Happy 35th Birthday, Daddy!

Here's a video of Brian lighting his own birthday candle:

Happy 35th birthday, BriBear! We love you so very much!

Momma's Pumpkin Patch

While Brian was away in Columbus over the weekend, I decided it was time to finally plant my pumpkin, gourd, and squash garden. This is my very first garden, and I am so excited to see what comes (hopefully something) in the next 3-4 months!

Above, you can see my pumpkin mounds. Each mound contains 5 seeds, and once they sprout, I will have to trim them back to 2-3 plants per mound. Also, I read that one should always plant a flower border around a pumpkin patch to encourage pollinators to come. I thought nasturtiums and marigolds would be a good choice for the border. I sure hope something grows in this little garden of mine (and not just weeds)!

Porter, The Preschool Graduate

Porter has officially graduated from preschool! He has worked hard this school year and has learned a lot. Here he is receiving his diploma from his teacher, Mrs. Hunter:

Way to go, Porter! We are so proud of you! Although you were sad to leave your classmates and teacher today, we know you are going to LOVE kindergarten in the fall.

Playground Supplies

Woodland Mulch delivered 15 yards of mulch and 64 large barnstones to our home today.

A playground may be in our future soon!

Buckeye Chicks

On Tuesday, Porter accompanied Grandpa Gauder to pick up 8 just-hatched Buckeye chicks from Polk, Ohio. Porter is just in love with these chicks and is convinced that we need to get a few ourselves.

Although they're seriously cute, I think Blu is all we can handle on the animal front right now!

Almost Ready for Seed

Here's Brian tilling our garden area for the second time. It's just about ready for us to plant our gourd, pumpkin, winter squash, and painted corn seeds for fall. Yay!

Also, against the wall, we have our 6 blackberry bushes (3 Prime-Ark Freedom Primocane and 3 Ouchita Thornless) growing quite well. Exciting times!

Super-Size Blue Gill

While at Grandma and Grandpa Gauder's this weekend, Porter got to go fishing. He and Grandpa pulled in 8 super-size blue gill!

I think Grandma and Grandpa are going to be eating well for the next few days with this great catch!

Robot Protectors

Here's how I found my boy this afternoon. I think his little robot men (all perfectly symmetrical, of course) were set up to protect him while he slept.

Ditch Digging

This spring we realized that our beautiful yard has a slight problem... it floods! With a heavy rain, our backyard becomes a lake. So to correct this problem, we decided to put in a drain.

Although that sounds simple enough, this task has proven to be anything but! Brian has had to dig a 105' trench that needs to slope downward. 

The good news is that if anyone could take on a task like this, it's Brian. He has the ditch dug and is now ready to install the drain and pipe. What a stud!

Check out the video below:

Breaking Garden Ground

Today, Brian started tilling the ground for our garden. Next to the wall, we are planting 6 blackberry bushes, and out from there, we will have an 18' x 25' garden that will be enclosed with barnstone. This is going to be AWESOME!

Berry Bonanza

Since the day we moved into our forever home here in Orrville, I have been looking forward to planting blueberries and red raspberries in our south yard. It has just seemed like the perfect place to put these bushes, and our family just LOVES to eat berries!

After a great deal of tilling on Brian's part, today is finally the day for our berry bushes to be planted. We have 8 blueberry plants (2 Patriot, 2 Chandler, 2 Herbert, and 2 Elliot) that will be planted at the top of the wall, and 12 red raspberry plants (1 Fall Everbearing, 1 Latham, 3 Jaclyn Primocane, 3 Heritage, 1 Taylor, and 3 Prelude) that will be planted at the bottom of the wall.

Although we're 2-3 years away from actually getting to enjoy our blueberry crop, I know they are going to be worth the wait and effort.

 Bring on Smoothie Sundays!

Baby Apple Trees

We planted two apple trees this year, one GoldRush and one Enterprise (which is pictured below with Miss Stella). 

We're 5-6 years away from when we can eat the apples off these trees putting Porter at 10, and Stella at 7. It's sounds like a long time off, but judging how fast my children seem to be growing, I know it will be here before we know it.

Kindergarten Readiness

Today, Daddy will be taking our little boy to his Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) at Orrville Elementary. It is so hard to believe that my firstborn will be off to school in the fall!

Cabinets Full of Le Creuset

Look what my good friends, Bart and Lori, gave me as an early birthday present! They know my desire to have kitchen cabinets well-stocked with Le Creuset cookware and bakeware (my dream which is no where near a reality).

Thanks, Bart and Lori! Love you guys!

The Rototiller is Here

Today, we rented a U-Haul and picked up the rototiller that was dad was gracious enough to give us. It's a good thing this tiller is industrial strength! We have many, many projects for it to take on in the next few weeks!