{week 22}

The week of Memorial Day kicked off with a weekend of Home Depot, gardening, projects & nice weather. We planted a few tomato plants & a squash plant (which we thought was a pumpkin plant & are going to have a lot of explaining to do come Halloween!!) as well as a stacked herb planter that I copied of of Pinterest. We got the water table, which had been sitting in the hallway unopened for a week, set up & the kids had a blast. Note to anyone reading: bathing suits are a better options than clothing! Later in the week we hit the pool for our neighborhood pool party as well as with some friends - coming across a good Samaritan herding a turtle across a busy road. We ended the week with a mommy-kiddos dinner date of leftover pizza. Fancy as usual!

{fairy garden}

A few months ago I came across the idea of a fairy garden on Pinterest & my interest was peaked. Fairies are a big deal at our house. If the girls aren't playing princess or "mama & daughter" then they're playing fairies - and many times make believe time combines the three & we have mother & daughter fairy princesses. Here was the inspiration piece:

find the pin here

We have very good friend, Ryan, who is an extremely talented florist. Kalea just happens to be the President of his fan club. So, when I texted him that I needed some help making this happen & some adorable picture of her, he couldn't help but agree. Really, could you resist this?

One Saturday, we gathered the troops & supplies. Troops: us, Ryan & the Peppers. Supplies: half a Jack Daniels whiskey half-barrel planter (found at Home Depot), two bags of pebbles (one for drainage, the other for decoration), a couple bags of dirt, moss, some miniature plants from Ry's shop & two silly girls with watering cans.

We drilled a couple holes in the bottom to let it drain & the filled it up. Big pebbles first, dirt, plants, pebbles. It was pretty quick work with all the helpers we had on hand.

Phase one was complete! The fairies were set to build a house & move in a few weeks later. I was pretty happy with the results so far & the girls were thrilled. Although getting a picture of both of them "thrilled" at the same moment proved difficult!

A few weeks later we added a house, donated by another talented friend, some fairies Ryan had drummed up at the shop & a few other extras. We couldn't be happier with the outcome. Cassidy & Kalea have really enjoyed checking for fairies a few times a week & being responsible for watering their plants. It was a fun, easy & not too expensive project - especially so with the help of friends!

project 365 photo: 07.18.2011 {those eyes}

While visiting in PA I had some serious camera envy over my mom's new DSLR. The quality of the pictures is so much better than my little point & shoot - although I admit that I really do like being able to put my tiny camera in my pocket or the diaper bag. My camera battery died & I couldn't find the charger (conveniently?) so I took a lot of pictures with the DSLR while we were there. This one of Kalea is my favorite for the day. My Uncle David, when he saw her during the visit, mentioned to my dad that he didn't understand how anyone could ever say no to her when she looked at you with those big, sweet eyes. Many times I agree with him...but not always!

We had a fun day hanging out at Grandma & Grandpa's house, swimming in the pool and just being a little lazy. Cassidy got to spend some time especially with Grandma & help garden - which she loves!

project 365 photo: 06.03.2011 {stop & smell the flowers}

Less than three weeks until the official first day of summer, we're starting to feel spring-like here in Utah. I know many of the rest of you are in a crazy wave of heat & humidity, but here we've had temperatures in the high 50s & 60s for the past few weeks. This week, however, we got to see 70 at least twice & may even hit 80-something by the end of the weekend! Hooray!

I'm not complaining one bit though since I know that the girls & I are in for a shock whenever we make the move to the Southeast (hopefully before the end of the month?). We've had some quality outside bubble & sidewalk chalk time every day for the past week & thus have the most beautifully decorated sidewalks, side of the house, steps & driveway in the neighborhood. I'm happy to say that Kalea has moved past the eating chalk stage nicely which is a win-win situation for all of us.

The flowers in our garden are starting to bloom - very much due to Michael's careful planting last year & nothing to do with my (not-so-great) gardening abilities! Happy Spring Everyone!