A new trend in gardening...

Today I did something that I am not sure any of you can say you have ever done.

I planted Weeds.

Technically, I replanted them. It started as a joke the other day, given my experience with plants, when Sam said "You should try planting weeds, maybe you could keep them alive." :-) And yesterday while I was pulling weeds I noticed a certain weed that has some rather pretty orange blossoms. So instead of tossing them with the others, I tried a little experiment and replanted them in a nice row by my fence. I felt like doing a little something with my yard--so it gave me something to do. Who knows if it will work. I think they could technically be considered wildflowers :-) (speaking of which, I have wished I could pull over on the side of the highway when I see flowers growing on the side of the road and dig them up and replant them in my yard. I mean--they seem to be striving with no water in the heat of the sun--that's definitely what I need! :-)

We also planted our tomato plant in our topsy turvey so wish us luck with that. And we planted a few flowers (vincas) that are apparently really easy to grow and to keep alive.

For a long time (the first 9 months here) I haven't been sure about whether I wanted to put forth any time/money to do anything with the yard, aor just leave it as is...a vast space of dirt. This week though I am having all of these thoughts about filling it with grass, and wildflowers, and a vegetable garden...

We do have the back patio which is paved with sandstone, and has a little tree, and has a wood fence--so I can enjoy myself out there. But the question is should I do anything to the front yard? and if so, what? If you need a reminder--here is what I have to work with. There is a small space of dirt by the front door and then there is the front yard and a skinny side yard, and then a huge area on the other side.

• We do have 2 more years here.
• I do have some extra time on my hands
• It would be fun to try and master the art of gardening
• If I plant mostly in pots then we can take them with us...but it would be cheaper not to buy a bunch of pots.
• If I do anything it will be xeriscape perennials (low water, and they should come back the next year) so if you have any ideas let me know. I am also looking at some 'low water-low work' grass.

Then again...

• We leave town a lot (making consistant watering a challenge)
• Would need to either invest in some drip lines of some sort or find a reliable neighbor to plant-sit
• any improvements won't give us an increase in equity (since we are renting)
• and actually the yards are all bull-dozed when you move out -sparing only the trees, (dumb I know but just the way it is) so its not like you will be making it a better place long-term.
• Whether I plant by seeds or by starting with little plants it will take a year or so for them to actually mature and look full and pretty.
  

Help me out--what would you do? I am up for suggestions--especially those that will take up space, are fast growing, or are inexpensive. (quick growing ground covers, make one section a sand box, put up a tether ball, add a playhouse of some kind, maybe have a section to play horseshoes) Here are some pictures of a few things that our neighbors have done, doesn't compare to the full-on landscaping in a city-but better than plain old dirt. (*note-the family with the swing has been here 3 years and the other two pics are from someone who has been here for 8 years).

First purchase

Rachel took her birthday money and her tooth fairy money to the store and bought a few little things. She was so happy to have her very own purse that her cousin gave her for her birthday, and she picked some fake nails and this cute kitten that purrs and moves its paws. It was cute to see her try and count the money (all of that counting in kindergarten apparently went in one ear and out the other) :-) And when she was all done at the checkout she said "Yes! I finally have my very own receipt!" lol! I thought she would be happy about the cute toy she bought--but the highlight was definitely the receipt.

Rainbow Cake Directions

For the record, I did post the link to my friends blog which had a link for the directions. But to make it easier here is the direct link.

• The cake recipe on this link is for a low fat version...but I just made a regular box cake and followed the standard directions.
• To make it rainbow -Basically just separate the batter into 6 bowls and dye them different colors. (fyi--regular food coloring is fine--it actually worked better than the gel coloring I bought).
• Which ever color you pour in last (for me it was purple) you want there to be a little less batter in that color--otherwise it will be mostly that color. For the cake I made I started with 1/2 C of batter in each bowl and then added the rest a spoonful at a time mainly to the first few colors (red, orange, and yellow).

Good Luck!

My little girl is 6

Here is Rach heading off to school in one of her new birthday outfits (thanks Grandma Janet!)

It also was her last day of school, and they had an awards ceremony where she was chosen for the Principal's award, and the citizenship award.

