My life has been a hectic mess lately! I have been working for Google full time and I've been sick. :( I know, I know! I could use a break, seriously! I wrote this post a week ago but only now found the time to add the pictures and post it. Forgive me if there are spelling or grammar mistakes, for I haven't had time to proofread.
(Dottie, I miss you, Sweet Lady! I keep thinking I need to write to you and I absolutely need to make the time to do so. I think about you every day and hope that you are well and happy. I love you so much!)
Now for the belated post:
First let me say that all of the photos seen in this post belong to my fabulous Carley. She is a very talented photographer and I am so grateful that she takes her camera along for the ride when I am too busy to take pictures or have forgotten to bring my own camera along on our adventures.
As I mentioned yesterday, the weekend was full of blooming happiness. Each year, one of our favorite springtime activities is to head to our local nursery where we brave the insane crowds to claim our colorful prizes which will adorn our dirt patches all summer long. I know there are kids out there who cringe over the idea of yard work (I was one of them) but my girls love getting their hands dirty as they help me carefully plan and plot how our gardens will look each year. It just wouldn't be summer without our sitting garden and our brightly colored flower pots dotting the deck like icing on a cake.
You have to get up early to get to the nursery before the mobs of people show up. When I say early, I mean you need to be there the night before and have your parking space staked out. We didn't do that this year. In fact, flowers were not even on my weekend to do list.. it was a last minute decision and we paid for it too because the crowds were in full-on crazy mode by the time we got there. The trick to scoring a parking space when you're a latecomer is to have multiple sets of eyes scanning for people loading their sweet-smelling treasures into their vehicles. Once the target vehicle begins to reverse, it is absolutely vital to pull in as quickly as possible, all the while pretending not to notice the angry mobs that mistakenly thought they had a chance at the same parking space.
As the girls and I piled out of the Durango, I felt a strange, yet familiar sensation washing over me... I felt giddy and it's a darn good thing I don't play poker because I couldn't have squashed my smile if my life had depended on it! I was in my happy place and we were about to go shopping for flowers. J&J Nursery is my drug and I am hopelessly addicted. I won't ever give it up, so don't even think about trying a 12 step program on me! AND.... my girls have the same addiction as I do, so two carts are a necessity!
Are there enough exclamation points in this post to properly convey the excitement of the day? I hope so!
When I say that we shopped until we ran out of cart space, I am not exaggerating! In fact, I think Abby might have even been balancing a flower pot or two on her head as we carefully navigated the crowded greenhouses, only slightly aware of impending doom at the cash register. As the cute check out girls began the process of unloading and scanning each and every flower we had gathered, I began to wonder what the heck I was thinking... This was going to cost a lot of money and I would certainly have some s'plaining to do!
We quickly realized that two carts full of flowers would never fit in a Durango that needed to haul five people as well. I was laughing as I pulled out the cell phone to call Hubby to our rescue. It's a good thing we just live down the street from the nursery and Hubby was able to hop in the Jeep and come pick up the girls that I no longer had room for. It isn't like I would choose the flowers over the girls.... but had Hubby not been available, I knew I could leave the girls there and come back for them later if I had to, right? Right?? (I'm not sure Emily would have even noticed being left behind.. we had to drag her out of there! She was so busy snapping picture after happy picture.)
We spent the rest of the day digging and planting, arranging and admiring. It was wonderful! I love our annual garden planting day! :) More importantly though, I love time spent with my family. I am so blessed to be surrounded by my best friends who, luckily for me, happen to enjoy hanging out and helping.
Since we planted our flowers, it has rained, non-stop for over a week! I was able to take a peek at the flowers the other day and I am amazed over how well they are doing. I can't wait until the warm weather comes to stay so that we can enjoy our gardens every day.
