Beginning to do stuff so we can move

Fred only had the time to put in the grass and gravel the first two summers after we moved here.

We finally fixed that. We bought about 25 plants/flowering bushes.

We had quite a few bushes/trees that we purchased way back that sat in the garden waiting to be planted. We salvaged two fruit trees, and a few other plants. I have the job of cutting up the dead branches to throw in the garbage can. I worked at that for two days straight. I quit for now. I've been having shoulder problems and there is no hurry. I'll get back to it.

I'm also mowing the lawn for Fred while he slaves in the backyard. He is amazing. He is a working machine. He does make an awful mess when he works on projects, but man it is magnificent when he is done. I don't know how he makes everything always look so good.

This is my summer apparel. I love this hat. I go for a walk every morning. Never have to fix my hair or put on makeup with this getup. I love it.

I think he looks a little dirty here.

So everything is planted and in place.

Fred now has to put all the gravel back in place around the plants

I just wanted to share how it looks in a somewhat finished state.

It took 2 1/2 weeks of hard sweaty labor on Fred's part. I just marvel at how hard he works and the hot and awful conditions he is doing this in. 

We both liked the same type of plants so buying them was pretty easy. We didn't really have a plan, we just had a rough estimate of how many. We really didn't even know for sure how we were going to lay them out.

We were going to plant two of something kind on each side of the bench, but neither Fred nor I wanted him to do anymore digging. I suggested planters with flowers. This is what we came up with. We will take them with us when we move. He'll remove the hanger....

This is a Lantana.

This is a smoke bush. We have a huge one in our front patio entrance. We love it.

I don't know what this is called, but it was so interesting. The colors in this picture aren't great plus most of the plants are not as vibrant as they were when we bought them. They have all wilted maybe just a bit.

Most of the bushes we bought blossom. This has an orange blossom.

Pink Blossom.

Here is the other little bush that was a vibrant red - almost blood red.

Snapdragons

This is a peach tree. It has sat in the pot for about five years. We will see if it continues to grow. Fred said it was more work than it was worth to get it planted. He doesn't do anything half way.

This is a fuji apple tree. Same story - sat in a pot for years.

This is a pretty bush that kept growing in the pot. All the branches are quite healthy, but it is so heavy that Fred is shoring it up so the root can catch up to support the bush.

Here is my hero. He works so hard on everything he does. He never does anything halfway. At times I wish he would, but the end result of his work is always beautiful.

Now on to the garage process. 

Fred's method for organizing is to pull everything out and spread it around. He made four categories. Throw away in the trash. Give Away. Sell in a Garage Sale and Take with us.

I don't know how he got through it all. I'm not sure if he really did. I'm just having faith.

 

Checking out the new home

We made our long anticipated road trip to see our new homestead in Aurora, CO.

While the senior missionary couple was out for the day, we went in and 

checked out our new space.

I think my favorite room was the master bedroom. Most likely because it let in the most light. 

I also know the kitchen and dining area are going to be awesome!!

We have picked out some beautiful cabinets and the pantry along the 

dining wall is going to be epic!

Day One we drove up to Winchester to the Butterfly Pavilion.

First we quickly stopped at a Chipotle for lunch. Surprising super delicious.

The kids both ate really good. This is a new thing on the last couple visits.

Pretty cute picture taking op

We stayed in the Butterfly area while Shannon was off with Blake at the play area. He was not feeling super great. Too many late nights with their two new kitties.

Not many of the butterflies landed for long. It was hard to get very many pictures. This particular breed was very stationary throughout the exhibit.

There was also a petting exhibit for fish and octopus and other gross type things.

I made this apron a few months ago and held on to it so I could take with us on this trip. 

It was very cute on M.

When we arrived, M said she wanted us to pet their new kitties and go to Cold Stone. So the first evening we spent a little time checking out their kitties and then Cold Stone. 

It was all very yummy.

The only downside was no eating inside Cold Stone. We had to bring it home. 

It got a little soupy for some.

Fred gave the kids a lesson in coin collecting. These are quarters of National Parks I do believe. M told Shannon she wanted to visit the National Park in Alaska and Hawaii.

We stayed a day longer because M wanted us to watch them at Taekwondo. Shannon had signed them up for 4 weeks. The class moved very slowly and it lasted an hour. I was really impressed how these two actually stayed focused and patient with all the waiting around. As you can see here, it wasn't B's most favorite activity. They won't be continuing.

So cute.

