Life has been rolling on here…
School is officially out for all the munchkins. Summertime is upon us.
Last weekend we finished up the bed behind the pool. To say it was a daunting task, is an understatement. I found myself rethinking my grand plan to plant azaleas around the entire front of the house. We had to remove soil and then mix proportionate amounts of sphagnum peat, sand, and pine mulch to achieve the proper acid levels that promote healthy growth for azaleas (and also hydrangeas, as I discovered…) In addition, we planted a variety of other foliage to provide contrasting colors and textures. Ruella, Lantana, Table Mountain Ice Plants and Lambs Ear, which, I’m told, were used in the Civil War as bandages due to the lack of medical supplies. It may not look like much now, but I’m excited to watch them grow!
Samples of what ours will (hopefully) look like:
Kevin installed and repaired existing accent lighting in the bed and extended the sprinkler system. He is so handy!
Another short, but interesting project was turning the yard near the pool, that was really just dirt with a few random weeds, into a lush lawn! We picked up a pallet of Saint Augustine and Kevin and Luke carpeted the yard like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
I think it looks fantastic!
In other news, our little chicks have nearly doubled in size! We let the scratch around outside for the first time. They have been working out the pecking order. Literally. Flying at one another with much squawking. It is becoming obvious which are the meek chickies, and which have the stronger personality.
I learned that we may not have all hens – some of them could be roosters – we won’t know until about 4-5 months when/if one of them starts cockadoodledooing! Won’t that be a trip?! If we have a rooster, he will be Henry Thomas William Alexander Rufflesby (aka Mr. Rufflesby)… although, Kevin suggested John Wayne, which is much less of a mouthful, and Luke chimed in with Clint Eastwood
The kids have been enjoying swimming almost every day. The water is still a tad chilly for my taste, but you know kids! They will swim till their little lips are blue! Monday night I was exhausted so we decided to grill burgers on the patio and swim with the kiddos – it was nice to stop long enough to actually enjoy all our work!
This week I’m scrambling to throw together a little birthday gathering (swim party) for the twins. I don’t know any of the kids from this school, or their parents, yet… so of course, I wanted everything to be perfect. I started out planning a grand set up. Picture raspberry lemonades in mason jars, served in a decorative galvanized beverage bucket and platters of all sorts of homemade goodies – until I realized there was no time and since I don’t own a lot of serving items yet, I’d have to buy all the serving stuff at once. So, I scaled back my goals considerably, determining I will have to buy a little bit of serving stuff at a time so that next summer, I’ll have a full set up on hand!. I have opted for punch, and juice boxes, a fruit bowl, veggie trays and good old regular chips. I am making Red Velvet Cake for Eliana and Golden Cake for Elijah – Last night I decided to try making fondant for the first time – but I don’t think I did it right – it was a sticky icky experiment gone wrong, but one which I am not determined to master – just not in time for THIS birthday party!
Tonight will be a mad rush to ice the cakes and clean up. Tomorrow I’ll make a run to the store for balloons and extra sunscreen. Wish me luck, and let the madness begin!
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