found out that I can download my cricut handbooks to my Kindle Fire! Oh yeah, baby. I spent most of the evening downloading handbooks from the library and then going into the shopping area to download the digital handbooks. Now I just need to go through my list and see what handbooks I'm missing and the ones that I waiting for cricut to update. To find out how to download the books just google it, there are lots of videos.
*Carrie*

It's the second wettest July on record but can you believe that its the first one I was able to photograph? And I almost decided not to go out and shoot.
Thanks goes to my children for driving me crazy enough that I looked over at Rob and said, "I'm gonna go shoot."
So glad I did.
My main priority is to be safe and once I was trying to find the storm I realized I didn't have a lot of time to get far enough away.
Granted this storm was miles away but lightning can strike up to 30 miles away.

I pulled up next to the airplane graveyard and got out, watching the sky, set up and got two shots. The second one made me nervous enough that I packed up and drove further east.
On Houghton rd, I pulled over by some dieing saguaros and tried to take a picture standing in the back of the truck. The wind was blowing enough to rock me so this second picture is kinda cool with the crisp lightning and the double exposed cactus.

I jumped down from the truck, set up again and hit the shutter button. I was just about to release it when I got this bad boy. My favorite of the group.
I was feeling like the storm was headed right for me so I scooted down the road to get a little more south.
The bad part about driving farther down Houghton is that there isn't any saguaros to help your composition.
That's where I took this zig zag, down here.
It was also the last bolt of the storm.

Looking back over my lightning photos from the last couple of years my best ones came from storms in August and September. My monsoon season isn't over yet!

*Carrie*

I'm sitting at the desk checking emails, I hear birds chirping and the hawks screeching.
The next thing I see is this little bird bounce off our screen door and fly off but hot on his tail is a hawk coming in with talons out front and he's trying to stop before he runs into the door. I get up an look out the window and the hawk is now sitting on the top of our porch swing before he flies into our tree.
I grabbed the camera and came outside just hoping to get a better picture. I obviously got just a bit too close because he flew over to the block wall.

 My hands were shaking so bad I was lucky to get this clear shot. As the camera was snapping away the second hawk flew onto another wall and then flew off. This guy proceeded to hang out for a bit.
He flew off the back wall and came over to the front wall and was now closer to me. I know he was still searching for food but it was cool to see his markings.
Eventually he flew up onto our neighbors fence. He turned his head to look at me and I could have sworn he was checking to see if I was still following.

withing seconds he jumped down between the gap that is between our fences and I didn't see him come back out so I'm wondering if he caught anything. Maybe he decided to eat it right there. I have no clue.
I'm just happy to show some crisp pictures of these guys, I know there are three but I have no idea who is male or not and I should give them names instead of hawk 1 and hawk 2. The third was is noticeably smaller, so he is easier to identify.
Hm mm....what should I name them?




*Carrie*

 I posted on Facebook last night that since I've had no lightning to chase I'll be hunting the hawks.
Last evening the pair were in my neighbors pine tree and then in this dead one. I was cruised over and at one point one of the hawks started making their noises and they met in the air in the middle of our road and you could see the mouse clutched in one of its talons.

Last night I was telling Rob that I needed a faster lens to get better pictures.
Just to clarify, I have the 75-300 you know the one that is only like $200? It is slower than molasses unless that is what your taking a picture of :0
We started talking about which type of lens I would need and the cost. HAHAHA! I don't see buying a new lens anytime soon unless we win Publishers Clearing house.
Plus, if I could buy a new lens, it would be a debate over a long lens, ultra wide or macro and lately I'm leaning toward the macro. I will continue to make due with what I have and do the best with it as I can.
So I will continue to follow this bird family and hopefully get some awesome shots.
*Carrie*

When your in a hurry you don't always get the best shots.
Sunday morning right before church, our local hawk landed on our wall trying to catch my lizards.
Hey, I like my lizards, they keep me entertained.
I scooted outside to take a picture when the second hawk flew up. I just kept my finger on the button hoping one of these would look OK.
They both flew away within seconds. I occasionally see them flying down the alley  like bullets about chest high off the ground.

