Fun in the sun...

***Disclaimer, the pictures just don't do the actual result justice, so use your imagination and realize it's so much prettier in person;-)***

I have figured out what really gets me going...working outdoors. I don't know why, but I LOVE it so much! I love everything about it...even whining afterwards when my skin hurts on my hands (and I mean HURTS!!!) and my scalp hurts from sunburn. It's so rewarding to see the fruits of my labor. I'm on cloud nine...even with my poo issues.

I pretty much laid around and moaned in agony or slept yesterday and ate next to nothing. Because of this, I was up late and watched a somewhat controversial movie "Juno" (I rented from redbox)which made me cry. I don't know if it was supposed to or if it was the misery of being sick with body aches and GI issues-but I cried. It was a decent flick-for a mature audience, of course.

I woke up this am feeling weak, but at least every joint in my body didn't hurt anymore. I ate a small breakfast, made my expected sprint to the bathroom (TMI, I know;-) and decided it was too nice to let my ailment keep me down. It was super hot out (already) and since church was off the table due to our contagious nature I told Tim he should mow. I decided to plant the sunflowers I've been growing indoors for a few weeks. I've also been growing pumpkins and watermelons (however, the watermelons are MIA so far). I simply used cheap seeds from Walmart in peat pots and watered them daily with warm water and had them in my dining area (which is super sunny). I put the sunflowers out back against my neighbors way too expensive vinyl fence in the rocks we placed recently. I planted the pumpkins on the side of our front porch in the flower garden (an area where I hadn't put any flowers yet;-).

I also [finally] completed my flower bed that is around my mailbox. I hope this isn't boring you...it really is exciting stuff for me. It was an area that was maybe 5 cubic feet and I tripled it by removing all the grass, shoveling up huge enormous rocks and cement (which, in hindsight, I'm bummed that I didn't photograph as proof of the ginormousness), putting down fresh top soil, planting pretty flowers and finally putting a nice layer of mulch down. Whew! It was work!-oh and I almost forgot...I also put in a little edger to keep the dirt and mulch from washing away when it's watered or when it rains. The only thing that still need done is for a stepping stone to be bought (or created) for the small center area that I left empty for the stone (this was Tim's idea and I think it's a great one;-).



I also mulched the area that I recently put the retaining wall around. And I am working to straighten my crooked Weeping cherry tree.





We finished the boys gravel pit (no photo yet, except in the distance behind the next pic) and drum roll please... ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da...

We planted this:




What do you think? It is a golden weeping willow tree! It is the biggest tree I've ever bought/planted by far! It was so hilarious to go to the local Greenhouse today and get it. We don't own a truck or anything and it's only about 2 miles up the road so to pay a delivery fee is just plain highway robbery. So, me being the not-quite all there, highly medicated brain child I am, decided a way to get it home. We put the root ball end in the front seat of the van with the window rolled down and most of the tree hanging out the window and angled towards the back of the van. It must of been quite the sight to see us driving down the road like this...I forgot to take pictures (once we were home, but before we took it out of the front seat). We took up two lanes the whole way home and I felt like we needed signs on the van flashing wide load;-) Being that it is so tall and it was very windy today, it nearly knocked me over to hold it up whilst Tim put layers of peat and dirt all around it.

Oh and a funny story about buying it...it was just me and TJ that actually walked around Bennett's (the greenhouse) since Owen is contagious and Tim despises such places...anyway, Tim ran to the bank to make a deposit while Teej and I shopped. Once we paid for the tree and few flowers, Tim pulled up and everything was working perfectly until TJ got in the van and said "Mom got a huge tree that was $335 dollars"....and Tim was like (picture white knuckles grasping steering wheel and voice elevated) "You spent $335 dollars on a tree!?!"...I was laughing and saying "TJ, don't throw me under the bus and NO!!!! I didn't spend $300 on a tree!"...it was very funny and I was worried he wasn't going to pull around to load the tree. FYI the tree was $135 and TJ just got his numbers messed up a bit. Moral here...don't allow TJ to know prices of things if I don't want Tim to know;-) Just kidding...kinda.

I caught Tim in the driveway just before we headed inside for the night and snapped this pic:


I think it looks like he is playing an air guitar but he says he is looking at a measuring tape;-) Sure...whatever.

Anyway, it was an excellent day all in all considering our sicky situation. Owen as been pretty sleepy but otherwise did well b/c he loves the outdoors so much anyway.


These were pics of the kiddos on our next door neighbors swingset (since we don't own one;-).
He (Owen) even mimicked me as I placed mulch in the flower bed. Such a great day! I even said a little prayer for our new tree (which I've never done before for such a silly thing) but it seriously brings me such joy to look at this tree! I don't want it to die or get damaged in the wind (but if it did, in the grand scheme of things, I know it's no big deal and it's guaranteed until June 30th of next year;-).

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend even more than I did!!!