{view from the back door}

I can't help myself...the backyard is just beautiful! With all of the rain (and a lot of help from Tim's green thumb) the backyard has been growing like crazy. I can't even imagine what it will look like once all of our annuals are in bloom. Sometimes I get home and feel like I am walking in to a cute little B&B. With a view like this from our back door, it happens more often than not.

{happy birthday dylan}

We had the most wonderful time in Linn this weekend. We practically had to drag ourselves home - we just didn't want to leave. We were there for Easter and got to see Mamo and Papo and the whole Mellen gang (minus a few). It had been so long since we had been back to Washington, and it was so nice to see everyone. After our Easter dinner, we went back to Linn and celebrated Dylan's first birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DYLAN!! He's got to be the cutest one-year-old I know. Nick and Tessa make pretty beautiful babies.

{trolley run 2011}

Tim and I ran the Trolley Run last weekend. We had the whole thing planned with our favorite people - Sara, Carlos, Mom, Katie and Zach. We were going to run together, cheer each other on, and then go get breakfast together. Great plan, right?! Well, when the time came, somehow we all lost each other. Tim ended up running on his own (which I think he enjoyed). I couldn't find the crew, so I ended up running on my own. Mom couldn't get a hold of anyone, so she ended up running on her own. Sara and Carlos were subjected to terrible organization by the shuttle bus and didn't get to the starting line when they were supposed to run, so they ended up running with the strollers! Finally, Katie and Zach came on two hours of sleep and ended up in the heat of walkers. Needless to day, we didn't even see each other until breakfast, and even then it was only half of our crew. All in all, the run was great - Tim totally rocked it with a time of 24:57. I was about 20 seconds from reaching my goal with a time of 36:17. I think, though, from now on we're just going to plan our own runs. There is no stress that comes with that! Hmm....I'm thinking a run from our house up to Broadway Cafe. Who's in?

For the sake of our friends and the fact that no one looks good running, I'm only putting pictures of Tim and I up. Guys - If you want me to put your pictures up, let me know!!

 

{happy anniversary, love}

Minute by minute

hour by hour -

I get the sweetest kind of 

love and happiness from you!

Tomorrow I will love you more than I do today, which seems impossible, 

but I've witnessed it myself. This love has grown to be the best kind of love - our love.

{greenhouse}

e}Last spring Tim started a greenhouse in the basement. He planted and grew everything from tomatoes to petunias to angelina serina. This winter he began planting again. He started with cabbage, which is now planted in the planters outside. He has now moved on to the flowers that will soon bloom all over the yard. Early March he seeded petunias, vinca, coliosis, potato vines, angelina serina and all of our herbs. Six weeks later, everything is up and ready to be planted.

 

It's amazing what you like after you just try it. I'm sure Tim never thought that he would enjoy gardening as much as he does, but he can't get enough of it. I think it's the process of creating. Whether it's starting them from seed and watching them grow or creating the landscape of the backyard, it's just a fun challenge. The best part is being able to sit back and relax once it's all done. Our backyard is all us - we started it from scratch, we are continuing to modify it, and we are constantly enjoying it.

{swope park trails}

How on earth we've never made it to the hiking trails in Swope Park is beyond my imagination. We are always looking for new adventures, exploring places, and craving the outdoors and we found all of the above this weekend in Swope Park. I know I am going to sound like a Parks and Rec spokesperson, but honestly, it was like leaving town, but not really going anywhere at all! We felt like we were on a weekend getaway. Some might say, "We took a trip, but never left the farm." Saturday afternoon we decided to go to the Nature Center, which has a 2 mile trail behind it. Unfortunately, the camera didn't capture the beautiful landscape very well. We ended up in a hollow with streams winding throughout and trees blooming. It was gorgeous and CLEAN! It was like we were in woods back in Osage County. The next morning after church, we headed straight back to Swope park for another hike. This one was right off of Blue River Rd. We just pulled the car to the side of the road, and off we went. I think it took us about two hours to complete the hike. Again, this one was beautiful, too! We went winding around the trail, finding huge boulders, streams, really interesting trees...the whole nine yards. We even found a great spot for lunch.

The whole time we were hiking, Tim kept saying "Man, I love this stuff! We are coming here every weekend..." and what-do-ya-know, he's headed there again tonight for a trail run. Looks like he's found a little bit of country in the middle of the city.

{firsts}

Spring is the season of "firsts." The first new grass to sprout, the first lawn mowing, the first leaves on trees, the first flowers to bloom, the first Fire Friday, the first BBQ with nice weather, the first race, the first breakfast on the patio, the first sunburn - they are all the signs of Spring. I would have to say, though, that one of my favorite "firsts" is the blooming of the tulips! 

The first fall we lived in our house we planted tulips. Like 200. Our favorite old-lady neighbor (who, mind you, checks on our plants while we are at work, scares away birds and squirrels from our growing grass and so on...) told us that the tulips we planted would be eaten by the squirrels and they wouldn't bloom after the first year. Apparently she had bad luck in the past because three years later and the tulips are have multiplied into a huge bed of red. We call the spectacular event "the blooming of the tulips!" They are our first flower to bloom, and I'd have to say, our favorite.

{brew to brew}

The Brew to Brew was this weekend and we had such a great time. I am still waiting for our final race results, but considering the terrible wind, I think we did AWESOME! If anything, we are all sore from our sunburns that we got! Thanks for such a wonderful Sunday, guys! 

Let the race season begin....ya Brewsers!!!