Now fast forward to this morning.
I was out shooting the sunrise when I heard the familiar chirps of the hawks. I watched as they flew from light post to tree chasing the doves around.
Then the pair completely freaked me out.
I'm standing in my driveway, in my jammies, barefoot, when the pair decided to head straight for me, and then flew up into my palm tree. Seriously, they were maybe 6 ft from my head. I had both cameras in my hands and my adrenaline was rushing so bad I never thought to point it up until one of the hawks flew off the tree over my head away.
I was so pumped after that, that all my shots were pretty blurry from camera shake. As Rob and I talked this morning we were watching the skies we saw a third hawk. It looks like we have a family. I do know that their nest is only 4 houses away.
 I'm really hoping to get some awesome shots of these guys that I can frame for the house.

*Carrie*

 Here is the story of the peacocks.
I apologize for the bad photos but you get the idea and I wasn't sure how my flash would affect the birds, it didn't.
One of the nice gentlemen that worked at the monastery told us after dinner on Saturday night that around sunset the peacocks put on a show.
Every night around sundown all the peacocks would come over to this wall, one by one they hopped up to this wall. Then he said it was like a pecking order each one would fly up into the huge tree in the meditation garden.

At first all of us women waited but as it got darker and the birds were just walking around most of the ladies gave up and went back to our rooms.
I think the peacocks were waiting for us to thin because shortly after they began to fly up to the wall and then fly up into the tree.
I had know idea peacocks did this.
All of a sudden you would hear this whoop, whoop like a helicopter blade and then the bird was on the tree, or you would hear them flying up to higher branches.

It was just so cool and not something everybody gets to see.
The next morning I went on another walk about because I had a few pictures that I really wanted before we left for the day.
As I was nearing the meditation garden I looked up and there were still a couple of peacocks and peahens in the tree!
How cool!
I'm hoping that sometime this fall, when it gets a little bit cooler to take the kids and Rob to explore.

I remember years ago, before kids, Rob and I would go on road trips and we would pass this place, a place I only knew from the 70ft cross you could see for miles. To know that you are free to explore and appreciate their beauty is awesome.
*Carrie*

 A week ago I had the pleasure of helping facilitate a women's retreat called Learning to Love the Master. The premise of the retreat is to reflect and journal your God story. Where has God been, from your earliest memories. It is an amazing journey.
At this particular retreat we tried out a new facility, The Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David, AZ.
What a beautiful location. Upon arrival we were surprised to see peacocks roaming the grounds.
The following morning my friend Annette and I set off to explore. We found 3 ponds with bullfrogs and dragonflies galore, ant hills everywhere, and wonderful nooks, crannies, gardens and trails. We lost count of how many peacocks and peahens are roaming around but believe me you hear them.
It was such a peaceful morning and Annette and I walked and talked for over an hour. Our favorite part of course was photographing all the peacocks. I was floored with how many displayed their feathers. We even had one that we could hand feed and he let us touch his feathers! So soft, so awesome.

I have always loved peacocks, they are right up their with flamingos so this was just a beautiful display of color.
After a day of reflection, journaling and sharing all of us ladies went on a little Saturday evening.
I'll leave those photos for another post because I have some cool peacock info.
If you are looking for quiet, peace, solitude, good food and gorgeous views, this is your place. I'm sure our church will be having more retreats here.
*Carrie*

Four years ago today I was laying on the couch watching Cars with the family when my water broke. We had no idea whether you were a boy or girl and now that the time had come, I was excited to find out.
As crazy as it may sound, I giggled as I was prepped for my c-section, once I was numb anyway. I felt the tugs and heard the doctor say, "it's a girl!"
Oh what a girl you are.
For your 4th birthday you received 9 new dresses. You prefer dresses to pretty much anything else. You can be the pickiest, most stubborn child.

Your favorites right now are My little Pony, which we got you 5 of the 6 for your birthday, we've gone back twice to get the 6th but the store is out. Lets see, Barbie movies, any of them, Disney Princesses, nightgowns, jewelry and tiaras.

Chelsea has now graduated out of the church nursery and into junior church with her brother and sister, God help them all. LOL
The Thursday before her birthday party Chelsea got a horrible case of the flu and I wondered if we should cancel her party. By Saturday her fever was gone and we had a blast with the family. That night though,

Wyatt and I got the flu. Wyatt rebounded better than I have but I think I'm finally feeling better. I just pray no one else in the family gets it. I would feel horrible.

