We’ve struggled with more flooding in our yard  now that the tree is gone, though, and have tried for a couple months to figure out a drainage system for the garden area.  Here is a picture from a couple weeks ago during a severe storm.  It is hard to see where the patio ends and the garden begins because it is all flooded.  And, in the low areas, the water would sit there for weeks and not drain.    But hopefully we’ve resolved the drainage issues now!

First, over the last couple of weeks, we tilled the area up a couple of times in both directions and leveled out the ground.  Then, we added some garden soil mix (1 cubic yard) to the area and used our handy dandy chicken rakes to flatten out the piles.  What is a handy dandy chicken rake, you ask?  Well, that’s easy to explain, but instead I’ll just show you some pics so you can get an idea.

Once the chickens had their last hurrah in the garden area, we tilled it up again in both directions and raked it out as level as we could.  We still have some of the wood to put down around the plot (it was used to help us level the area for good water drainage).  We (mostly Steve) built an A-Frame Trellis for our cucumbers to grow up on both sides.  We still need to add the chicken wire.  And he also planted our first plant – a cucumber – as our inaugural plant!

Then last night we finished planting the rest of the plants that we started from seeds.   So far we just have tomatoes and cucumbers because our onions didn’t work out after a terrible storm and some backyard flooding.     But we’ll just plant more.    We also intend to plant some potatoes and carrots and cilantro and parsley.  Some squash and zucchini perhaps.  Some things will still be in containers and some will be in the big plot.  We’re still mapping it all out.  But glad we have a start!

Here are some pictures of the planting.  All the girls helped plant and lay out straw last night.  The straw will help with moisture, provide a walkway and help keep the weeds out.  So, here it is, our current, ongoing gardening project.  This is the largest garden we’ve ever had.  We’re excited and hope it all works out this year!

~Emily

]]> http://morrisonfam.com/TrendyBlog/?feed=rss2&p=3147 4 http://morrisonfam.com/TrendyBlog/?p=3111 http://morrisonfam.com/TrendyBlog/?p=3111#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:12:49 +0000 Emily http://morrisonfam.com/TrendyBlog/?p=3111 Thanks for your generous support of Isabella and Alma in the St. Jude Trike-a-Thon.  The girls were so excited!  And they surpassed the $100 goal so we upped it to $175 and they surpassed it again!  Thanks to your generous donations, they raised $253.77!  WOW!  They had a lot of fun!

Isabella ended up riding her bike around the track 5 times!!  She rode 1 and 1/4 miles!  She worked very hard and was quite tired by the end.  But she really enjoyed it.  And when she had the option to be done, she just kept going and going!

Alma was also amazing!  She was able to ride her little, bitty tricycle around the field one whole lap!  She was very tired at the end of that lap.  Her little 3yo legs rode 1/4 of a mile!  She was ready to get off the trike by the end.  But then she got off and started running up the track like a sprinter!  (I think she thought it was a biathlon or something. )

They were both really amazing!

Here are pictures from the event.  The pics start off in the classroom as the kids donned their helmets and bikes (and maybe had a traffic jam), to where they were traveling via convoy through the buildings and parking lots, and then on to the actual event and the aftermath.  They surely had a lot of fun.  Enjoy!

(Click on the Thumbnail to open a slideshow and to see the entire picture)

Isabella’s preschool is participating in a St. Jude Trike-a-Thon to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  If you aren’t familiar with St. Jude, click here to learn more about them.  St. Jude does not charge patients for the care they receive so most of the costs are based on donations!  The daily operating cost of St. Jude is $1.6 million! 

Isabella and Alma will be riding their bike and trike around the football field on Friday, April 13th to help raise money for St. Jude!!  Their goal is to raise $100  total for the laps they ride around the football field on their bike and trike!! If you’d like to support St. Jude by supporting the girls’ hard work and effort, please click the link below and donate on their behalf to St. Jude. The link will take you directly to Isabella’s fundraising page. This is an amazing hospital!!!  Thanks for considering a donation.

http://www.mytrikeathon.org/bellabop

All monies should be donated by Friday, April 13th.  You can donate online via the link or if you are local to me, I can pick up cash or check by Friday morning.  And don’t forget to check with your employer about your company’s matching gifts policy! 

