Happy Little Flowers!

Sunday we spent the day working on the yard.  Our back yard is a mess due to dog traffic, and a busted sprinkler system, but thank goodness for handy friends, we'll hopefully have that fixed by next weekend!

I finally got to plant my flowers in the planting beds.  Mom and I had gone shopping for them last weekend, but I needed some time and good weather to get them in the ground.  They're still pretty little at this point, but since I got an earlier start this year, I hope they'll be big and brassy in no time!

This is the back yard area that Charline and I got set up last year.  Unfortunately, none of my perennials came back this year except the Hosta.  We're not really sure what happened, but hopefully we'll have better luck this year.

I love the pansies with the "faces," and anything in unusual colors always catches my eye!

Gerbera daisies are the best!  I love how big and bold their colors are.  

Riley wanted blue flowers, and I found these awesome bluish-purple pansy!

Hopefully this foxglove will return next year too!

Some patriotic petunias.

Ok, this is one of my favorites.  It's called a Rattanya, and mom and I couldn't believe the shape of the petals.  I actually took a pic with my phone and sent it to Charline to ask if that's what they were supposed to look like.  I think they look like they come from another planet.  The purple is almost neon in the way that it glows, and the petals look like tentacles.  It's crazy!

More pansies!

And gerberas!
I'll post more pics as the flowers fill in.  I love watching them get all full and crazy.  Hopefully we can keep the dogs out of there, and get our grass fixed up to get the whole back yard looking spiffy!

Honoring Granny

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the passing of my Granny, my maternal grandmother. Both my mom and I planted our gardens. Mom reminded me today of the anniversary, and although I had forgotten yesterday, it makes sense that I would have spent time digging in the dirt to make a beautiful tapestry. Granny loved to garden, and her spirit was colorful as the flowers now blooming in my yard.

Below is a poem I wrote last year shortly after her passing:

Lolita

My beautiful Granny
So elegantly proud
The loving mother of six amazing women
The strength of her family’s tapestry.

So elegantly proud
Graceful, witty and intelligent
The strength of her family’s tapestry
Through the trials and triumphs of a lifetime.

Graceful, witty and intelligent
Teaching and guiding the generations
Through the trials and triumphs of a lifetime
Standing tall beside the love of her life.

Teaching and guiding the generations
Passing on our legacy
Standing tall beside the love of her life
Now only in photographs.

By Melissa Marsh

Above: Riley with Granny in May of 2006, Mother's Day.

Below: Granny, Gramps and their girls: Pauline, Faye, Vivian, Tessie, Cyndi and Millie

Little Kickers

Saturday was Riley's first soccer practice.  He and Owen are playing together on the "Revolution."  We were surprised at how well he did!  He listened to his coach and did a great job on all the little drills they played.  Next week is his first game, we can't wait!

Listening to Coach Jay.

Practicing the "stop" position.

Doing a little dribbling.

I have a feeling he's going to be pretty good!  Look at that concentration!

Owen wasn't quite in the mood to play, but after a bit he and Riley had a blast!

Ready to roll!

I think this was the Diego/Dora game, where they practiced trying to keep the ball away from each other.  Ri and O were up against each other!

Listening to coach again.  Owen got a bonk, so Riley was helping him feel better!

Another dribbling drill!

Our Saturdays will never be the same, but we are so excited!  After practice we came back up and went to watch Ty and Tanner's game.  The term "herding cats" comes to mind when watching 3 and 4 year olds play soccer!  It's going to be so much fun watching them learn how to play and get better and better.

Parent Appreciation Night

Friday night was Parent Appreciation Night at Riley's school, Bright Horizons.  Each class does a little program, singing and dancing for the parents.  It's way too cute to even handle!  Riley's class sang "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Popcorn."  Of course, Riley was as hammy as ever!  He loves singing and dancing and isn't the least bit shy.  

Waving hi to the crowd!

Those wheels, they go 'round and 'round, ya know!

A little "Pulp Fiction" move during the bridge!

What a face!

After their songs, Riley and the twins watched the preschool class do "Cows," a chorus-line type number complete with top hats and canes.  It was WAY cute!!

Sarah Renee's Christening

We were so excited to get to attend Missy's cousin, Michelle's little girl's Christening while we were in California for Club.  We rented a car and headed down to San Diego, where Brian and Michelle are stationed.  Sarah Renee was Christened surrounded by all her Godparents, Grandparents, and extended family.  It was a wonderful event, we were so happy we could be there to take part!

Uncle Max with his little niece!

Getting Sarah ready for her big moment!

There were 9 Christenings given that day, so it was quite a production!

Below: Sarah Renee surrounded by all her Godparents!

After the Christening, we all went to the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot for a luncheon reception.
 Above: all the girl cousins who came: Tisa, Felicia, Me, Doris, Michelle, and Rhyanna.

Below: the boys: Brian, Tony, Steve, Max, Mark, Marcello and Lorenzo

Another Godparent shot!

Me-n-Sarah Renee!  Check out her hair!

Desert Paradise

This year's Solutions-II Club Trip was to the La Quinta Resort in La Quinta, California, which is just outside of Palm Springs.  The area is in the Palm Desert, and is famous for golf, tennis, and great spas.  The area is just gorgeous, and the views are incredible.  The resort is cozied up right next to the mountains.

The landscaping was incredible, and got me itching to get my garden at home going.  I was inspired by the amazing colors of the pansies, petunias and snap dragons.

The La Quinta resort has two courses on the property.  This one is the Mountain Course.  Steve and I played with Mic, Andy, Jeff and Mark.  It was beautiful, but sweltering.  I tired out after 15 holes, and then just enjoyed the view!

Teeing off...Steve kinda looks like he knows what he's doing!

What has two thumbs, a giant belly, and a halfway decent drive?  This gal!  Too bad not much else was working for me that day!

After golf, we had to hurry to get ready for the Solutions-II Dinner.  Usually it's a casual affair, but this year there was a Hollywood Night theme.  Everyone dressed like the Hollywood elite from the '20s, '30s and '40s.  Steve dressed as Dean Martin from the Rat Pack, and I...well...I tried, but pregnant Filipinos were hard to find back then, so I went for a black cocktail dress and borrowed some of mom's antique costume bling!

Andy and Kettie were Clark Gable and his lady!

Zoot Suits were pretty popular too!

We ate dinner at Arnold Palmer's restaurant while we were out there.  It was really neat, lots of memorabilia and photos of the great golfer, and fabulous food!  There was a fantastic patio with a fire pit and a putting green that you could putt around on while waiting for your table.

We finally found the pool that wasn't 90 degrees during the daytime, and spent Tuesday hanging out there.  Steve and Mark were great playmates for Kim and Jeff's little girl, Jenna!

Kickin' Grass!

On Friday nights Steve plays co-ed kickball with a group of our friends.  Yes, kickball!  Our team name is "Kicking Grass," and is made up of a big gang of us from Glacier Peak plus their significant others, and some other friends who are into having a blast on Friday nights!  Missy is the team mom...since kicking and running aren't such a fab idea at this point, although it would probably be comical to watch...

The pictures below are from the first game, which was a little chilly, but still a victory!  More pictures will be coming soon!

JD's got the power leg...
Nick is very graceful...
As team mom, I get to hang out with Bayley and Riley!
We typically go out for dinner at Woody's after the games.  I know, kids in a bar.  Nice examples, huh?  At least they're bellying up with ice cream!