Flowers

My favorite flower in my landscape is by far the hibiscus.  I just love the bright, big beautiful blooms.  Can you guess what bloomed today?

My butterfly bush is also doing quite well.  I found this guy hanging out on one of them today.

Until next time...

Vacation Day 2

This morning everyone got up and ready (minus our kiddos) and made their way to the fairgrounds to start setting up for the party.  My little ones must have been worn out from the previous night because it was close to 9 before they got out of bed!  While they were sleeping, Ma-maw and I finished ironing everyone's wedding clothes.  Once the kiddos were up and dressed, we made our way out to help with the decorating!

Julianne needed a higher seat in order to supervise appropriately.

The florist arrived with fresh flowers and small vases to be used on the tables

Little Miss was more than willing to jump in and help with the decorating.  Although, she was disappointed there were no streamers and balloons...

The head table - the bride's and bridesmaids bouquets will be added after the wedding.

Aunt Katie wanted to keep the decorating simple, and it turned out beautifully!

The finished cake - the topper was custom-done: it says Mr. {&} Mrs. Ricklefs with a snowflake.  The mugs were a gift the couple received early - one has Mrs. and the other has Mr.  I then added the ribbon for a little something extra.

Back in January when Ma-maw and I went to Iowa to help dress shop, Ma-maw had the idea to make a photo prop of a couple and a snowmobile.  We mentioned the idea to Aunt Katie, and she thought it would be fun as well, but was unsure what Brian would think.  Turns out, he thought it would be a fun idea too!  So, that became my big project.  I searched online for various pictures of couples on snowmobiles, and I sent them to Katie and Brian to decide what they wanted.  I was lucky enough to be able to use a projector at school to blow the image up and trace it on butcher block paper.  I brought it home and over the course of a week created the following master piece...

I think the groom and bride were happy with the way it turned out...

I even got Dallas to get his picture in it with me

We finished the decorating party with pizza and drinks, and then everyone went on their merry way to get cleaned up for the rehearsal.

Katie and Brian chose to do an outside wedding at the Historical Society on the edge of town.  There is a lovely flower garden there, and it made the perfect setting for the intimate wedding they wanted.

After rehearsal, Brian's parents treated us to dinner.  Pa-paw managed to get a hold of Julianne before the meal.

I then convinced the other kiddos to join them for a picture...

Dallas and Daddy waiting on the food to arrive

Little Miss doing her thang...

We ended the meal with cherry pie and ice cream for dessert...Sugar thought it was the best part!

One more picture of the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs.!!!

Until next time...

Clem Follow-up

I was really surprised and pleased when this clem started blooming last week.  It didn't do very well last year, so I weeded better around it this year, hoping it would make a come back.  And that it did!

I also realize I never shared a picture of my other clem.  I took this pic on May 23rd, before it quite reached its peak.

Until next time...

Clem in Bloom

My clematis is beginning to bloom!

I can't wait for it to be at its peak.

Until next time...

Random May Photos

One of the most fun parts about having two girls - getting to dress them alike every now and then.  Reba thinks it is the absolute coolest thing!

One day on Doug's way home from work, he found this guy sitting in the road!  Apparently, it seemed like a great idea to bring him home...

Jep lived with us for a couple weeks before we released him back into a creek.  He was fun for a while, but then he started stinking up the barn!

Our strawberry patch did amazing this year!  I was able to freeze multiple gallon sized bags of berries to use in milkshakes throughout the next year, and I was able to make a few of these gems...

Julianne loves it when Dallas holds her (even if both of them have a hard time sitting still for more than 1 minute)

Reba and one of the many flower bouquets she picked for me this spring

Lastly, to end our month, Dallas had some major dental work done (two teeth pulled and two crowns).  We were so blessed that he did amazingly well with the procedure, as well as the recovery.  He goes back in June to have work done on the other side of his mouth.

Until next time...

Spring is Blooming

A few nights ago, I decided to take the camera around the yard and capture my flowers and garden in bloom.

A hanging basket I got from Pa-paw and Ma-maw for Mother's Day

Dallas picked out these flowers at the greenhouse when we bought plants for the garden

I picked out a couple Gerber Daisies; Dallas and Reba picked out the other flowers at Rural King a few weeks back

Our garden - (l-r) onions, broccoli, bell peppers, tomatoes, kohlrabi, and various seeds

On the other side of the garden are the "hill" plants; cucumbers, zucchini, watermelons, cantaloupes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins

The first year our apple tree has had apples!

The peach trees are loaded for the time being (last year, many of them fell throughout the spring)

Another angle of my garden

Reba picked out these flowers at the greenhouse

Our clem did awesome this year! So full of blooms :)

Until next time...

Fun Friday Fotos

Before we know it, this little lady is going to be "army crawling"

The kiddos really enjoyed the tulips outside the school a few weeks ago

These two can't get enough of each other

Splish, splash!

They always love to go for wagon rides

Julianne has started using the jump swing, and she LOVES it!

and, you know I love a good comparison...

Here's Dallas the first time in the jump swing

and here is Reba using the jump swing the first time

FYI: the kiddos are roughly the same age in the above photos - just shy of 5 months old

Until next time...