Merry Christmas 2012

  ~ Sending you all the very warmest of holiday wishes ~

 

This year I am fortunate to have my family together for four full days

beginning the day after Christmas.

 

May you all be blessed with a wonderful holiday season!!

 

Backyard upgrade

We have been in our home for 12 years and when we moved in there were 5 very well established shade trees in the back/side yards.  Through time these trees began to lose branches, trunks and stability.  The time had come to overhaul the backyard; removing the trees and making the yard our own.

 

First up we had the trees removed & stumps ground and then dear hubs removed the existing lawn

 

  We made two mounds of three white birch trees

 

We originally planted lawn from seed, but that came in so sparse we laid sod.

 

Next, dear hubs laid pavers around the perimeter of the yard

 

Finally, we prepared a square foot garden!! 

We have planted a winter crop which is currently under cover

 and we have lettuce, arugala, basil and cilantro coming up!!!

This is something that we have talked about doing for so long and is so awesome to have it finally come to fruition!!! 

We are super excited to reap the benefits of growing our own food...

 

Our patio has always been a place that we enjoy spending time in

and now can enjoy it even more having made it 'our own'!!!

 

Thanks so much to my dear hubs who spent countless (I'm sure he has counted) hours

 making this project happen...  Love him!!!

♥ - Harlow 11 months ♥

Sweet Harlow is now up and mobile, enjoying her new home

in Roseville with her Mommy & Daddy...

 

She loves having her very own kitchen drawer and playing peek-a-boo!

 

Much time is spent emptying and refilling pots, bowls and drawers.

 

♥ Harlow - 9 months & 10 months ♥

Baby girl is growing like a weed!

 

She is walking now, and is showing us all her independence early...  Her teeth are continuing to come in and she loves to clap and play peek-a boo!!!

Fall Into Fall Swap

 

 

With Fall right around the corner and Pumpkin Spice Latte making its appearance ....

Neely, Tracy & Erin sponsored this fun Fall inspired swap!!

I was paired up with Kristen who sent me this fun package!!! 

A sampling of some of her favorite things; the Fall issue of Women's Day, a wonderful Fall nail color, a bag of Brach's candy corn, a Starbuck's gift card (WOOT WOOT) and a simply lovely Fall inspired scarf. 
Thank you Kristen for giving me a peek into who you are ~

Thank you Tracy, Erin & Neely for a fun Fall Swap ♥

♥ Harlow - 7 months & 8 months ♥

Our 'baby' granddaughter is growing much too fast...

Harlow is now sitting, crawling and standing on her own, she is SO close to walking :-)

7 months

8 months

*~* Aloha Friday *~*

Welcome to Aloha Friday!!!

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is a day to take it easy

and look forward to the weekend.

I'll ask a simple question for you to answer, nothing that requires a lengthy response.

You can leave your response in my comments -

If you’d like to participate, post your own question on your blog

and leave your link here

Remember to visit the other participants!

It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends ~

My question...

What is your favorite way to start the day?

My answer is:

Call it corney, but my favorite way to start the day is waking up next to my husband of 34 years!!  What else could be a great start to the day???
We are early risers even on the weekends...
I love starting our days (ususally weekends) with a cup of coffee on our patio.  We have recently overhauled the backyard which makes this time even more special.  The hummingbirds frequent the feeders in the early mornings which I enjoy so much. 
The quiet of the mornings are so calming to me and we speak softly to keep our conversations between us - so special!

What's your answer??

Seattle!!!

We recently travelled to Seattle to visit Son and Daughter-in-Law ~

It's always a pleasure to visit family and the beautifully green State of Washington!!! 

This trip was made more special by it being our granddaughters first airplane ride. 

Baby girl slept most of the flight and arrived with smiles!!

We all enjoyed having everyone together, it had been 6 months

since Uncle Bubba had seen his niece and Aunt Little Feet

hadn't seen her since she was two weeks old!!

Baby girl immediately took to her Uncle, who had her laughing all week ♥

For the last three years part of the family has participated in a

half marathon/marathon in the Seattle area. 

This was my 5th half marathon this year and

brings my lifetime total of half marathons to 12!!!

We were fortunate enough to catch the Dale Chihuly display ~ 

Trust me when I say if this display comes to a city near you GO.SEE.IT!!!

Absolutely fabulous display of glass blowing genius...

After 31 years and 4 trips to Seattle, SIL (PC) finally visited the Space Needle!!

Our visit came to a close following a backyard BBQ

with several of our Seattle 'family' in attendance. 

As you can see the Sun made an appearance!!

Uncle Bubba feeding Baby Girl fresh fruit...

Until next time... Goodbye Seattle and all of your lovely greenery ♥ ♥