Chelsea, you don't like to eat dinner at dinner time or you don't like what I make, you like pizza crust but not the pizza. We are trying to break your habit of BURPING every time you drink anything. You love Cheetos and are crazy for dum dum suckers. You also like bananas, cheese sticks, and grapes.
I love to listen to Chelsea sing in the car, she seems to have Adele nailed in the chorus of Rumor has it and Katy Perry in Firework.
This will be our last year hanging out at home together while the big kids are at school and I pray that we live up every moment. Of course life is never dull with Chels around. Happy Birthday baby girl, we love you
*Carrie*

For the last couple weeks I have been working on the second installment of the Artist's Way books called Walking in the World.
Oh my goodness how this book has spoken to me.
Do you know when people tell you that you need to hear or do something X amount of times until you get it? This has been my X. I've completed my tasks for this week and I think my favorite has been my letter to my inner artist. Before I re-write what I wrote (type that 5 times fast) I also want to mention my second favorite task which was to write 20 things that you wish for. That task was an eye opener because I think it truly showed who Carrie really is. As a person I feel that I'm greedy, materialistic, and selfish most of the time but give me 20 things to wish for, and dang it! I guess wishes are selfish! I found that most of what I was wishing for leaned more towards making me a better person.
Here is a few things that I wished for: a large studio, to travel with my family, more generous, an interior designer for my home, a cleaner house, to be more brave, to take classes in any subject that interests me, to have original ideas, etc..

My last task was to write a letter to my inner artist. I don't plan on rewording everything so that it flows better for you, this is just my thought process as I wrote the letter.
To my inner artist,
I have down played  my creative nature for so long, I still don't know what it would look like to truly set free. My dream from many years ago has been this, to have a home in Oregon, mostly Astoria, with a beautiful view of God's world around me. A big studio with lots of light to just create. I wanted to have family picnics in the vibrant green grass and go sailing on a calm lake or tossed around on the  ocean. Yes, I have spent many years holding back and not even trying because I thought that I'm not enough. Honestly that was fear and fear is mostly in our heads, it doesn't materialize. I want people to know my dreams, because I feel we are all connected and who knows, maybe that one person is part of my path that will lead me closer to my dream. I have always had a "try something once" attitude and "life is an adventure". Why didn't I apply that to my creative life sooner? I need to stop worrying about the cost of one piece of paper and try. If I fail, what happens? I at least know how not to do it. Experiment, let go. Experiment with color, with angles. Put your visions on paper and revisit them often. Admire those around you for their strengths and avoid looking down on people. We are all on a journey, for this you know too well. Some prosper, some give up, some deny, and some at least try. Obviously right now you are trying many creative avenues. I think that this is a good thing, many things in life are intertwined, who knows where it can/will lead you. Are you open? Are you willing? Than enjoy the ride.

Last Saturday I took the kids up to Walgreen's thinking that they could get a pack of go-gos and Chelsea a my little pony toy. We walked out with a pack of go-gos for Kelly, a Lego man for Wyatt and this tiara combo set. This tiara set has been the best investment of $4.00 that I've spent in a while. Chelsea has worn it every single day since. Seriously it doesn't come off. At bedtime its on her shelf and as soon as she awakens its on her head and she comes to us to help put on her necklace.  We've gone to church, grocery stores, Lowe's, she is a princess and everyone thinks its the cutest thing. If they only knew what a terror she is.

Our front yard is in bloom and my favorites have to be these day lilies that originated from Rob's grandmas yard in Mississippi. We've had them for about 10 years and they continue to bloom every summer. In the last day or so my hibiscus are blooming again, the jasmine is flowering and my rose bush is unfurling it's pretty petals.
I love seeing all the color.
On Monday we went to Lowe's to pick up a couple of things and we added some dianthus, a red mandavilla and a honeysuckle bush. 

