It all started with freaky weather...

This storm and then a windstorm wreaked havoc on this poor tree. In june of last year the wind actually snapped it in half, barely missing a car parked on the street. The stump stayed in our yard more than I cared for. I couldn't wait to get rid of it, but apparently I was the only one. Anyway, we finally got it out last month and replaced it. It was a Bradford Pear. I was going to replace it with a cherry tree, but really like the shape of the pear so I did some research and found a Cleveland Pear is a good, hearty tree. Even better than the cherry. So that's what I got.


Of course, once you plant your new tree, you start looking at all the other pathetic bushes that you've wired together, or cut in half because they too have been destroyed in the storms and flattened by snow. So you decide, they too must go.





Luckily Costco has azaleas for a very good price, which then of course leads to other new plants and this is the result. I love having flowering bushes and color in the yard. I am looking forward to them being a little more mature. I planted a butterfly bush and can't wait until it's full grown with blooms. I also look forward to my phlox filling in. Don't look too closely at the grass, that's not done yet. But it will be!!! (It's a little difficult to get the full effect in the pictures, so you'll just have to come in person to look) Trust me, it looks so much better.






I love my turtle, isn't he cute??



Thank you Jenn DeReus for all your help and inspiration!!!

Siamese Daisy??

My friend brought me some daisy's I had been admiring at Lowe's during our many runs there for supplies. This washer way of saying thanks for helping her with a large project of refinishing her dresser which ended up taking longer than expected so will be in my garage longer. Anyway, I was looking at them and noticed one looks like a siamese twin flower. One stem with two middles. Have you ever seen this?

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

For our 20 year anniversary and our good friends the Olson's 30 year anniversary we went on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas. It was a 12 day cruise with 6 ports. Our ports were Labadee, Haiti, Samana Dominican Republic, San Juan Puerto Rico, Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas, Philipsburg St. Maarten, and Tortola British Virgin Islands. We had a blast. We got to do things we wouldn't normally get to do. We left Baltimore on Monday Jan. 17 and sailed for 2 full days. The first full day was pretty rocky. I didn't get sick but did get a little queezy, but more because it was too cold to go outside to get fresh air. That was the worst day of the whole trip. The rest of it was pretty smooth. We did have a rocky day coming back, but it was still warm then so I could get fresh air, so I was fine.

We saw some great shows which include Hal Frazier (singer) , Jason Neistadt (comedian/impressionist) , Bruce Gold (comedian), Jeff Taveggia (juggler) , ZeidwiG (pianist/comedian) , Haines Magic (magician) , The Happenings (You should know this),David Morgan and Chucky (not as creepy as it sounds), and of course the Royal Caribbean dancers and singers.

We had a lot of fun doing our excursions. In Haiti, we just went to the beach. Tried to avoid the market there, they're pretty pushy. Samana, we went whale watching then shopping. Puerto Rico we went on a Segway tour. St. Thomas we went to Coral Land and Coral Sea (which wasn't my favorite place, since I walked on a dead rat. EEEEWWWWWW!!!!!) St. Maarten we did a treetop to treetop adventure, and then to the beach. Then Tortola we went snorkeling. Which I didn't like at first but once I got the hang of it, it was fun.

Of course we had some of the best food. But that goes without saying.

We had so much fun and have already committed to going on another cruise. We put a down payment on the next one, but we haven't decided when or where. But always fun to go with friends..

New Year, New Beginnings

Well, as we all know I am terrible at keeping up a blog. So here we go, trying again. We've just had a major change to our family, so felt we need to share this change. Ryan just got married. He married a sweet girl, Brittany. We love her to death and are glad they are living out here while Ryan is working as an intern. She will be starting her new job at a daycare next week. She is very excited. They got married in the Logan Temple in Logan, Utah. There was a reception for them out there. It was a very snowy day. Then we had a reception out here for them. I will attach pictures. Also, another big change, I quit my job last week. It felt like the right thing to do, and when it was all said and done I knew it was the right thing to do. Now I just need to figure out my next step. As much as I would like to stay home now, I need to work.