One morning this is what we woke up to. Fred got out there to shovel the driveway with Brother Garns the senior missionary living there.

On our anniversary we ate here. We never go to Five Guys because it is way overpriced in our opinion. But it was a place that was allowing dine in and we hadn't had a hamburger in a pretty long time. It was delicious though. 

Happy 42nd wedding anniversary to us.

It's a long drive to Aurora, but it's worth it. 

Shannon and I got to go shopping and go out to lunch one day.

Then lots of Hallmark movie watching. More for me than her.

Some out of this world delicious steak by Brian. 

That man can cook, grill, bake ~ you name it. He can do it.

 

Balloon Festival Kanab UT

I asked Fred if we could go to the Balloon Festival in Kanab for something new to do. He said yes. 

We went up on Friday afternoon. We arrived around 5 pm and checked into our hotel room. We drove around the town to figure out where we needed to go for the launch. Also walked through the street festival checking out the food and stuff to buy. We didn't buy anything. It was very cold.

We got to the field by 7 am. It was probably around 30 degrees outside. Fred brought hand warmers and they helped a lot. My feet were cold though. We brought lawn chairs, but never set them up. We just walked around.

I didn't put on makeup or even fix my hair because I knew I would be hidden in all the warm clothing. It didn't matter. I don't like how I feel when I'm not dressed for the day.

There were about 25 balloons. I would say about five actually took off and floated up high and away from the field. There were about five balloons that never left the ground.

The majority of balloons that launched hung close to the ground and didn't stay up very long. I imagine they were mostly trying to drum up business. The wind did kick up so maybe that had something to do with it? They were still beautiful.

We took a drive as far north as Mt. Carmel. Along the way is the Thunderbird Restaurant. It has been there since 1931. Created by a couple that settled there back in those days. 

The founder, Jack Morrison, spelled home made pie as ho-made so the letter would fit on the small sign.  It was not until later that the word "ho" got it's current meaning.  The Thunderbird is built on tradition and family and thus the sign and the spelling has remained.

Fred ordered apple pie with rum sauce.

I ordered the Thunderberry pie. I was hoping it was going to be blackberries, raspberries - that kind of berry. It was strawberry with blueberries. Not my favorite, but still good. 

We enjoyed our time together. It was disappointing that it was so cold because I can't handle being cold. I know we are moving to Colorado, but I'm not going to choose to go outside and stand in the freezing windy cold. I'll stay home bundled up nice and warm. I'll send Shannon out to get me whatever I need. She's still young!!

Beginning Days of my Retirement

 My first project was washing the blinds in our master bath. We actually have two large windows, but by the time I finished the first one I decided the second one could wait for another day.

I went overboard I think. It seemed the easiest was to clean them was to totally remove them.

So I washed them in our soaking tub, dried them and laid them out on my bed. 

After that, I had to thread them back through the strings. Way too much work. 

My goal to clean all the blinds will be over a long period of time. I won't remove them either. 

I saw on Facebook an advertisement for a birthstone ring. I ordered one with all of our birthstones on it. It was $30. Now I see why. It is really a beautiful ring and I'm pleased with it except it is SO SMALL. It is sterling silver so at least it isn't just a piece of junk. I wish I would have ordered a 5 1/2 instead of a 6. I forget what size ring I wear.

I'm slowly sorting through treasures.

This was made by a woman my Dad taught on his mission back in the 40s.

At the time, I don't think she was baptized, but years later they met again when my parents went back to the same area to visit. 

Some years later when my parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, this woman sent this doily to them. Dad had it framed.

Here are a couple pictures of my parents when they were in their 20s. 

I ordered these little bears from Home Interiors so many years ago. I used to buy all my home decor from this dealer. I asked Linda Nyland to write our names on the bears. I can't part with them. It's like my people. I haven't had them hung up since we moved here, but I'm still keeping them.

I'm pretty much known within our family to be at the sink washing dishes all the time. When I found this little card from Scott, I laughed that he already noticed I washed a lot of dishes.

I found my Primary bandelo. I was sure proud of myself back then. I could memorize anything.

When Scott was a preschooler, he attended Speech classes. Each day they would work on a new sound and make an index card with a picture of it. For "K" they made a card with a little hole and a tissue pulled through it. It was always one of my favorite cards in his box. I saved that index box for years and I think I finally parted with it. When I came across this picture that I had drawn as a little kid, it made me laugh.

I think I will stop here for the day. I don't want my post to be too long. I'll be back with more in a week or so.