I really wish we had the money to pay someone to come work on our yard. I have this vision in my head of all the ideas that Rob and I talked about and I just want to see it come to fruition. Yes, I know that it will mean more if we do the work ourselves, but I'm just so excited to be able to sit under the arbor, watch the birds eat from one feeder and drink from the bird bath. We have some beautiful hummingbirds and to know that we bought some of our plants to cater to them and the butterflies just fills my soul. To be able to watch the vines climb the trellis that will one day provide shade to sit under. To see all the colorful artwork that the kids and I are making.
In two years, wow, that long?! I can't wait to show off how are garden is growing. The oasis that we envision. Rob would tell you that he is excited about growing a bigger garden next year. So far, our crop hasn't yielded any veggies, but to see them grow and spread out, watch the blossoms pop open on the squash plants has made him very excited.
Every morning and/or evening we make our rounds and discuss how some of the plants are doing. We make adjustments on water and shade and then our talks circle back to a few of the plants and where they might go in the back yard.
Maybe I'll try to sketch what the yard will look like. Of course it could take awhile because we keep changing our mind on where everything is going to go.
Last Saturday before going to Walgreen's the kids and I tried to make the paint pots that were buzzing around Pinterest. rainbow pot tutorial I let the kids pick their own colors obviously. I will try this again because these pots sure didn't turn out like I thought they would. I probably didn't use enough paint, so I plan on trying again, I just need to go buy more paint.
*Carrie*

 Summer vacation is in full swing around our house. Late mornings in our jammies, video games, reading. Yep, pretty much lazy days.
Its driving me crazy.
I was journaling last night about how my schedule is completely off and except for house cleaning, I'm not getting much done.
I even went so far as to make a creativity schedule and I haven't accomplished one thing.
And yes, I'm beating myself up about it.
Yesterday I took the kids to Bookmans, a local used book store, an awesome place.
Kelly was looking to start the Dork Diaries series, Wyatt wanted Spy kids and Chelsea wanted pretty much everything. I headed over to the self help to

look for more books on creativity, motivation and self esteem.
I could have sworn that my reading list was on my phone but alas, it was not and I could not remember what I was trying to find.
So I browsed. I ended up grabbing the third book for the Artist's Way and a book called 100 ways to motivate.
I love the feel of a book in my hands and though I would love a tablet I don't think I could ever stop buying books.
There is just something about them.
I glanced through the books again last night and already I'm getting twitchy to get out of this mini funk.
I keep beating myself up about what isn't getting done, that I'm not realizing that the kids are having fun and not saying their bored. I have projects that I want to do with them but I haven't because I think I've been too lazy. Next thing I know it will be 2 days before school starts. Your probably saying, "well then do them". And I say, "I'm going to". If its bothering me this much then I'm gonna do something about it.
Moving on...
OK, last week I saw a glimpse of this quote on either Ali's blog or Pinterest and it just really spoke to me in that moment and so I grabbed my gypsy and recreated it. I cut it out in vinyl with my Cricut and attached it to the mirror.
Two hours later I realize what I should have put up there; flush the toilet and wash your hands. Yeesh.
*Carrie*

Summer is here and with that I have been cruising the boards looking for fun, easy crafts that I can do with the kiddos. I came along this one on Pinterest and thought that it should be easy enough to do Pony bead sun catchers . I had some pony beads that I bought and used at Scouts so I did a test sample. The beads were different than what the picture showed and I liked the sun catchers she made, so I loaded the kids up and we went to Joann's to buy more pony beads.
I really never thought I would use my original bag of beads and at one time wondered why I was even buying them. Now, I'm going to the store to specifically buy more and in a variety too!
Crafters addiction for sure. I let the kids pick out what style of beads they wanted to use and we came home to start arranging. It really is super simple.
I took my cake pans, and layed down one layer of beads. I popped them into the oven for 15-20 min at 400 degrees. Because I'm melting plastic I opened up the windows and doors, turned on the ceiling fans, because of the fumes. After I felt that the beads had melted enough I took the pan out of the oven and put it on a cooling rack. Once the pan was cool I flipped it over, gave it a couple of taps and this popped out.
The one shown above is Kelly's, she was going for a rainbow look. I haven't gotten a good picture of the others because I need to drill holes so that I can hang them up. One some of the catchers if the bead hadn't melted enough or there was too much spacing it would come out with little gaps, like Kell's did. The kids really enjoyed this and it took a while because I had them make sure all their beads faced in the same direction. I think the beads would melt just fine if they were just layed out willy-nilly, I'm sure we will make a few more before the summer is over so I'll be able to test this theory :)
Oh and yes the photo is sideways, I completely forgot to rotate it
*Carrie*

