libby in her pool

libby in her pool.jpg
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

Last week Libby and I stayed with Jen in Swift Current while Daryl and Ben (Jen's husband) met up with some old college friends in Banff. It was super hot that weekend (33+) and one of Jen's friends invited us to come over. Her son Riley was 5 months older than Libby and they had a pool set up in the back yard so it was great in the heat.
Anyways, Libby enjoyed herself so much I decided it was time to buy a little pool for her. So we set it up and once she was comfortable in there she loved it!! It was super hot yesterday so we decided to try it out.
I am envisioning many more days in the pool... maybe if I'm lucky she'll 'let' me dip my toes in now and then!

Libby of Arabia

Libby of Arabia.JPG
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

The title says it all.....

Upset Libby of Arabia

Libby of Arabia.JPG
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

Libby hating the hat.... couldn't blame her, so we took it off. Don't worry Grandmas and Grandpas, she was well shaded!!

"You don't know anything" -God

Surprise.JPG
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

So with my posts on the garden, some of you may realize that I enjoy gardening. I even enjoy reading up on flowers and learning more about gardening. When I worked at a certain greenhouse it was one of my favorite jobs. I worked in the annual department, so most of my knowledge is with annuals (plants that only last the one season, for you plant virgins out there!!). So when I saw plants coming up sporadically in the flower bed and saw all of the bird feeders in the yard I naturally assumed that they were sunflowers. The plants at first even looked like sunflowers..... then the darn things bloomed!! It was like a proclamation at the lack of my knowledge!! I could just picture God pointing his finger at me laughing.
Oh well, the blooms are really pretty and now they also serve as a constant reminder that I am not as bright as I think I am.... which sometimes can be a good thing...sometimes! ;)

Back yard

Back yard
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

So I thought that I would show you the outside part of our house and the garden. I have really enjoyed having flower beds, but one of the sacrifices you make when you move and reno in the summer is that the outside tends to get neglected. Oh well, thankfully the people before us had quite a few perennials so those will tide us over for the next little while.

There's the back of our house! If you are wondering why the posts look weird it's because there was lattice on the deck to keep there cat in and we took it off. Now we have to paint the posts... just one more list of things to do.

The flower bed looks super full in this picture and it's pretty much all to do with calendula! They reseed them selves and come back every year. They fill out the garden really nicely, and best of all they didn't cost anything!! They have really pretty orange and yellow flowers. I neglected them all spring and they look great!

Any ways here are some more pictures of the back yard and our flower garden!

Back Yard

Back Yard
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

This is the part that separates us from our neighbor, Kirk. He's a great guy and all, but we enjoy our privacy as well (and I am sure that he does too!) Right now that looks a bit like a jungle, but it's been fun to see what all is coming up and all the perennials that are in there. As you can see I have to do some trimming in there too, but I need to wait until they are done blooming.
Also if you can see the different color grass in the lower right corner that is where we sodded. The people before us had a little path that went diagonally 3/4 of the way on the lawn where is ended at a bird bath (which is now in the flower bed in this picture.... good luck trying to find it!) It kind of looked like an altar where you would make sacrifices to the bird bath!! Anyways since we have Libby we decided to sod that path and it has already made the back seem larger (although it is still pretty small).

Back Yard

Back Yard
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

This is the garden against the garage. Believe it or not this is after I already cut back all of those bushes! They are already getting pretty high again and I only cut them back 3 weeks ago! I am going to have to show them no mercy the next time!!
(In case you're wondering we are planning on getting rid of the 'stuff' on the garage, but we aren't sure if we'll have to paint there, so we are waiting for the moment)

Bachelor's Button, Cornflower
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

This is one of my favorite flowers and I almost pulled it thinking it was a weed!! My mom always taught me to wait and see what the plants do and then if you don't like it... pull it! I am really glad that I listened to her advice!! This is a perennial called a corn flower in the Bachelor's button family.

Cranesbill (perennial Geranium)
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

This flower on the left is a cranesbill (perennial geranium) and then there is a pink Gazania in the back with some violas too!

Flower garden
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

The one on the right is a spirea and the one on the left is a yarrow. These were taken a couple weeks ago and now the yarrow is blooming like crazy!

libby's renos

libby's renos
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

Here's some pictures of Libby "helping" with the reno's. She loved to crawl into the cupboards and now that the doors are all on, she's not quite sure what to do! Just so you all know, this picture was taken a few weeks ago. We now have conter tops and a kitchen sink! That's right I am no longer doing dishes in the bathroom! I never thought I would be so thankful to do dishes in the kitchen before... I'm sure that will wear off quickly.

libby's renos
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.

libby's renos

libby's renos
Originally uploaded by ddgrunau.