Labor Day

You will have to forgive all the pictures that I will be posting in the next couple of days. I took 420 pictures while I was up at my parents' house, and it's very difficult to pick and choose. So, I guess, if you don't want to see them, you don't have to look. =)

Monday morning, Sept. 1, we set off to spend the holiday with my family. Jason decided to commute to work during the week, so we took his truck and were crammed in like a bunch of cozy sardines. =)


My brother-in-law, Richard, was "Master of the Grill" with his fantastic marinated chicken and stir-fry vegetables! Yes, that is a flower behind his ear. I took a tour of Mom's yard and picked a flower. I couldn't resist sticking it behind his ear, and he's such a good sport about it. Ain't he purty? =)


As I said, I toured Mom's yard and, of course, had to take some pictures. Mom loves gardening and has a wide variety of flowers and plants. I can't possibly remember all the names of them, but I think they are beautiful and have to share them.

This is rosemary-one of my favorite herbs. It smells so good, especially when you water it.

This is a pepper plant, and let me tell you, they are HOT!!! I've made some salsa with these before, and it will light you up!

Here are some shots of Mom's Morning Glories and a pink flower that I can't remember the name of. =)

This is called "Hen and Chick" and loves to grow near rocks.

Here are some more beautiful and interesting flowers that I can't remember the names of.

Here is a Bird of Paradise.

Here are some roses.

Mom has a wonderful rustic-country feel to her yard. Here are some items that lend to that feeling. I love the ladder up against the tree. She normally has potted plants sitting on each rung, but she doesn't right now. The arbors on either side of the garden bench usually have roses vining all over them. (The lack of rain, watering restrictions and extreme heat contribute to that.) Mom loves birdhouses and has many of them inside and outside. Only about 3 or 4 of them are actually functioning as bird feeders, so many of them are just for decoration. She has a distressed-looking wooden bench on her front porch that holds some of those birdhouses and some potted plants and other decorations.



Here are a few shots of the kids and Mom in the yard. The girls love running down the big hill in the front yard and then racing back up to the top. Oh, to have that kind of energy... =)



Wow! That was harder than I thought it would be. I didn't want to post every picture and bore you half to death, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of our experience. My next post is going to be even harder to compose and choose pictures for, because that's where the majority of the pictures were taken. It will contain pictures of the girls' special project with their granny. =) Check back during this next week to find out what it was...