Last night Rob and I finished filling out the paperwork and this morning I found the kids' birth certificates.
Yep, we're registering at a new school.
It has been a decision long coming. While we have loved the teachers at TAG, there is too much being offered in our local school district.
This coming year Wyatt will learn the recorder and Kelly the guitar. There is an art program, scheduled PE, chorus, track. All the things that Rob and I grew up having that wasn't available at TAG.
Heck, I'm excited about having a cafeteria. The biggest bonus for me is that my kids can walk to school.
I've been worried about Kelly switching schools with only one year till middle school and I realized the other day that I shouldn't be. Kelly is very accepting of people and even though she can be shy she is well liked by her classmates. So making new friends should be good, especially since her friend Madison will be there too.
Wyatt, he's ready for an adventure. He is so easy going and makes friends easily. I talked to Wyatt just a bit ago and he has no worries and is excited about the new school.
We just got back from dropping off the the registration forms and doing a quick walk through the school. Talk about excited. I know this is norm for pretty much everybody but too see them excited about the library and cafeteria/mpr cracked me up. The class rooms are big, I can't wait to see this place filled with kids.


*Carrie*

So I found this great idea on Pinterest schools out finish line and I kept it in the back of my mind for this years last day of school.
The day before the kids got out I went to our local teacher/parent school connection store and picked up a roll of paper.
The only rolls they had were 4ft by 200ft or I could buy it buy the foot, Since I have more projects in mind I went ahead and splurged on the big roll. The roll cost $23.
On the last day of school I dropped the kids off and raced back home.

I set Chelsea up with a movie and went out front with the scissors, paint, tape and went to town.
I unrolled the paper to a bit wider or is it longer, than the posts and then I cut the paper.
Laying it out on the driveway I just went for it and painted "welcome to summer". I was really worried about the size and spacing of the letters but decided that if I made them too small I could add some decorations to minimize my blunders.
The paint dried really fast, so I had the really hard job of trying to hang this monster without tearing it. A little bit of tape on each top to keep it 

in place while I secured the rest. The whole thing took less than a half hour to do. Love it!
The weatherman was predicting high wind advisories shortly before the kids were due out and I was so nervous that we would come home to a ripped banner but, nope! thank goodness!
So we pull into the driveway and Kelly asks what is that for, pointing at the banner.
I explain that the banner is to welcome the fun of summer and the end of this school year. I told them that they were gonna run through the banner but not until I was set and ready cause momma wants to take pictures.

Rob and I told them to just charge right through the paper
Go!
The paper was a lot tougher than I thought!
The kids crashed through it and it ripped from the sides instead of the middle.
Heck it ripped clean enough that Wyatt asked if we could use it next year!
Instead I let the kids ball it up and put it in the recycle bin.
Who knows, maybe this is another tradition that we will have.
And of course after dinner we went to DQ and had our first/last day of school ice cream. Gotta love that tradition.
*Carrie*

Three weeks ago, can that be correct?, we planted our first veggie garden.
Rob started talking about wanting a veggie garden last year but with the yard torn up and him not wanting to try my idea we put it off. Fast forward to this year and Rob starts making noises again and nothing has changed with the backyard.
So being the loving wifey that I am, I went to Lowe's, bought a big kiddie pool and a bunch of dirt and came home and dropped it in the back yard.

When Rob came home from lunch he saw the pile of bags and the pool and smiled.
I told him that after work, we were going veggie shopping. The kids got in on the act also and helped pick out or find certain veggies.
Included in our garden is; corn, zucchini, squash, yellow, red peppers, two types of tomato's and strawberries.
Now please remember, we've never had a garden like this before, so after planting we have been informed that we don't have enough room!
We are gonna do the best we can but one thing Rob has asked is that I take a picture once a week to see how our garden is growing. I must say after 3 weeks nothing has died so that's a plus right?!
Also if all goes OK next year we can transfer the dirt over to our bigger garden and use the pool for something else. Who knows?
*Carrie*

thank you provo craft for letting me use this picture of the Paisley cartridge.