We didn't plan a party this year but we invited some friends over from school to play and had some cake. I tried doing a rainbow cake, and was happy that after some close calls it turned out. (Thanks for the idea and directions Kirsten!)

And the day finished off with dad yanking her tooth out :-)

Field Trip to the Canyon

We had been on this hike before as a family, but I had my doubts about going with a bunch of kindergarteners on such a long, steep hike, but they proved to be up for the challenge. (by the way that sign has to be the length of one-way because it sure seemed longer than that.)

Here is the white house, anazasi ruins.

The other day I saw Rachel laying out all of her jewelry on a table and pretending she was selling it--I guess when you see stuff like this every day, it makes sense.

On the way back up the trail the kids eventually split into two groups. Group 1 included the faster pace, including some who were elbowing each other and pulling on each others shirts trying to make sure they were in the lead. Group 2 included those who were tired, wanted lots of water breaks, and kept stopping to pick flowers etc. This tunnel was almost to the top and group 1 stopped to let the 2nd group catch up and cheered for them to keep going once they were in sight. Here is the group photo after the hike, a little tired, but everyone made it in 2.5 hours, just longer than expected.

Afterwards we stopped to let the kids play in some water.

Rachel decided to pass on having to put her socks and shoes back on with muddy feet. (I wasn't much help, she probably saw how fast I volunteered to stay on shore and take pictures.)

Plant Update

I had a close call with my Daisies. Still trying to find the best placement. The tag says it needs a lot of sun...but every time I put it in the sun it gets all droppy and the blossoms get wilted. Even this morning I put it by the window to get some indirect morning sun, and I had to move it because it was happening again. I pretty much lost all of the blossoms it had but it looks healthy and happy again, and as you can see there are 3 new blossoms that are starting to open so thankfully I have a second chance and hopefully I will do better this time around.

um....no pictures of the mums...they don't look so hot ;-) But in my defense I think they are a autumn plant that should never have been sold to me in spring.

Also--I purchased my very own Topsy Turvy Tomato planter so hopefully we will get that up soon and try my luck with a vegetable plant.

Last minute

So we weren't going to leave this weekend since we had plans to go to Phoenix next week for Memorial Day....but Friday afternoon we realized we needed to get our emissions test done on our car so we decided to go after all. We were dreading it--we love getting out of here, but driving 5 hours to get an emissions test seemed a bit extreme. But... I ended up having a great time (got to spend time with both of our families) and found some great bargains-so to me it turned out to be all worth it.

Playing with the cousins after sleeping over at Grandpa Lennie and Grandma Karla's.

While Rachel was with her grandparents and Sam was golfing, I got to have a morning of shopping all to myself. I got to spend an hour browsing books at my favorite bookstore + I had a coupon for $10 off for my birthday. I went into a used clothing store for kids to grab some things for Rach (for her birthday) and ended up leaving with these great finds for me :-) Lucky brand pants, abercrombie pants with my favorite back pockets, and some seven denim shorts. (all about $20 each) Plus, while digging in my purse I found a full punch card for the store (worth 20% off) and a leftover $5 credit from a return. WOOO!

And was motivated after celebrating my brother's graduation from ASU this weekend (Way to go Bro!) to actually FINALLY buy a frame for my and Sam's ASU Diplomas...only about 6 years later :-) Bonus--I found these for $12 at walmart.

We also were able to trade our family for a bigger car so we could bring a desk back that we had bought. Soooo much better than what we had before. And I think the diplomas are a nice touch above the desk...I feel smarter just sitting here and getting to look at them all day. (the whole reason for actually having to buy a desk was that our laptop died recently...I have to say...I miss it :-) Mostly I miss being able to browse the internet while sitting on the couch in front of the tv.

Also...bought some of this--the commercials were pretty convincing

I will let you know how it works.

Good Times

Tonight we had a fun game--we played against a team full of friends. Basically at the beginning of the season the coaches knew enough kids that wanted to play to make two teams, so we all practice together and then they split up for games. Tonight they shared a dugout (to prevent having to run the helmets and bats back and forth and make it easier on the coaches) and the coaches did their best to help out both teams. And what do you know--it was a tie ;-) ;-) No questions asked--all the kids seemed to accept it and were happy. I have to say here were some of my favorite moments:

• third baseman catches a fly ball-and looks at his glove with the "Cool! how did that get there?" look.
• out fielder picks up the ball and the coaches...and the teammates...and the parents yell "Throw it! Throw it! Throw it!" for a good 30 seconds before he figures out what to do with it.
• Little guy finally gets a hit and he just stands there, everyone yells "Run to first! Run! Run! Run!" He looks around, sets down the bat and starts chugging to first base. Pitcher throws the ball to first, and it goes right past him so the little batter makes it to first-- "safe!"
  

