August already?

Where has our summer gone? That's a good question isn't it. This has been such a weird summer. Heck, it's August and the Daylilies that usually bloom in May have finally just bloomed. Weird.

Our backyard fireplace and smoker have definitely been neglected this summer. Poor things. This weekend we finally had a BBQ and fired up the smoker. FINALLY. It was nice to have people over and enjoy our fenced in yard that we worked so hard on last summer.

One thing we can't say is that we haven't been busy. Life sure changes when you bring a baby into your lives. But, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Our New Addition

Surprise! Guess what. There were actually 3 of us in our holiday photo. No wonder we look so happy. :)

Megan Hope joined our family on June 9, at 4:34am weighing 6lbs 1oz, 19in. We have been blessed.

Thanks again to Jessica of jmphotomn for the wonderful announcements.

Happy Holidays!

After 4 years, we finally had professional pictures taken again. This is what we will be sending as our holiday card this year.

Thanks Jessica.
(photo courtesy of www.jmphotomn.com)

Fall in MN

This afternoon we went to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It was a little chilly, and some of the trees were already past their prime, but we still saw quite a bit of fall beauty today and I also got to play with our new camera a bit.

Deer Friends

This evening our wildlife friends of the summer returned.

We first "met" the baby deer the first weekend that we were working on the fence. Someone was here who had worked at the Dallas Zoo and said from his experience, the baby was probably only a couple of days old.

Due to the steep incline and chain-link fence around the edge or our property, the baby couldn't get out. First thoughts were that momma had abandoned the little one. But then we started seeing her with the baby again. The momma was looking very weak and thin. She didn't look like she could take care of a baby. So we decided to get some corn and nurse her back to health so she could take care of her baby.

We haven't fed them in a while and now this evening I noticed the corn bucket has been tipped over. You think they are trying to tell us something? It's a good thing we have the new Willow trees' trunks wrapped.

Momma is the closer one here and the one keeping an eye on me as I shoot a few photos.

Take that Rabbits!

We finally won the battle with the rabbits. Every time the Hostas would finally get a little growth on them the darn rabbits would come and eat them down to the ground again. This went on most of last summer and into this summer as well. Finally we decided to outsmart them and put up a little 6" fence. Ha! Now that summer is over they are finally looking really healthy. Hopefully by ending the season like this will give them a boost next spring.

Now what can we get to prevent them from eating down the Barberry and Potentilla bushes again over the winter?

Happy Birthday to Me!

Remember when we were younger and we thought 35 was SO old? Now that I am 35, I don't really feel old at all. I guess age really is just a number.

I had a nice weekend, got to have dinner with a good friend yesterday, Shane and I went out to eat tonight and we have more fun things planned for next weekend.

It's hard to put a feeling on 35. Hitting 30 never really bothered me, and this one hasn't yet either. I think I'm dreading the big 4-0 more than anything! (At least as of today!)


No, this is not really my cake.