My Flower Pots--Part 2

I finally finished my flower pots. I found my plants at Walmart and two nurseries in town. The hard work of finding the plants and then planting is over, so now i can enjoy them. These pictures are for you Tammy, since you wanted to see what I have been up to in my yard. I love these two containers in the front and I try to put colorful flowers in here because these are the first things you see as you drive up in the driveway. Also, we hang out in the front yard playing ball and getting wet in the sprinkler, so I like to have something pretty to look at. I love to mix red, purple and pink flowers because they look so good together. I like different textures, too, makes it more interesting. I used geraniums, impatiens and begonias. For my trailing plants, I used creeping jenny(lime green plant), ivy, swedish ivy, vinca and maiden hair fern. I tried a different trailing plant this year, it is called Joseph's coat. It is the pink leaf plant in the driveway urn. I love the way it looks with all the other plants. The bean pot on the front porch doesn't get too much sun, so I used caladiums, ivy and maidenhair fern.

On around to the backyard...

I planted a few more containers on the back patio. I'm really not into planting flowers in the beds because it is just easier for me to do these pots and be done with it. I tried a new combination of coleus, dragon leaf red begonias and trailing lime green sweet potato vine in a big bean pot.

Here is a smaller urn with rex begonia, impatiens and maidenhair fern.

I love my frog with caladiums in it.

Here are two other finished pots.

Believe it or not, I used to have alot more out here, but since having kids this is just about all I can handle and keep alive!!

We would like to wish Anna Catherine a belated very happy birthday. She turned 12 on Tuesday. We hope you had a great birthday, AC!!

Redbirds Baseball

Wednesday, I took off half a day and Matt and I went to Memphis to watch the Redbirds play. Matt was really excited and as soon as we got into Memphis he started asking me where the baseball park was. I pointed in the general direction of AutoZone Park and said, "That way". He said, "Turn that way, Da-Da." He was ready to get to the ballpark! We got there just as the game was about to start at 1:05.


After getting my usual - BBQ Pork Nachos - we found our seats. As you can see in the top picture, Matt didn't sit, he stood most of the time and watched the game.


Well, he stood when he wasn't jumping down the steps.


"Matt wants ice cream........please!!!!!!!!"


He got it! The guys in the background aren't just baseball geeks keeping score, they're baseball scouts. Two were from the New York Yankees. I think the guy on our row in the blue jacket was from the Los Angeles Dodgers.


We started to leave after the 7th inning because I figured Matt was tired but he cried and wanted to stay. So we stayed! The Redbirds won 3-1.


Like I've said before, no trip with Matt is complete without a train sighting.


He passed out soon after we got out of Memphis. Yes, I was driving down the interstate when I took this picture.

Happy Birthday, Cassie!

Wednesday is Cassie's 17th birthday. We all met up with Mom and Dad at Woody's in Winona to celebrate. We had a great time eating and laughing and singing "Happy Birthday" to Cassie and then eating the cake! It's hard to believe Cassie is 17! It seems like yesterday that she was only 5 pounds and spitting up on Nana! We made it through the party with no spit ups - yeah, Cassie!!! Have a great birthday!

Do You Love Me?

McKenzie's dance teacher, Miss Reagan, has put another video of McKenzie's dance class on YouTube. This is her jazz class dancing to "Do You Love Me?" McKenzie is really enjoying dance and her first recital is in June. We can't wait!

Weekend Fun

This morning David took Matt to his second friend birthday party. It was a firefighter birthday for his friend, Chandler. It was held at our family life center. David took this picture of Matt and his buddy, Heath. They are standing by this firefighter cardboard cut out. It looks so life like, that it fooled both me and McKenzie. We thought it was a real fireman! David said by the end of the party a fire rescue truck came to see the kids. He said Matt visited for just a minute, then wanted to go back in and play ball, of course. Matt seem to really enjoy himself.

At the end of the day it was time for me to take McKenzie to Thompson Photography to have her dance pictures made with the rest of her ballet and jazz classes. I didn't take any pictures of her before we left, so I guess I will save that for a later post after the recital in June. Her costumes are so cute! Lots of fringe and sequins! Anyway, McKenzie and I had a blast getting ready. It was like playing dress up. We laughed and laughed because I had to gel her hair, then comb it staight back and put it in a bun. This was tricky since she doesn't have long hair. My friend, Suzanne gave me some Super Spike and it did the trick...that and tons of bobby pins. McKenzie was excited to wear makeup, too. Can't wait to see the pictures.

Spring Gardening

I have said for years that my Christmas comes in the spring. I get so excited when I see the flowers, shrubs and mulch at Walmart. I planted a couple of pots today on my patio. I am taking it slow because we are still having cold days and nights and I don't want to waste my money and have to redo containers.

