Birthday Bash Weekend

At Christmas, Kathy mentioned that we really should have a big party for mom's 95th.  So, after lots of planning and coordinating, everyone came and we had a party.
Saturday morning, we all met early at the park for some family pictures.  A friend and photographer came and took lots of pictures.  And they turned out great!

 Then we had our Easter breakfast.  Lots of people and lots of food and fun.

Saturday evening was the actual party.  It was catered by Naple's Ribs and was delicious.  

The theme was My Favorite Things. 

Amy came up with two perfect shirts for grandma.  Only, this shirt should say "mostly original parts"...

  ...and every time she wears this one and says "bless your heart", I say, "just read the shirt!"

 Kathy organized a photo booth...such fun

Temple Baptisms

We spent the morning at the Redlands Temple doing baptisms for the dead.  It was Emma and Wyatt's first time and they were really excited about going inside.  I love that I was included for this special occasion.

Palm Springs

Our annual spring break tradition...a couple of days in Palm Springs, soaking up the sun and playing in the pool.

On our way home, we decided to check out the dinosaur museum.  We had seen the big dinosaur off the side of the road for years, but had never stopped. Today we did!

Landscaping

I have been talking about getting the yard landscaped for a couple of years and finally decided it would be nice to have it done in time for mom's party.  I found a great company, The Plant Nerds, had them design both the front and back yards, and off they went.
One of the big things I wanted was to get rid of the water fall.  It was beautiful and functional when Todd and I first put in it, but over the years, the channel had flattened out, making it impossible to run.  So, out it went!  We saved all of the rocks to use elsewhere.

The other big change is my garden area.  First, they took out the rock border and installed a simple wood one instead.

Then, they put in raised beds filled with good garden soil instead of sand.  It was fun to watch them bring the beds into the yard over the fence, and then trash can after trash can of dirt to fill them up.

The rest of the yard was cosmetic...a beefed up rock border in the back yard with new plants that like the shade...

a peaceful sitting area where the waterfall was...

...with a new water feature.

In the front yard, they added all new plants with three new trellises...

the front bed was re-imagined...

 ...and perhaps my favorite thing of the whole project, the wheelbarrow that Todd and Amy made me several years ago got a new life!