I realized tonight that I haven't posted in a while! I've been keeping up with everyone else's blog...but failing to update ours. Truthfully, our lives have gotten a lot busier as of late. With the fall semester in full swing, it seems like all of a sudden we have a LOT going on. Here's a rundown of a typical week right now. Monday nights, I teach. Tuesday nights are free as of right now. Wednesday nights Aaron gives guitar lessons and we have church. Thursday nights Aaron has softball...and when it ends, he'll probably pick up some more guitar lessons. Friday nights- 2 times a month, we lead a young adult study group at the church and 1-time a month I'm going to start going to teach Ballet V in Ft. Smith for WAB again. By the weekend, we're pretty exhausted...but also determined to do something productive with our time. This weekend was a pretty good mix of rest and "getting stuff done."
Friday evening, we had our church young adult group Fall Kickoff event at our pastor's house. It was a fun, adults only night. We had a great time and got to discuss our calendar of events for the fall quarter.
Background for Saturday...Aaron and I have slowly landscaped our yard over the 6 years that we've lived in this house. It has been a rather long and ongoing process. When we moved in there was nothing. Not a bush, a tree, a flower...well...I'm sure there were weeds. Actually, the sod was even dormant and they laid it in the summer!!! They didn't water it in, so we didn't get to see green grass until the following spring. So, we've had a lot of work to do. The great thing about doing it all yourself, aside from saving a lot of money, is the pride and sense of accomplishment you feel when you see a beautiful finished product. BUT...it's a lot of stinkin' work! If you've ever lived in Arkansas...you KNOW how much work. The soil is full of red clay and ROCKS, ROCKS, ROCKS! Plus, I've killed two cacti in my lifetime, so the odds have been pretty stacked against me. Anyways, we have a big flower bed between our garage and front walkway up to the door, and we have a retaining wall garden in the front as well. The retaining wall is one of Aaron's great accomplishments. For two people who know next to nothing about DIY, we've done some decent work. But the retaining wall is lovely, and has really added curb appeal.
So, last weekend, we dug a new bed on the east side of the house. Aaron has been wanting to put in some bushes, and I wanted something biggish on the corner of the house. We've also been dreaming about putting in some trees for a very long time. Saturday, we went to Garden City and finally bought our first trees!!! We got a red dynamite crepe myrtle for the new bed on the corner, a gorgeous snow fountain (weeping tree that will have pinkish white blooms in spring) for the end of the retaining wall on the other front corner, and a Japanese blood maple ornamental for another bed that we plan to dig to "mask" the ugly utility box in one of the back corners of the back yard. When they get they're shipment of maples this week, I will choose one more regular maple for the front yard. We want a few more shade trees for the backyard, but are planning to build a deck (not this year), so we want to wait and see the dimensions for that until we do the big trees back there.
The rest of the day was devoted to watching the Sooners kick some Golden Hurricane butt, and perhaps even a little more exciting- the USC Trojans GO DOWN against Washington!!! Oh, what a glorious day for football it was yesterday. We were very, VERY stoked!
Today was church, of course...and then a lot of just lounging around the house. I did make a run to town to get a few more small plants for one of the flower beds. I will work on getting those planted during naps this week. I'm hoping to have things looking really nice for the arrival of my folks on Friday. My birthday is Saturday, so they are coming to celebrate with us. I'm turning 29...my last hoorah as a twenty-something. Guess I'd better do something awesome this year, huh?
Well, I'll quit rambling now and get back to the Cowboys game with my husband. I'll get some pics up soon...because I know that's what everyone really wants. :-)
The retaining wall my sweet husband built. I need to pull some weeds...
Red Dynamite Crepe Myrtle
A view of the west side of the front yard. You can see the new maple tree in the foreground.
Autumn Fantasy Maple
Japanese Red Blood Maple-
The Japanese Maple from the porch.
Warning for Natalie: this is probably going to annoy the snot out of you. I know your aversion to animals in the house, and I understand why. But, we let Cookie into our lives and hearts on a whim 4 years ago, and even though she can be dirty and smelly, and sheds her body weight in hair almost everyday in the summer...she is a loyal and loving friend, and we love her very much!