Nice! chance for a team photo...and a chance to mooch since I didn't buy the official team photo on picture day :-) WOOOOO!

And for all of the grandparents-here are some videos from previous games of Rachel batting:

(FYI-you might want to turn your sound down..there is a lot of wind which the mic on the camera picked up very well)

Tball Video 1

Tball Video 2

Tball Video 3

Field Trip

I went with Rachel's class on a field trip to a zoo yesterday. Nice and small, probably the perfect size to take a class full of kindergarteners.

I am not sure what they liked best, the bears, or the bobcat, or the lady bug and the stink bug they happened to see. Interesting sidenot-we were not "allowed" to look at the snakes, due to cultural superstitions.

Here is a "forked hogan" but everyone was calling it a "male hogan"--I guess it is the type that men make for their own little man cave/hang out spot (my interpretation).

Really hoping...

... That we can keep these flowers alive! I LOVE flowers-These Yellow gerber daisies are my favorite, and I have tried this once before (a trial that ended horribly after only about a week). But when I saw these on sale at the grocery store, and they looked nice and healthy, with lots of blossoms, and they were only $5.99 I thought it was worth the risk. The Daisies I have had for about a week and they seem to be doing okay so far. I haven't found the best place to put them yet, so far they either get too much sun or not enough. The mums are about the same story--although they are a little worse off (I have had them for about 2 weeks though). I called my mom the other day and said "Mom, I bought mums because I thought they were hard to kill, aren't they supposed to be pretty easy to keep alive?" Her answer, "Well, yea, supposedly." Not sure how long they will last, I keep watering them, but the petals are drying up and so are the leaves/stems. The snapdragons I just got today at church--so 1 day old and doing great!

I personally think the tag they come with is not enough. You don't know how many times I have looked at the tag-trying to find the answer:

"Mums do well in a variety of light, Water thoroughly after soil is dry to the
touch."

So vague, I need the novel version, not the reader's digest version.

A good Saturday

Start the morning off with your very first Ballet Class (even if 15 min into it you are asking to take off your skirt -that you begged to wear in the first place, all because there is another friend in the class that doesn't have one on and you want to be just like her...even if that friend is only 3 years old) :-)

And finish it off with a first team win in Tball (even if the other team only had 6 players and the game was called early).

I personally am LOVING Tball. I am happy to have somewhere to go--especially on the weekends which can get pretty boring--and especially loving the opportunity to make some new friends.

11 days to go

1. until school is out for summer
2. My little girl turns 6
3. the Season premiere of SYTYCD!!!!

YAHOOOO!!!

One down....5 to go!

I AM PSYCHED!!!

Not only did I just click "purchase" on some airline tickets for Rach and I to Boston (a trip that is waaaaaaaaay overdue) but I got them for $108 ROUND TRIP!!!

(I am tempted to buy some more for another trip when we can go ice skating on the fong pond)

and I also secured myself a spot in the guest room at the casa de blogburns.

YAY!

More info to come on the itinerary-but for all of my friends out there-consider this a save the date for "July 21st-28th!"

Planning Our Escape

So Rach only has 14 days of school left and I can't help but think about all of the places i want to go with her ...just because we can :-) Do you think two months is enough time to go to:

• Salt Lake
• Los Angeles
• San diego
• A cruise to...anywhere
• camping in Utah AND
• Boston

I wasn't sure if it would all work out....what with us only having one car still, and getting it all to fit in the budget, but I just found out that I can catch a Train about 2 hours from here that goes to LA for about $60 AND I just found tickets for $108 ROUND TRIP to boston and I think it is a sign--a sign that I should GO! GO! GO! I hope all of your guest rooms are ready because Rach and I will be crashing there soon! WEEEEEEEEE!

so cute!

They got their official uniforms and they look so cute!