April has been a full month. Lot's of things are happening! Baseball season has begun! Austin has been swinging his bat for weeks already and practicing every chance he gets! He loves softball and he was so excited for his first game!
The Flames lined up for an opening prayer before their first game and they played well. It's the first game where you play with some new members to the team and smile at the kids you have played with before! Good job Flames for your first win!
And the mulch arrived. 12 yards of bark this year instead of 15. We are trying to cut back on the mulching work around here and plan to cut down a few pines that take a lot of mulch around them. And then I got one scoop of mushroom mulch for the garden! There's are rabbit that keep nibbling my lettuce and I wish it would leave it alone! I cover up the plants and put a pie plate out to scare the rabbit if the wind blows the plate.
We are spending more and more time on the back porch! Just yesterday I cleaned the cobwebs around the ceiling and wiped down the lights and we are excited to make many campfires out here and watch some Phillies games!
I decided to buy Macho ferns this year even though I really loved my Kimberly Queen ferns last year. Just felt like buying another kind and after I had them planted and set in place, I decided to move them down off the ledge because of the wind. And one slipped right out of hands. Such a bummer.
So I went with my orinaial plan and replanted the ferns in these white pots.
The front trees are in full bloom! One morning it was foggy and then the next morning crystal clear blue skies!
Taking my daily walks at the park with my friend has been nothing but positive!!!! Look how beautiful it is here!!!!!
Jeremiah and Matthew helped scoop mulch one evening and we got mulched around the house. Mike and I spread it and the girls watched as they held Gunnar! Austin was around hitting balls!
And I saved the big banana leaf palms again. I had these for a few years now and they look sad at the beginning of the season because they get forgotten when they get moved upstairs for the winter. Somehow after some fresh dirt and watering, they look great again!
This little guy is doing so good!
Another visit with Mommy D had me smiling! When I got there, she was sleeping with two dolls on her lap. Mommy lives in a retirement home where they care for her as she fights dementia. She has good days and then off days. Today, I tapped her knees and she woke up fast! She was so happy to see me and we actually held conversation! She told me when her birthday is and after I told her that we should celebrate it again with a cake or banana splits she laughed and said that she still likes banana splits and that she will make me a cake. Her words get mixed up all the time but this was a really good, fun visit!
And then I was off to workout class. Once a week I meet here with these ladies and once a week we work hard and sweat and get sore. Still I get sore but it's been so good for me to do this! I love Empowered Fitness!
I quickly swung by this greenhouse and grabbed myself my first fig tree! I've had my eye on it and I'm ready to plant it and set it in the garden!!!!
Another photo of my morning walks at the park. So much color going on right now!
Gunnar is growing and doing so good! He loves his swing! He loves me!!!! ❤️. He snuggles and is such a sweet baby!
Austin made this grass head thingy in Sunday School the other week and I've been faithfully watering it and now it finally has some "hair" growing on it! Everyone can't wait to get it haircuts! These googly eyes and hair spikes are making me smile today beside my first lilac clippings!!!!!
I don't know much about dahlias but I did plant some last year and they OK. I think they will do much better in one of my raised beds so I planted then in here this year. We shall see if we get lots of blooms!
It's also time to fill up the garden with more seeds! Cucumbers, sunflowers, fennel, basil seeds and cut lettuce are all planted!
My parents stopped in the other night with some cookies she made and leftover chip dip. Matthew loves both of these old recipes! I remember my mom making these cookies when I was just a little girl. Whenever she was asked to bring a dessert or whenever she hosted people, this was her go to cookie to serve! So many people know her for these molasses cookies! And Mommy D made the best chip dip and mom makes that now and then too! Matthew was the lucky one to get her leftovers after a family gathering and he joked that he was taking these cookies over to his house that he's working on for when he gets married. He saved two cookies last night for his lunch today.
Last fall, we bought a ticket at our annual school sale for a sushi making night! Mike and Ashlyn have been talking about buying a kit and learning how to make sushi so this seemed perfect! We finally got a date to work for us and we went to the Witmers home to learn how to do this! It was a very fun night with the Witmers and the sushi was fun to roll and very good to eat! Becky served warm apple crisp and whipped cream for dessert! Before we arrived, the kids were a little nervous because they knew the Witmers but not well. They have children but none in our children's grades. BUT, they both had such a good time and it was really a good night together! Thank you Dave and Becky for this fun time!
We came home and ordered a few things from Amazon to make our own sushi rolls. Now we just wait for the sushi mats to arrive yet!
First time ever .... can you tell the difference? Matthew's playing for a baseball team and he asked Mike if he would want to help them sometimes if they ever needed someone. Monday nights are usually when Austin has games and Mike helps coach that but he said yes it ever he would work out! On Monday night, Matthew went to his game and called Mike quickly and said they could use his help and Austin did not have a game. So, he went booking to the ballpark in time to help these boys! Mike did great! They put him in left field and he played well! This was Mike and Matthew first slow pitch game they played together. That sounds crazy because Mike has played so much baseball with Matthew when he was younger and they tons of ball in the back yard, etc. But this was the first game they were teammates and I hope it happens more! They lost but only by two points and Matthew's friends seemed to really like an older guy on the bench for this night!!!! I'm so proud of Mike at how he just puts himself out there and he still knows that he can play good ball but to actually do it .... is just the best!
I could just squish the both of them!!!! Austin cannot wait to teach Gunnar all the boy things and I just love it when he asks to hold him! Hadassah and Gunnar came over yesterday for the day and baby did great while Hadassah enjoyed the sunshine in the back yard. I've been in and out of their home a lot the past few weeks helping with house chores, etc. and it was fun having them here for the day! I got to hold him a lot and stare at his adorable face and burp him after his momma feeds him! These are precious times!
