The Yard

I have been meaning to do this forever! My yard has been so fun to watch unfold this year.  We have a mix of flowers, edibles and toys all over it and sitting outside and enjoying the breeze, smells and laughter has been one of my favorite pass times this summer.  So without further ado, here is a little picture tour through the garden:

The front yard:

 Above is our reoccurring broccoli in the foreground, below is bee balm

 I planted the gladiolas when we first moved in and we added the grape vines last year

 The backyard:

We rearranged the back shade corner this spring so that I could have somewhere to sit and see the entire length of the yard....I love the new arrangement

Below the pomegranate is blooming

 This is my sunny side, I used some wood and old shelves that we had laying around to make some make shift beds...

 The tomatoes are taking off!

 As are the peas

 Out in the yard, the lavender and rosemary are very happy, I also have pepers, basil, thyme, oregano, summer savory, cilantro, sage and....

 STRAWBERRIES!!! hidden all throughout the flower beds

 

We had a great display of gardenias that made our noses happy 

 And lots of the plants from last year have pushed out their beautiful heads

 Oh and we got a new fountain, the hummingbird loves to take baths in the top.  I love waking up to that sight.

 I filled in the wine barrel fountain from last year (I just couldn't keep the kids out of it)

 And finally some of the spoils from the garden.  We get about a pint of strawberries every couple of days.  The peas have been super crisp and good

 And today we got our first three tomatoes too!

Welcome Spring

 Spring has officially sprung here (it tried earlier but then we had two weeks of cold and rain), with temps in the low 80s the past few days.  Given all the rain and then the sudden sun, everyone is outside and my garden has something new in it everyday it seems. 

We've really enjoyed being outside, it started Wednesday with our playgroup spending most of the day in the backyard (moms all sitting out in the sun, babies using the slide and swing as much as they could). And then Thursday we got to keep Lucy until 7 pm when her mom got off work instead of her dad picking her up at 5.  Matt got home early and Lucy got to help Orson walk the dogs...she loved it, though her little legs gave out much soon then long legs Ewalt :)

 Orson tried to help her keep up by taking her hand...so cute together!

We have also been enjoying all the fresh fruit at the stores and markets...it is easy to tell that I ate grapes by the pound when pregnant with Orson, he still loves them!

And then today, after spending time in the garden, Matt cooked our official 1st grill out of the year.  We had bangers and mash (with gluten free chicken sausage from Costco) and grapes (yes again).

 I love this above potted display in the front walk, I planted the bulbs 3 years ago in the pots and the yellow flowers are random seeds that found their way in.  I also love the flowers right at the front door, makes me happy to open the door for friends :)

Yummy dinner! Thanks for cooking Babe.

 Flower for the table, I just love the smell of lilacs, especially from the yard.

Hope everyone else is getting to enjoy some spring.

Remodel

Well we finally have the front room (well almost finally) put together, at least its together enough to get a picture! Along with the font room we also updated the family room area and made it more "baby proof." We still have some little projects to finish up but I think they will all be done by the time Christmas rolls around.

Here are the before shots:

Here we are working on it:

The fireplace is done and the flooring down!

And here is the finished room. It makes me feel like I have a whole new house :)
(thanks for the help Pat n Pat)

In family room we just made some small changes...we moved Orson's toys under the window and the piano into the China Hutch's place. Then we moved the computer onto the other wall.

This is how it was set up before:

And this is the new set up:

Settled In

Well we finally have things pretty settled in at the house. I thought I would post some pictures for everyone to see. Pictures on the wall really make a house feel like a home :)

Family Area

Office Space
Living Room
Guest Bedroom
Master