"Flaunt your Red" (a little late)

Hi guys! Please excuse my tardiness....I tried all day yesterday to get this post up! Blogger is giving me fits! Stacey at "Poofing the pillows" is hosting "Flaunt Your red" for Nancy. Thanks Stacey! I will be posting my parent's deck next, I just couldn't miss out on the red!

How about that motocycle post? Did I surprise some of you? Kevin was a little upset I didn't take a good picure of the bike. lol...He's so proud of it...always shining it up.Ugggg.....You might be seeing more of it in the future.

On with the red...

Red Geraniums in a colorful pot...look how they are growing towards the sun.

Red begonias around the birdbath. By the way, I picked up that iron ball today at Hobby Lobby and super glued the bird (I already had) on top. It just needed something!

Red pentas....butterflies love these!

Red hibiscus....I wish it bloomed everyday.

And my new red striped hammock! We vowed not to buy anything else for the backyard this year, but we decided this was a must! Boy is it comfy! Much better than the old swingset we had here!

Have a wonderful weekend!!! It's going to be near 90 degrees here tomorrow. It's getting hot!

Road Trip

Hey guys! I told you I was going to post about random things....lol! Yes, hubby has a motorcycle that I didn't want him to get... some of you might have the same story. After trying my best for months to talk him out of it, he won. So....I've learned to live with it and I kind of like riding on the back (but don't tell him that)lol.. I still think motorcycles are dangerous, but we always wear our helmets, and he is always very careful, especially to watch out for others. I'm still hoping he'll tire of it soon and sell it. That said.....we took a little trip up to Ozark the other day to eat at the best bbq place ever! It was a nice ride through the countryside. Lots of cows to look at along the way! I know you wish I had taken lots of pictures of them ;)

If you're ever in Ozark, you have to eat here!! I don't know how they cook it, but the meat almost melts in your mouth!
We stopped at Bluff Hole on the way back, the water is a bluish green color and is really pretty,we might camp here sometime. I love to camp, but only for one night!

No, I'm not a biker chick, but an occasional ride is fun...

I will be posting some pics of my parent's deck soon. I just planted tons of flowers for them! Have a great rest of the week!

Chase's Piano Recital

Thank you guys for all the nice comments on the patio!! Hubby and I appreciate each and every kind word. We are so relieved everything is done and we can enjoy it now. The weather has been perfect for the last several days. The grill pit has been put to good use!

Some of you know Chase has been taking piano for over 3 yrs. now. He had a recital the other night and did really good with very few mistakes considering the song was quite difficult.(I thought) I used to mess up BAD at my recitals and I would dread them for weeks! He's alot more calm though, didn't act nervous at all! We were very proud! Anyways, here is the link if you would like to hear his song.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5vUg-pF1cI it's called "This is the Moment."

The New Patio.....Finally!

I've had this post up a few days and my friend Melissa suggested I link it to Met Monday. Great idea! Be sure and visit our gracious host Susan for a list of participants!

Hi Guys! It's been a while since my last post, so sorry, I've just been busy taking care of things

and spring cleaning so I've had to back away from the computer! I will try to post more often since I'm caught up on everything. Some of my posts might be about random stuff if that' s ok. lol.... Chase is almost out of school for the summer, I can't believe it! Time is flying by.

Ok.....so you remember the giant hole hubby started digging about a month ago right? Well here it is, just in case you forgot.

Here it is as of today. Big difference huh? There is still some places where the grass hasn't grown in yet, but it won't take it long, especially with all the rain we've been having. The grass turned green quick!

Hubby really worked hard, he brought in more that 3 tons of crusher dust and sand. I think it turned out to be a little more that he thought, he's so proud of it now though. He kept asking when I was going to post it! lol.... I bought the chairs at Bed Bath and Beyond. I really wanted cushy ones, but because of the budget and not to mention they could catch fire, we decided on these more practical ones. They are actually pretty comfy! I did dress them up with pillows. (hopefully they won't catch on fire)



I splurged a little on this bench from Lowe's. After all... the chairs were reasonable!


I found these little slate tables at Kohl's.

We bought 5 yoshino cherry trees. The nursery told us they would get about 15 ft. wide and about 20 ft. tall. After they planted them... I decided to look at one of the tags....and it said 40 ft. wide by 40 ft. tall Uh-OH! Does anyone have one of these trees? I hope they don't get that big!


We did a little landscaping around the corners for now. We plan on doing more, but the rest will come later. All the rocks were free! Kevin's dad has millions of them!



This is the view from my back door. Now I have something to look at!

Kevin told me not to "flower it up" Well, TOOOOO BAAAAD! lol..... He knows that's impossible!

Here's a closeup of the grill pit. We've cooked steaks, hotdogs, marshmallows etc. It's like camping in the backyard! Everything has such a good flavor!
I posted this pic a few months ago and told you that I was going to stain the concrete, paint the furniture, find new cushions and of course plant flowers.

Here is a pic of the covered patio now. Much Better! Staining it was alot harder than I thought it would be. The colors are not what the color chips show, or maybe it was the concrete. Who knows! I actually have 3 different colors on it. I would show you how to do it, but I recommend you hire someone!lol... It's really a pain and I don't know how it's going to hold up. I painted the furniture with outdoor rustoleum olive green paint and found the cushions at Lowe's.

Chase wanted me to show you this picture he took yesterday. Look at those sweet babies!

I have always wanted some bird feeders. I'm starting to really get into bird watching like Donna at Designs on 47th Street. We have several bluebirds, but this one is some kind of finch I believe. He's blue all over, so pretty! Click to enlarge. Do you know what kind it is?

Look at CoCo. She thinks she's found a new spot! I have to keep an eye on her, she would love to catch one of my birds!

Of course if I'm going to have feeders, I have to have a place where they can bathe!

Well, I hope you enjoyed the backyard tour! I'm going to sit here and enjoy the rest of this beautiful day....tomorrow calls for MORE rain! On the upside, we're supposed to have perfect weather next week. yay!

See you guys soon!!!

~~Porch and Patio Party~~

Hi Guys! Welcome to Barb's porch and patio party! Please pay her a visit to see her beautiful porch and a list of other participants at http://www.gritsglamour.blogspot.com/ . I had hoped to show you some better pics of my covered patio and the new patio. However, it is raining AGAIN and the new patio is just smothered in mud! I will be sure and post it within the next week. I wish I had better pics of the covered patio. This was all I could get without my camera getting wet. (should have taken the pics earlier) I'll post more of it along with the new patio later on. Anyways, you can get an idea of what I've been doing...alot of planting. I also found new cushions and painted the furniture sage green. It was a dark hunter green before. I'll post the before pic next week.

This bakers rack is full of color!


Begonias and merigolds...

Butterflies and birdhouses...
Chase painted the little flower pot on the right for me a few years ago.

I picked up this little butterfly at Lowe's the other day.

I don't remember what these bright green plants are, but I love them!

I believe this is called lobella.

I call these mini petunias, I don't know the correct name. They come in such beautiful colors. I love this vibrant redish orange!

Thanks for stopping by! Please come back next week, I also want to show you my front yard as soon as the rain stops and we can mow! It's been raining and cloudy for the last week, I'm ready for some sun!!!!! I'm off to check out all the pretty porches and patios in blogland!