Our Little Garden

A couple of Saturdays ago, Levi, Walter, and I spent all day working on our patio trying to spruce it up for Spring. It was so fun. I absolutely love yard work and could easily spend all day working outside.

Walter loved going and picking out plants! There was a fountain he spent a lot of time playing (and getting sopping wet) in.  

We got some herbs (lavender, mint, and chamomile) and Walter loved smelling them!

I can't stand wearing shoes--I'm so glad it's Spring! 

After smelling the herbs, Walter started smelling everything and going, "mmm!"

Bacon break!

Our cute strawberry plant

This is year three of me trying to get something to grow in this patch of dirt. Our first year here, the entire thing was cemented in rocks. We got half of it out the first year, and the other half out last year. The soil is pretty sad after all that torture, so it's been hard to keep stuff alive. BUT despite all of the haters (one of our upstairs neighbors who likes to tell me every time he sees me that it's ridiculous for me to waste my time), I'm trying again! I couldn't be happy with myself if I gave up.I tried a wildflower seed mix. I'll post updates later.

Even though it's small, I'm so grateful for our little patch of earth.

This was our BIG project. Ever since we've moved in, I've HATED these bushes. They aren't plants--they're  boarding houses for spiders and rodents. They're also hideous, so after years of begging, Levi tore them our for me!

They were a lot of work to get out!

Certain haters also had an opinion on this one...sheesh.

Here's the after! Last season, I planted all of my day lilies way too close, so this season I went in and spread them all out. I hope they bloom this year!

This burning bush was down on our patio, but it didn't get enough sun, so we moved it up top to eventually add some shelter from the road.

This is a little baby rhododendron (that we hope survives...) that should get really nice and big. It's also an evergreen--that's a huge plus!

After our long day of hard work, I went in to find this...

I love my boys! 

Two Year Anniversary

Levi and I have been married two years (as of March 26th)! I can't believe it. It feels like we've been married a long time (probably due to the fact that we started right off the bat as parents) and at the same time, like we've only been married for a little bit--a lot of that stems from how much we get to know about each other every day and how we're in such a transitional age and changing so much.

This last year felt a lot harder than our first year. It just felt like so much happened! But luckily, we were able to hang on and enjoy the ride together.

For our anniversary, we decided to go to the Armstrong Mansion since we'd heard so much about it! So that day when Levi got off of work, he came straight home--with gifts for me :) Roses and skittles :)

We went and dropped Wally off with his Grandma Jolene's for the night--Thanks, Jolene!

For dinner, we went to Settebello!

It was really good pizza! Probably some of my favorite I've ever had.

 After that we went to the Bed and Breakfast. As soon as we walked in though, Levi realized he'd left his wallet at the restaurant! So we raced back and Levi ran around trying to find it. Apparently he had left it in the bathroom and the person who used it after him gave it to a waiter. Yay, for honest people! We were panicking that we'd be spending all night canceling cards and calling the bank. 

We stayed in the March Hideaway. It's cute how all of the rooms are themed after a certain month. The innkeeper told us that our room had been the maid's room. So we slept in the servant's quarters...hmmm. Haha, but seriously, it was a really pretty room!

 One thing I really loved, was that there was art EVERYWHERE! 

 We loved the innkeeper, Jeanne. She knew the whole history of the house and loved to share it. We spent a large portion of our time there just talking to her about the Armstrong's and their mansion. Since there was only us and one other couple, Levi and I got to explore almost every room! It was so big and beautiful! We loved adventuring around.

To be honest thought, we didn't love our sleep over. The bed wasn't very comfortable and we both spent a lot of time tossing and turning trying to get comfortable. Our bed at home is, truly, the most luxurious bed in the world, so others don't really compare. At one point in the night, Levi turned to me and said, "Why would we pay a lot of money to not sleep in our comfortable bed?" We didn't sleep very well and honestly that had a lot to do with the fact that we missed Walter. It was awful. At midnight we were even contemplating coming home early and getting him because we missed him so much--it was our first, and for a very long time, our last night away from him.

 For breakfast, Jeanne made us stuffed french toast and bacon. Once again, it was so much fun to just stand there and talk with her about the history of the house. The breakfast was delicious! There was some delicious homemade granola and tasty fruit. We then explored the house again (I would highly recommend going and having a tour of the house--it's beautiful). We really felt like we "entered as guests and left as friends."

