I started this blog post on 10/22, it's now 10/26......hm, wonder what the date will be when it actually gets posted?
Were we really wearing short sleeves last time I blogged?
I'm behind on all my updating, here and on Triple Lyns. I have some really groovy pictures to show you all over there, so remember to check over there in the next few weeks to see them :)
The news of the day is that we have a High Honor Roll Student at the local middle school :) So, we are now those parents who tout their children's academic accomplishments on their car window. We're very proud of Madilyn, and excited that her start to school has been wildly successful. She was recently tested, along with all the other students, and the tests show that she's preforming well above the national average and a good chunk above her peer's. Madilyn is also budding into a very good artist, she loves to do pencil drawings. She has definitely required this skill from Chelsea's family as there isn't a single person on either side of my family who can draw or is otherwise "artsy" and we're not afraid to admit it :)
Evelyn is plugging away in home school and is now going to the same math tutor that Madilyn has had for several years. Evelyn excels in school as well. She's a natural speller, understands the structure of English very well, enjoys science and does very well in math. Evelyn is also a budding artist and has brought home the best art projects I think I've ever seen. If I get some time I'll have to scan them in and post them here. The planets, the cactus, and her Picasso are my leading favorites.
Jocelyn just turned 4! 4! Yes, 4! Was it not last year, she was a tiny baby? It's frightening.
I can't describe this child, she is like no other. She's very animated and full of drama. I like to call her, "the girl with the song in her heart". She is always singing, dancing, acting out the scene of a movie, making up her own language and if she's not doing those things she's watching a movie. She is the movie queen! For her birthday we invited over our 2 closest friends, had a cook out, built a maze, did some crafts and games and had a blast. More on that in another post.
Chelsea is in his last semester of school. Lord willing his graduation date is right around the corner, early April.
I have managed to lose 30lbs following my diabetic diet and am feeling pretty good. I think a couple of those lbs. lost could be contributed to the flu I had recently - yuck!
So, now on to what I really want to talk about;
My Yard
As most of you know, Connie was recently here and whipped my yard into shape. The transformation is amazing, it's exactly what I wanted and maybe, just maybe with her continued guidance I can learn to maintain my own yard. Where I had zero know how, she showed me, where I had zero ideas, she provided, where I had unrealistic goals, she showed me how to make it great and keep it simple.
Here's how we started out:
Shopping is always the fun part :)
I didn't even get the good shopping pictures, where we had a train of flatbeds with plants, mulch, wood, dirt and a picnic table, oh and 2 Adirondacks.
Then, it was get to business time. None of these pictures portray what a mess the landscaping around my house was. It was an over grown, disorganized, random disaster that surely made the neighbors want to call the landscaping police on us.
The mud circle is where our pool used to sit. Buh-bye pool :)
Connie picked out simple, small plants for the front bed that will not dwarf the porch and will not require a lot of maintenance on my part.
We had all the neighbors talking and wondering what the big operation was. Little did they know, the landscaping police had arrived :) We hauled dirt, moved trees, built a fence, put up a fence and Connie single handed laid a patio.
Every landscaping job needs gnome like helpers with large muscles to help get the job done. Here's one:
Here's the other one (AKA partner in crime):
Fence pieces laying in the sun to dry their paint.
After photos:
Look how clean the front is!! Free of clutter and lovely!
This is our favorite area. We've been out here almost everyday sense the space was finished back in September. You can catch us out here enjoying our lovely patio and new fire pit, relaxing while the girls jump on the trampoline, having picnics on our table, or just enjoying the breeze and the privacy our fence gives us.
Look at that patio; a thing of beauty!! :)
Here are the youngest two and myself enjoying a picnic lunch just this week. I don't know how we got on all these years without this outdoor space. We love it!
Let's recap here:
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
There were other side projects along with this major one. It's worth noting there is a rock and paver walk way from the patio to the back yard, which you can't see in any of the pictures.
We planned out grapes on the trellis you can see 2 pictures above. Those were purchased and planted a week after these photos were taken. There were more trellis' that went up as a screen at the very end of the house near where the fence planks were drying in the photo above and I will plant morning glories at the base of those come spring time. And of course there are things here that are still yet to be done, but for now it's complete. All the weed guard has been trimmed and stapled, all the garbage has been picked up and all supplies neatly put away in the garden shed. The yard is neat, clean organized and beautiful. I can hardly believe it's MY yard!
How lucky can a girl get?! Thanks again Connie for all your hard work and time spent <3
Coming up next, Evelyn's room......