I was by Walmart today and saw these beautiful hanging baskets. The plant is called Fuchsia. I had to get one. They have beautiful red and purple blooms. They are suppose to bloom all summer, so we will have to wait and see. It will be a nice pop of color on the patio. I planted it in my favorite urn. The Fuchsia is nice and big and to me it is worth the money to buy plants that are already well established like this one and plant it in a big container.

I also bought a couple of Kimberly Queen ferns. I put one on the front porch in an iron urn and the other went in my tall iron plant stand. I really like these ferns because they grow tall and look great all season. I have five more container gardens to go, so as soon as it warms up I will finish up and post some more pics of my patio and front porch.

Easter Fun

We had a great Easter yesterday. The kids woke up early and enjoyed their Easter baskets I made for them the night before. I was too tired to take any pictures of them but did snap these the night before. I found this neat baton for McKenzie that has water and glitter in it. I also found two neat books about the Hannah Montana movie we went to see on Friday. Matt got this neat light up ball and a little car.

We then got dressed and went to church. David and I teach Matt's Sunday school class. They are a great group of little boys, yes all boys! David read them a little book about the true meaning of Easter and we then made Easter baskets. We used strawberry baskets, easter grass and plastic eggs. We had the boys put Jesus stickers on the eggs and fold up strips of paper that I had written some bible verses on and stick them in the eggs. That way they can remember that Jesus loves them and died for them. You could tell that everyone had been up early playing and eating candy because they were very active!! Here are a few pictures of our cute class.

After we left church we went over to eat lunch at Mimi and Pop's house. We had delicious food. Afterwards, McKenzie, Matt and Jordan hunted Easter eggs before the winds and rain started. It turned out to be a nice Easter day.

Easter, Da, Hannah, and When Trains Attack!

We decided to try to take Easter pictures of the kids Saturday afternoon. I say "try" because Matt is at the age where photo sessions are not high on his fun list. He's usually good for a couple of pictures and then he shuts it down (as you'll see). Betty found a nice little setting at the outdoor classroom at Kirk and we dressed the kids up, bribed them with a trip to the playground, and headed out to take pictures. This first picture turned out great -- Matt was happy and cooperating and McKenzie was having fun.......

....then Matt was done


"Nope, not gonna happen!"


Betty has always wanted a picture of the kids in a field of yellow flowers. We got several of McKenzie.


"Why did you put me out here?" We stuck Matt out there and he didn't really see the point of it.




Here, we're at the playground and who should show up? Da! - also known as Caleb.


Matt's happy again!


Matt was running to Caleb and McKenzie saying, "Here I come!".....like they were waiting for him.


Here's Daddy Duck and his ducklings.


This is an example of poor planning. Caleb is about twice their weight and the littlest one is on the back. He almost flipped off before Betty and I could impart our parental wisdom. Of course, I guess I could've said something instead of taking this picture, huh?


Here's another near injury.


Friday, Betty and McKenzie went to Southaven to see the new Hannah Montana movie. You can tell McKenzie was excited.


When Trains Attack! Somehow, Thomas ended up in Matt's hair. Matt was in the playroom playing with his trains and all of the sudden he started crying and hollering, "Mommy!". We ran in there and found the train stuck in his hair and still running and twisting his hair around the wheels. We did what any good parents in this situation would do......we grabbed the camera and snapped a picture for our blog!!! Most of his hair survived the attack and he and Thomas have made up.

Our Friend, Jack

We were so excited this afternoon when our friend Jack came to see us. He and his mom had been to Walmart and decided to stop by for a visit. We couldn't get over how big Jack is getting. He has cute chunky legs. Good thing Easter is this weekend because he is just about to out grow his little Easter t-shirt and shorts. There is no doubt that he loves his mama, but he also enjoyed staring at McKenzie while they were here. He even smiled at her. I think he was planning to grab her glasses! Here is a sweet picture I snapped of them. Thanks for stopping by to see us, Amanda.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Saturday, we went to the Memphis Zoo since it was supposed to be a beautiful day - not too hot and no rain. When we went to the zoo last year, it was very hot and then came a heavy thunder storm. We did manage to scare up a few rain drops this year, but it never rained and it was a perfect day to walk around the zoo.

On the way back we had to wake Matt up when we stopped to eat supper.........bad idea. He screamed when we told him we were getting out to eat. I carried him into Back Yard Burger and he let out a bloodcurdling scream right in my ear! Thankfully, no one was in there except us, the workers and a guy who was sleeping in a booth. That guy jumped up like he had been shot! Matt eventually woke up and the rest of supper and the ride home was nice.


Here are the elephants. I wish I had gotten a picture of the monkeys. They were our second favorite after the polar bears. A mother monkey was playing with her baby monkey, knocking him off an elevated log and just pestering him. They were funny.


Matt got an up-close view of one of the polar bears.


McKenzie's turn with the polar bear and her reaction.


Some obnoxious kids would scream every time the polar bears swam by them.......Matt didn't like it.


No trip would be complete without a train!


Snack and break time.