 After we checked out, we headed over to Temple Square to walk around. Since it was a Wednesday, it was mostly deserted. We loved having the place mostly to ourselves! We went over to the the Church Museum and bought Walter a new little church book (so that we could buy his forgiveness for leaving him).

The Salt Lake Temple is my favorite--cliche, I know, but I think it's absolutely beautiful and has a great history.

So, all in all, a great anniversary! Even though we missed Walter, we had a lot of fun just having it be the two of us. It's so rare these days for those opportunities! I love Levi and am so grateful to have him as my husband!

Zoo 2013

It's only 1:00 in the afternoon and Walter and I are exhausted! We have had a very full day. This morning we went to see my little brother's new apartment, and then we went eat breakfast where my big brother was working. Very fun to see those two!

After breakfast, me, my mom, Maggie, and Walter went to the ZOO! Since it's spring break it was pretty crowded (we got there just a little after they opened). I should have taken a picture, but while we were leaving at noon, it was SUPER packed! The parking lot and surrounding streets were completely filled. There were way too many people. We're so glad we got there early! Here are some pictures of our adventure:

 This was a really cool experience. As were were watching the elephants, the little baby went up to his mom and started sweeping his trunk on her belly. I asked my mom what she thought he was doing and my mom made the "nursing" sign that Walter always uses. And sure enough, he started nursing! It was a really sweet experience for me. I loved seeing him bonding with his mom. It also made me think, "Are you Elephant Enough?" 

 He loved sticking his hand through the fence (that contained no animals) and pointing to stuff.

 Seeing this Tiger made me think of "Life of Pi" and what it would be like to be stuck on a boat with a tiger...needless to say I would have abandoned ship.

 Holding on to the stroller--safety first!

 He collapsed into bed as soon as we got home. Fun is exhausting!

Easter 2013

Easter is my "most wonderful time of the year." I LOVE EASTER for several reasons: It's during spring, it's about Jesus, it's about family, Easter egg hunts, good food, etc.

On Saturday, we went over the Johnson's for the egg hunting fun! Aunt Sophie and Grandma put the kids lunches in the eggs, it was a super cute idea!

Walter is still very new to egg hunts, but that doesn't mean he didn't know what to do! He went, picked up an egg...

 and threw it...when veggies popped out, he was uninterested.

So he found another one and when it made a fun rattling noise, he threw it, and goldfish popped out!

 Walter doesn't eat goldfish, so he doesn't actually know that they are food. He thought they were a toy! He would put all the fishies back in the egg and then have me close it so that he could throw it again.

But just because he thought the fishies were toys didn't mean a few of the tasty nuggets didn't end up being eaten. I wasn't too worried. Everyone deserves a little Easter snack, right?

Levi and I teach the 11 year old primary class in our ward, and we've really grown to love our calling. I love teaching the lessons, because I get to re-learn so much of what I've forgotten over the years. But it is hard on me sometimes. There are some lessons I really struggle with. There are times I don't like or agree with what the lesson teaches or implies. Those are usually the lessons I just try to incorporate a lot of love, forgiveness, and Jesus into. So you can imagine how much I LOVE the Easter lesson, because that's what it's all about! I am a huge fan of my Savior. I absolutely love him. It's always a fantastic experience during a lesson to feel the change as the Spirit takes over and I get to be his speaker.

Levi also sang in church! He was in a trio and did great. Woody even came and listened. Thanks, Woody!

After church, we went to my parents' for dinner. The Bennetts, Willmores, and Clarks were there! After dinner, we decorated Easter eggs and then proceeded to hide them. There is only one rule in a Jenkins Easter Egg hunt and that is that THERE ARE NO RULES. Every man for himself. We all took turns hiding the eggs and by the end of the night, just about every one of them was cracked.

Walter was very helpful at hiding the eggs. While someone was hiding them, Walter would follow them around and pick up the eggs and then throw/place them somewhere else. Here he is in his new Easter poncho.

The branch holding up the old rope swing broke a while ago, so the men went to work finding a new branch to place it on...very dangerous, unnecessary work, but we're glad they did it, because now we have a new rope swing!

While they were setting it up, Walter kept trying to go on a walk down the sidewalk. After pulling him back several times, I finally just said, "Okay, bye, Walter." Instead of turning around and running to me (as a mother would hope) he instead help up his hand (without turning around) and waved goodbye. At-ti-tude. I would then have to run down and pick him up again. 

 The men all refused to cooperate and pose at the same time, so I had to take several pictures of them.