I can’t believe how fast the days seem to be flying by and it just makes me that much more grateful to have a camera so that I can at least record and remember some of our happenings.
The last couple of weeks have been BUSY ones. Adam was out of town to Atlanta for 3 days so I was left home alone with the boys. Right before Adam left poor little Dawson came down with a fever of 103 and we ended up discovering that he had double ear infections, a sore throat, and viral cold. It completely broke my heart to see my little sweetie feeling so puny and sick. Dawson was either whining or crying and wanting to be held every minute he was awake. But I do have to admit, that I loved the extra cuddle time with him. However, this meant that the boys and I couldn’t get out of the house and do much the four days Dawson was sick so to avoid cabin fever, we worked outside in the yard….a LOT! Luckily the boys absolutely LOVE helping me outside in the yard and consider it fun instead of drudgery. I’ll hold on to that as long as I can! đ
One day I got ambitious and decided that I wanted to put in an extra flower bed and some bushes in our front yard. Our walk way since we moved in 1.5 years ago has just had spotty patches of grass around it and has been something that I’ve wanted to beautify for months now. So one day I broke out the shovels and attempted to pull up the grass myself. I think it was about half way into the job that I began realizing that maybe there really was something to the terms “mans work” and “womens work.” What seemed to be taking ME Hours to accomplish would have quickly been done by Adam in a matter of minutes. Muscle power was definitely something that would have proven useful in this instance. Pulling up the grass by myself ended up being more of a joke than anything. But I persevered and eventually was able to get it all pulled up. Afterwords I layed down black landscaping paper, nailed it all down and then cut out my bushes and planted flowers. Then I finished it off with a nice layer of compost. We are hoping to finish this off with some nice curbing later on this summer. 
And I couldn’t be more happy that these bulbs that I planted LAST spring finally came up!
Aren’t they beautiful?
And I just had to show off Adam’s handy work on our new garden boxes! They turned out really nice and we are hoping for a good harvest of fresh vegetables this year!
Later in the week our awesome landscaper neighbor friend Tuli came over and was able to put in our new patio and stairs for us! He and his crew did an amazing job and we are really happy with our new cement pads! đ
We also had them cement in an area around the house that we will use as a sandbox play area for the kids under our deck (when we build it).
I absolutely LOVE how the stairs turn out and can’t wait to have many parties/fires down in this area someday!
On another day I also ran and got a truck load full of topsoil and attempted to build up one of our hills where we wanted to plant our cherry tree. I ended up shoveling the entire truck load of dirt out by myself which apparently was way too much work for my body because I ended up popping two blood vessels under my skin in my wrists (ever had a bruise come from the inside out? Kinda weird) and then got sick the next day. Luckily Adam was home by then and took the day off to stay home and take care of the kids so I could rest. He really is my super hero! I felt better by Sunday (which was good because It was my turn to teach in Primary) and then afterwords we went up and had dinner with Mum and Smurf – my awesome in-laws.
This week we’ve all got our health back (hurray!) so we’ve been playing quite a bit. Tuesday I took the kids up to Orem with me to Pirate Island where I was able to meet 3 of my besties from High Schook, Erica, Heather, and Jill (who was in town from Colorado). We all brought our kids and it was so fun to catch up with each other and meet each others families.
After Pirate Island I took the boys to the mall to get some socks, and then we stopped at some kids stores to let Branson spend some of his birthday money that had been burning a hole in his pocket. He ended up deciding to get Cowboy Woody from Toy Story for $10. He loves it and Woody certainly is proving to be a true friend as he’s now Bransons’ preferred sleeping buddy (taking Poo Bear and Bella’s spot) and spends almost all day by Branson’s side.
Later that evening I was also able to meet up with my old roomie Shauntai who was also in town from Missouri at her Mom’s house! We had fun making dinner together, singing Veggie Tales songs, catching up, and calling each other pet names like goey marshmallow muffin top! I so love spending time with her and feeling of her love. She has always been a treasured friend to me.
Yesterday we were also able to make a quick trip over to Salem pond to have a picnic with one of my good ward friends Cari Batty who I used to visit teach. Cari has two boys (Treighton and Daxton) who are just about the exact same ages as Brans and Harrison so they LOVE playing together. The boys all had a great time wading in the water, feeding the ducks, and playing on the playground. Cari and I enjoyed spending a few minutes catching up! đ
Branson and Daxton
Ummm, yummy PB&J sandwiches!
Cari had to leave later to go pick up her Mom from work so the boys and I went down to feed the ducks! I love this picture of all three of them on the bench!
Watching intently…
The smile that melts me!
Throwing rocks!
Picture with Mommy!
Sneaking up…
Lovin this crazy face!
My little Sazz!
Sure was a nice day at the park! Thanks Cari!
Your front and back yards are looking really nice. You guys have been working hard! And it shows!
When were you guys in San Diego? We also just took a trip down there! We were there May 20-23. What a fun place! I loved your pictures of the zoo. It brought me back.
You're yard is looking awesome!! You are amazing girl! I have a favorite garden tool you need to get if you don't have one. I think it's called a mattock, and it's kind of like a pick axe with 3 prongs on one side and a flat sharp side on the other. It works great for cutting up/ pulling up grass, I cut with the sharp side, and then dig in the 3 prong side to pull up the grass. It's also my favorite weed pulling tool. Anyway, I'm so excited for your new yard, so fun!!