Need Some Sull? (Soil)

Spring is here, and so are some changes to the outside of our house.  There have been many slow difficult tasks involved, but there has been definite progress.  I was really hoping to have been working on other projects inside the house, but as these outdoor projects were time sensitive we had to do them first.  This is what our house looked like when we moved in:

Our main issue was that the sidewalk in front of our house (that connected the front stairs to the driveway) was preventing water from flowing away and instead sending it under the house.  So, step one was to get rid of the sidewalk.  Two borrowed (and both broken) sledge hammers, a pick ax, and a rented jackhammer later the sidewalk was gone.

Whew!  That was some hard work.  Next we removed the large bushes to the right of the steps and then I relocated the small bushes to the space around the tree in the front.

Let me take this opportunity to say that I have never planted anything in my life.  When plants are brought into my house they usually receive a death sentence.  But I've been trying really hard, so hopefully the plants indoors and out will make it!

The next thing we needed was dirt.  Lots of dirt.  As previously mentioned, The Hubs was working crazy hours, so this task was taken over by an ambitious Wifey.  2,000 lbs. of soil later, I was ready to plant new bushes.

The ground was ready, but as I know nothing about plants it took me a while to decide what kind of bushes to plant.  I'm also a bargain shopper.  I knew I wanted something that would flower and that could handle the heat, and finally found some Abelia bushes that will hopefully treat me right!  When I asked the man at the nursery if I could grow this type of plant, he asked if I could change a flat tire.  When my answer was yes, he assured me I could grow these.  Not really sure how the two correlate, but they already have these crazy shoots of new growth which is awesome.  Our neighbors have tons of beautiful plants and dug up three of something that I don't remember the name of for us to plant, too.

If only I had my camera on me when we tried out the sprinklers for the first time this season.  Apparently we jackhammered into one of the pipes and had a geyser.  I thought it was rather entertaining, but it took Tim a while to come around to the funny side of things.  He got it all patched up and now all we need for the front to be finished is some sod to cover the rest of the dirt.

If you made it this far, I'm glad you were curious enough to read.

Opening Day

The Caves had quite the week last week!  Since The Hubs had been working so hard he took off Thursday and Friday so we could play.  We didn't travel anywhere but it still felt like a little vacation!

On Thursday we were chaperones for the PreK class at my old school for their trip to the zoo.  I hadn't ever been to this particular zoo and it was great!  We had two boys with us and they were tons of fun... jumping in puddles, acting like animals, crawling all over Tim, and so forth.  We were worn out by the time the trip was over.

On Friday my wonderful husband took me to Opening Day!  And though my boys did make me nervous for a while, they pulled out the win in the end.

Longest line I've ever had to wait in at the ballpark.

The boys are ready to go!

My fave David Murphy with the family of a Sandy Hook victim.  The dad
threw the first pitch.  It was really emotional.  

First pitch on the mound with the one and only Pudge Rodriguez catching.

We had standing room only tickets and this was where we stood.  Oops!

Hi-Ya and Happy Easter

If everyday life has not seemed enough to inspire me to write lately, what better reason than celebrating my Risen King to bring me out of hibernation?

The Hubs has been working like crazy.  His project was due for delivery on Monday so he had been working tons of hours with his team- we're talking until 10pm on a Friday night just to get up and go back on Saturday morning for the whole day.  So, Easter Sunday was the first break he had gotten in a while, and it was great to celebrate together and get to spend some relaxing time together.

I also have to brag on him a bit.  He recently had his annual review at work and rocked it!  I was able to read a copy of it and loved knowing the qualities his coworkers recognize in him that recommend him so well.  They spoke of his intelligence, work effort, and character.  Glad they see what I already know!

To celebrate My Ninja's awesomeness, I put streamers all over the kitchen and got an Easter egg dying kit.  We dyed the eggs Saturday night and the fun ensued!  Here's the finished product.  :)

Glad you were curious enough to read.