~Emily

As soon as I woke up this morning, I was excited to make a pair of pants for Alma.  I had another pair of maternity capri pants that had stains on the knees.  So I decided I could make some pants and then tie-dye them or something to hide the stain.  We shall see. (Maybe just a good scrub with some Fels-Naptha will do the trick!) Here are some pics.

I forgot to take a before pictures, so this is a picture of the pants somewhat before, but after being cut.  And then the pair of pants for Alma.

And here she is, posing for the camera.  :cheeser:  (she too had just woken up and was still in her jammies)

She was posing like Hannah did, when I took a picture of her the other day in her Big Brown Bat Costume (for a school play), which is what started me with all this sewing in the first place.

~Emily

I never knew it could be sew easy!

A creation for Alma is on the docket for tomorrow!!

Edited to add some pictures of Isabella sporting her new pants. She was thrilled!

She seemed to be quite pleased even though she had just woken up

~Emily

It is a button-up shirt of Steve’s.  A pen leaked in the pocket causing an ink stain.  I thought about adding a beautiful little ribbon or flower over the spot so nobody would notice, but I knew Steve wouldn’t go for that.  So, instead, I added my ribbon and turned it into a skirt for Hannah.  (Well, maybe not in that order.  And, it might have not been as quick as it sounds.  This shirt has been sitting in the closet with the materials and fabrics for the last couple of years. )

But, this morning I decided to give it a try with my novice sewing skills.  It wasn’t so bad.  It should have taken less than an hour, I’m sure (which is what I had unskillfully planned), but the whole morning (and some afternoon), a broken needle, and a broken button (which was the cause of the broken needle!) later, I was finished!

And it even turned out looking okay!  And it fit her, too!

It might not have the best casing and elastic job, but it turned out just fine.  (Even if she has to pull it on over her head to get it on – surely it must be those big 7 year old hips and in no way the elastic or seamstress skills (or lack thereof) or anything like that. bwahahahaha  ) I think I’ll probably end up changing the buttons to white-white ones or a matching blue ones like the one in the ribbon.  But for now, it is what it is.  And in my book, it is finished!

Edited to add some pictures of Hannah wearing the skirt.  She is very pleased with it!  :)

~Emily

“Mommy, you’re the best mom in the whole wide world!  But really, I haven’t met all the moms in the whole wide world, so you might not be the best, but to me  you are the best.”  ~Isabella (age 5)

Ahhhh, gotta love her and her little logical mind! (or should I say big logical mind?!) And I’m still going to take it as a compliment.

~Emily

Poor Alms has not been feeling well for a couple of days.  Here she is soon after she fell asleep on the couch yesterday (while trying to watch a movie).  She seems to be feeling much better today – at least she’s keeping everything down and has consumed more than just pedialyte popsicles.

Even when she’s sick, I could just squish those little cheeks!!

~Emily

This is my very first time to dehydrate apples.  In fact, this is my very first time to dehydrate anything!  Hopefully they turn out good and we can enjoy these as snacks very soon!  :)

~Emily

Yes, I have wanted to learn to knit and crochet ever since Isabella was a baby.  I had all these grandiose plans to make wool shorties and longies for her to wear over her cloth fitted and prefold diapers.  And then suddenly Alma came along and I still hadn’t learned.  So then, again, I made all sorts of plans to learn to knit and crochet for Alma’s diapers.  And now Alma is in panties during the day.  But I still want to learn to knit and crochet so I can make some shorties and longies!  They can wear them as regular clothes and not just diaper covers, right?

So, last night we went to Aunt Judy and Uncle Bill’s house to have dinner together with them and Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Tom, who were visiting.  Judy and Bonnie were working on knitting little dolls as an act of service for the community.  And Aunt Bonnie so graciously taught me how to cast on, knit and purl!  I obviously have much practice that needs to be done (as you will see from the pictures), but hey, I learned and I did it!  Not too shabby for my first-ever time to knit!  Now I just have to remember how to do it when I’m by myself. 

Thanks, Bonnie, for teaching me how to knit (and for having patience with me, too)!  I am so excited to get started on a simple project!  And, Judy… this is for you – pictures of my very first knitting practice swatch.    hehe 

And here’s one up close of the stitches.

It really fascinates me to see it all come together like this.  And really, who figured this all out?  It really is awe-inspiring to me how one string can turn into something so amazing.

~Emily