A little over a week ago I got the bug to go on ebay. Dangerous for me, so dangerous.
In two weeks I have bought 6 cartridges. I'm feeling so inspired, so crafty lately that I'm trying to be proactive about it.
I have been doing my usual and bookmarking things on Pinterest but now I'm ready to get busy.
I don't want to be one of those people that collects items for projects, I want to be one who gets her projects done.
With that in mind, this morning I started a creative to do list. Yes, I know I have done this before, I'm actually staring at my previous list that is taped to the printer.
This one is new and improved, its special...ok, let me think it's special.
I do have one flaw in my special list though... my craft room.This week I will be getting it cleaned up to a semi functional state so that I can begin my creative process.
Oh and if you were wondering what new carts I purchased; Art Deco, Over the Hill, Ribbons and Rosettes, Tablescapes- Spring and Summer, Tags, bags boxes and more 2, and Pretty Pennants. I'm going to be doing some home decorating with the kids this summer. Plus for me it's birthday party season. Chelsea has  asked for me to use the tablescapes cart with lots of hanging, twirly stuff, mixed with party ideas from Pinterest, we're gonna have fun.
I grabbed some magazines on Saturday at J's and M's and the one mag I was the most excited about was the newest issue of Where Women Create. I purchased my first issue last year and it really spoke to me. The colors, the quotes, the brave women whom have stepped out and taken a chance. I love reading about how other women have come to some of the same conclusions that I have and some that have never even crossed my mind. This magazine has spurred my journey on whom I want to be or maybe whom I'm becoming.
Right now my creative list is only 7 items long but there are 7 items on the list that will make a difference around our home. I know once done they will make me happy. :)
I guess I better start another list for all the books I want to read, plus my list for what to do with wine/liquor bottles.
Yep, its shaping up to be a pretty colorful summer. I'm so excited...
Pretty Pennants just came in the mail...yippee!
*Carrie*

Now dang nabbit, I had this cool blog post in mind but then I had trouble finding a picture, grabbed a random one and then Chelsea asked for a snack, now Bella wants to go outside.
My amazing blog post is gone, zip, out of my head.
Now let's see what I come up with.

It was a wonderful weekend. Truly it was. It was a Saturday where Rob didn't have to landscape, so we watered our plants, watched Mathilda with the kids, smoked some ribs, picked up some new magazines and then went to my brothers for dinner with the family.
Mothers Day, I received $$ for mom, she says to buy plants, big cheesy grin, but Rob says I need to save for welding stuff if I want bottle trees. I received a pretty planter and hanging plant from my MIL, and yard spinner from Rob and the kids. Both moms got the same spinner I got but a different color, my MIL gave my mom the same hanging plant that she gave me and my mom gave my MIL a different type of hanging plant. Lots of flowers were exchanged, lol.
After church we took my mother in law to this new U-Like Asian buffet for lunch. She liked it, thank goodness and so did the kids. It was so nice to see them eat and not fuss about whats in front of them. After lunch we came home and chilled for an hour then headed out to get family portraits done.
Did you know we haven't done a formal family portrait since Kelly was 2 months old. Yowsers.
Thanks to my mom who arranged the whole thing. We were in and out in less than an hour. Group shot, individual family shots, grand kids, siblings. The kids did great, so did us adults. Can't wait to update the wall with these new photos.
After the photos we came back to our house to hang out and spend some last minute time together before dad leaves to head back to Michigan.
We snapped some shots of the goodbyes, but I'm not ready to download them just yet. Tomorrow.
Oh, and if that great blog post comes back, I'll update.
*Carrie*

A looong time ago, before our age of children, Rob and I had a pretty garden filled with iris'. The children came along and so did the weeds into the garden. After a while we let it all go. Our yard, our Eden fell apart from neglect.
A month ago, we were given a few plants. Those plants have revived our gardeners hearts.
Yes, we talked about re-doing the back yard garden but I wanted it to be different this time. I talked to Rob about color and art and showed him pictures that I had found on Pinterest. 

I asked him what he would like and it was awesome on how much we both wanted the same things.
We dug up old pots and bought new ones.
In this past month we have exploded with plants.
We have purchased 3 different colors of hibiscus, two types of jasmine, and our first rose bush.
I don't think either of us really understood how much we have missed having flowers around.
Right now our front yard is covered in bright colors, yellows, reds, pinks and lots of green.
Once there were days we would awake and go walk the garden to see what was blooming.
Those days are back.
This time we're doing it better, we have involved the kids.
We are starting our first veggie garden this week and we're letting the kids pick out not only the veggies but the flowers they want to see.
My plan is to buy a plant every payday, to rebuild, to bring in the butterflies and hummingbirds that ignore us for the neighbors yard.
I pray that this is a start to a colorful relationship.




*Carrie*