Busy, busy, busy!

We have been slowly but surely filling that dumpster. The front yard is completely cleaned up and ready for the plants to grow and for new plants to fill in here and there. What a great feeling to have that part done! The daffodils and tulips are starting to bloom in their little clumps around the yard. I love seeing them come into bloom... a different clump blooming daily, almost. Truly a lovely time of year.

Our first tulips of the year

For the past two days I have been trying to get something done in the backyard. It is in a lot worse shape than the front was. I never really had the chance to put the backyard to bed before winter set in last year. There is a lot of dead growth and lots of piles of leaves everywhere. The up-side is that when I rake through the leaves and pull back the winter kill, there are little green sprouts underneath just waiting for the sun to hit them.

I plan on working most of the day in the backyard today. Hopefully I can get quite a bit done. It seems like I have weeks of work left in just the clean up process. Don't mistake that for complaining about having to do the work. I LOVE working outside. The frustrating part to me is that I just don't get the big blocks of time to do it. I really would love to be out there for hours every day, but that isn't going to happen any time soon!

I've got a lot on my mind as far as projects and busy-work go: planning a wedding reception (in my yard!) and wedding luncheon, finishing re-decorating my room, painting my bathroom, getting my bearings in Young Women and getting some activities going, sending an Easter package to our missionary in California, planning an Easter-egg hunt for our extended family in our yard, working on about 10 craft projects I have lined up, helping Whitney finish her quilt, and also getting my own quilt finished up, converting hundreds of slides of my dad's to digital, making a photo book, etc, etc. All are things I totally love to do and want to do, but I just wish I had more time, or that I didn't need to sleep as much. Oh well. As they say, its good to be busy. Keeps us out of trouble.

Bob has been out of town all week and comes home today. Can't wait to see him. He doesn't travel much any more, and when he does, he usually goes out in the morning and comes home in the evening so that he doesn't have to be gone overnight. I don't like having him gone. Its funny how through the years we have become "one" and that we both function better when the other is pretty close by. It will be so good to have him back home!