Today finally felt like a spring day!!! It rained this morning but after lunch, the sun came out and warmed things up!!! I grabbed my new gardening gloves and rake and went to work!!! The weeds all got pulled! I raked the flower beds. I got the blower and then blew off so many little pebbles from the driveway and porches. Just giving a good clean up can make things look so much better!!! I'm happy to say that all the snow is finally off of our back porch but I literally blew it off. We still had a big piece of frozen snow by our grill on the back porch and with the help of my blower, it's now in the grass melting!!! Yeah!
I filled the front porch planters with pansies the other day! They make things so much more cheerier!!!
And these two little people were following me around outside this afternoon. Ashlyn wanted to act like a hobo with small sticks and sacks. They are gonna have a ton of fun outside together this summer!!! It's so adorable to watch them communicate and play!
The trampoline is something that will get used a whole bunch this summer too!!! The kids love to jump together on here.
And today was the first official day for backyard swing rides!
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Ashlyn has a birthday on Thursday. She is super excited about it!!! My mom stopped in last week and delivered a birthday gift to her because they are now in Florida till the weekend. Ashlyn loved the presents! Thanks Mom. Shopkins and a play pony for her doll is exactly what she wanted!
We also stopped by the greenhouse the other day and bought some pansies and seeds!!! Ashlyn loves, loves to garden and can't wait to help plant seeds and watch them grow!
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Matthew was invited to go with Matt and Lena and their boys to a Flyers game. This was his first time there and enjoyed it very much!!! Thanks guys for thinking of Matthew with your extra ticket!!!
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We buy our milk at Lapp Valley Farm. We have for years. Normally, I drive in and go through the drive thru and pick up our milk, eggs and sometimes juice or butter. And at time we also treat ourselves to their delicious ice cream cones. Austin knows this place by now and the other week when it was such a nice day, I decided to park and let Austin and Ashlyn go see the calves while eating their ice cream cones. THEY LOVED IT!!! And so when the next milk pick up day arrived, we did it again. Ashlyn made a comment that she wants these cows at her house. Austin was totally amazed and loved petting them.
Alaina spent a few hours at our house because Ashlyn asked for a friend. She got ice cream with us too before taking her back to her home. Thanks for coming Alaina!
This really is a neat farm and I hope to do this more often with the children this summer!!!
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Basketball season is over. With every sport that comes to an end, I breathe a huge sigh of relief. We love to watch the kids games and support their love for sports but it does make for a really busy schedule. To now not have after school practice pick ups and games to rush off to, it frees us up with more evenings and time at home!!! Cheers to that!!!
There was a banquet to celebrate these wonderful players!!! Thanks to coach Galen Beiler for pushing these girls to playing hard and loving this sport even more!!!
2017 Linville Hill High School Basketball Girls Team ...
And the boys team ...
I filled strawberries with a yummy mousse to take along to the banquet. They were sweet and good and delicious. Thanks to a Pinterest recipe!!!
Hadassah got the Playmaker of the Year award!!! Way to work hard with this sport Hadassah!!! With only seven girls on the team, that meant a whole lot of sweat and hard work from each player. You did an amazing job!!! Proud of ya!!!
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You should all know by now that I love, love greenhouses. It's some kind of mental therapy for me when I'm there!!! I would love to work at a greenhouse some day!!! I stopped by one the other day to look around and look what I spied!
I grabbed a few trailing pansies and off Austin and I went to The Speckled Hen. We met friends there for brunch and had a great time!!! I really am enjoying this small café!!!
And here is who I got to spend my morning with at the café!!! These ladies have been my friends for years and they will always have a special place in my heart!!! We used to see each other every single Sunday at church. That's where we made such a great connection! Now, we only see each other, all together at the same time, a few times a year. When a date gets planned to get together, I make sure to not miss out!!! Thanks ladies for being such sweet friends and we can't wait for another Memorial Day Weekend together!!!
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Every time I take Hadassah into work at Beiler's Donuts, Austin starts to squirm and whine in his car seat. He knows where we are and he also knows that there are donuts inside the store. So, once again, he got to dig his tiny teeth into an M&M chocolate glazed donut! :)))
He's just too cute!!!
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It was auction day on Saturday. I help with this every spring. Ann and I worked for HK Fisher Auctioneer for many years. This year was different. HK went home to be with the Lord in November. We missed him at the auction. I missed Lynn not being there too. Ann and I worked for a new auctioneer and gave out 511 numbers!!!! It was a busy day and fun to get out and earn some money of mine own once again!!!
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Here's a quick update on Dad Lapp:
Dad and Mom are still in Arizona. They will be there for some time yet to get Dad back to good health. He's been so weak. He still is not eating. This week the doctors want to put a small camera down to Dad's stomach to see what's causing his digestive system to not properly. Dad is still throwing up some. He is on IVs that help feed his body and hydrate him. He is in a clinic during the day but with Mom in a motel room at night and on weekends. This is a lot of work for mom and she's learning as she goes with all the medical terms and knowing how to hook up Dad to his IVs. She is being an amazing nurse to him. We keep praying that Dad will soon be able to start eating and that his body gets more strength!!! Keep the Lapp family in your daily prayers as we walk through this cancer journey with Dad and Mom!!!
And with typing out the word CANCER here, I can't help but share a little on Damien! Damien is a cancer fighter!!! He's only 13 years old and has been fighting for his life for three years now. He had a brain tumor removed three years ago and went through so many cancer treatments. Just a few months ago, he had another brain tumor removed by laser and is currently being treated in Germany for a tumor on his spine. He had a seizure over the weekend and is tired and weak. Damien and his dad are in Germany together fighting for good health. This leaves Suz, his mom, at home with five younger siblings. This is a very difficult time for them being so far away at such a crucial time in life. Please remember the Smucker family in your prayers as well!!!
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With Spring weather arriving, we are thinking about getting our fingers in the garden dirt. I have lots that I want to plant and Ashlyn will be my side kick through it all!!!
Enjoy Spring! We hope the warmer weather is here to stay!!!
