Spring Has Certainly Sprung!

(My friend Mary Ann blogged a great saying: "Don't report me to the Blog Police" and I feel the same! :D It is funny that I just can't seem to update this silly blog as often as I would like! I have started working out again because I am EASILY in the worst shape of my life so I have decided that I have GOT to get healthy! Trying to juggle excercise, kids, house, and blog...yeah, not so easy! But I am trying! :D )

Our backyard.....*sigh*.....such a mess! It is just a tiny little thing anyway, and then when the sprinker system went on the fritz last summer about 1/3 of the grass died. Quite depressing!

A few weeks ago we cleaned up the backyard...it took a bit of effort! But with the purchase of about 6 new pairs of gloves we ALL pitched in and got it done...even Sam, although he mostly just wore gloves and ran around the backyard like a lunatic!

A week later Josh and the kids went to the Home Depot and got a bunch stuff to 'fix' the backyard! When Josh goes to 'pick up a few plants' he does NOT mess around! :D

In this instance the term 'backyard' is a little misleading in reality it is a little patch of weed infested grass surrounded by dirt...not soil (soil being some earthy-substance that might actually sustain plantlife) dirt...dry, sandy, full of Rocks the size of your fist...and bigger! So Josh actually had to buy a pickax thingie to dig holes big enough for our plants. Weird. Then we decided to put in some garden soil around each plant so they have some chance at nourishment! Amanda was a super hard worker, and I was so proud of her!

You see for the last few years Amanda and Emily each had thier own rosebush...due to the change from So.Utah to Vegas weather...it is so dry here, we didn't water enough, like I should have realized that we needed to start watering in Feb and not stop until Nov! I should have been more aware but alas, those pretty rosebushes just didn't make it! Just LOOK at those sad faces [above] when we threw away the skeletal remains of thier roses! *sniffle*

On the positive side the girls got to pick out some NEW special plants! Amanda picked a beautiful Hibiscus and we planted some petunias around the bottom! So fun, and she was really happy with how it turned out!!

Emily picked a gorgeous climbing white rosebush! If I can only keep the stupid aphids away it should thrive! :D I think I shall send the girls out on a ladybug-catching expedition!

Josh found this gorgeous flowering bush called Scotch Broom, so beautiful! They aren't lookin' so bright and shiny right now...but they are really breathtaking and smell like HEAVEN!

Overall it is amazing how much nicer it looks to have some GREENERY out there! :D Most of it we have in pots so we can take them with us & control soil content but we did put some eco/water friendly plants in the actual ground...they look kindof terrible now....I don't know why!?! They are the EXACT same plants that are thriving here inside our complex....yet ours look sick. *sigh* I hope they recover! *grumble-grumble*

We still have to get the landlord to get us a bunch of ground cover rocks- to hide the ugly, uneven dirt, and protect our 'garden' from erosion, drying out too fast...etc. I think it will make a huge difference! I know we are only renting, but it sure makes it feel more like 'home' to go pick out some plants and play in the dirt with the whole fam! We even had Izzy outside- but in her highchair, she is fat enough so she doesn't need to eat dirt and bugs too- it was a really fun Saturday! :D This was actually a few weeks ago, but I just haven't taken the time to share!

We shall see if these plants last the long, LONG, hot, HOT summer! :D

(What I really want are some lilac bushes....ahhhhhh, the sweetest smell EVER, makes me think of summertime and childhood! My Great Grandma had the largest Lilac bushes, no, Lilac Trees I have ever seen! Back in the day we actually had a big ol' fort built back underneath the Lilac tree...such fun memories! :D )