Endless Yard Work

So when we originally started out we planned on taking a couple years to finish our yard. We definitely won't get everything done this year, but we are really pushing forward and will be getting more done than we originally planned on. I have found out a lot about myself the past few months. I am really becoming O.C.D about things. When I start something, I am obsessive about finishing it, unfortunately regardless of the consequences sometimes. Our backyard has become one of those projects for me and luckily Mike has been very supportive. It will be nice to have our sprinklers and grass in, and who knows, maybe that will help us in getting a dog sooner.:) So we have planted 5 trees, and transplanted 2. We also received some roses and other shrubs from our neighbors that we are waiting to plant in our flower beds. If you look at the pictures you will see them planted in the middle of our yard. No, we are not having a rose garden in the middle of our grass, we are just waiting for a better place to put them. It will take a little while for everything to grow, but we will hopefully be getting some nectarines, peaches, plums, oranges, clementines, raspberries and blackberries within the next few years. We are currently working on our sprinklers. We were going to rent a trencher, but funny me, I thought we could just do it ourselves. I finally finished connecting the final trench today. Mike helped a lot as well. We have a ways to go, but things are starting to come together. Next up, "Square Foot Gardens".


Our flowering pear tree. (Mike and the neighbors moved the big tree to the back and we planted this one in the front yard.)




So Emma has been sick the last few days. It started out as just a cough, but now she has a little fever to go with it. She has been miserable poor girl. I think she is starting to feel a little bit better, but it comes in waves. I was actually able to get some smiles out of her for these pictures even though she is not feeling very good.

Getting Ready for Summer!

So we finally have a patio. We are going to be working on our backyard for the next couple of months to years, and the first thing to check off is the patio. It will be nice to have somewhere to sit outside now. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the sun is constantly shining on the back of our house and so we will eventually need a cover/umbrella. It was a lot of fun to watch them pump the concrete in and smooth and texture everything. Gracie is very anxious to get outside and see what all of the commotion is about, but there will be NO kitty paws in our patio. Next up are the sprinklers and that will be a big job for Mike in particular. We are realizing that there is a lot more to planning out your backyard than we originally thought. Where we planned on placing our fruit trees there is constant shade and things like that, so we will be changing things up again, but it will be nice when we get some grass, trees and some produce growing. It has been a little overwhelming, but fun as well.

Gotta Love Bath-time!

So we had to take a picture of this. Emma is finally getting some hair, but she has the Pierce "fine and thin" hair and so I can't do ANYTHING with it, but it looks pretty great after she has taken a bath,:) She's so funny. Also, she is finally saying some words. (We think) So her first words are: Dada, and Kitty. Ya, she still refuses to say Mommy or Mama or anything that even has the "M" sound except for Yumm. You can see that she sure loves that Dad and Kitty.:) It's pretty fun to hear her say things and understand what she is saying.

We are also starting the huge project of landscaping our backyard. We just got an estimate on concrete and sprinkler pipe and they should get finished this coming week. Mike is going to be working on the sprinklers and that will be a big job. It will probably take a couple years to get everything done, but I am so anxious to start planting our garden. Fresh fruit and vegetables from our own garden sounds really nice for this summer. I guess we'll have to see how ambitious we get. So stay tuned for further updates on the yard.

Fun with Grandpa!

We finally had our first official visitors last Monday and it was great. My Dad and his wife Dorothy came out and spent a few days with us. Emma sure had a great time with her Grandpa Larry and Grandma Dorothy. We got to go for walks, we went to the Bakersfield zoo, and Emma got a lot of good attention. She loved it! Her are just a couple fun pics. Thanks again for the visit you guys.

Emma + Spaghetti =

Tomato Macaroni Soup Recipe and More

So my sisters have been sharing some fun recipe's the last little while and I decided that it is my turn. It's always nice to try new recipes and this is one of the Sharp families favorites. This is basically a variation on tomato macaroni soup, but tastes quite a lot like my moms goulash (but even better).:)

V-8 Soup
1 lb. hamburger
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 48 oz. can V-8 Juice
1/2 tsp. marjoram
2 cups grated carrots
1 Tbsp. Sugar
2 cans cream of celery soup
1 Tbsp. Basil leaves
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 Bay leaf
2 cups dry macaroni
3-6 cups water

Brown hamburger and onion in a large pot. Once the hamburger is browned, combine all the rest of the ingredients. For a thinner soup use more water. (Since the macaroni is dry it will soak up a lot of the water and so you want to add enough water to make up for that.) Simmer for 1 hour and then remove the bay leaf before serving. We like to add a little cheese to the top when serving.

(It would be fun to have one of those camera's that could take fancy "food" shots, but I don't so this will have to do.) :)



When I made this last night I also decided to make some "Easy Garlic-Cheese Biscuits", courtesy of Betty Crocker and Bisquick. These are similar to the ones you get at Red Lobster. Yummy!

Easy Garlic-Cheese Biscuits

2 cups Original Bisquick mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees
2. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk and cheese with wire whisk or fork until soft dough forms; beat vigorously 30 seconds. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by 10-12 spoonfuls about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. In small bowl, stir butter and garlic powder until well mixed; brush on warm biscuits before removing from cook sheet. Serve Warm



These went with the soup pretty well. Hope you enjoy! P.S. This makes a lot of soup and doesn't freeze well so you might want to half the recipe if you are making it for just a couple people. Feeds a family well.

Painting Updates

So I have been trying to think of anything new to share on the blog and I can never think of anything. Our days are usually pretty much the same, Emma is as cute as can be and is learning so many new things. She loves to have us chase her and she will laugh and laugh. She continues to torture the cat, and Gracie is SO patient thank heavens. Emma also loves to eat solid food and will beg for food if we are ever eating and she isn't. She loves these Gerber "puffs" and has been trying to figure out how to get this container open herself. She's pretty determined. Mike is busy with work and we both keep busy with our individual callings. Emma has had a chance to spend more one on one time with her Dad though now that I am gone more during the week for Relief Society. Other than that the only new thing is our BATHROOM!!! I have been putting this bathroom off forever, but finally got a spurt of energy to get it finished. I originally wanted to do the blue walls with brown towels, but the room has no windows and so I decided to go with the yellow and white to make it a little lighter. We were pretty happy with how it turned out and it is amazing how much different it is now. Paint sure goes a long way. I also never showed a picture of our bedroom paint job. I think I am pretty much done with the paint for awhile. It may seem like all of our walls are colorful, but most of the house is still white. We'll have to wait until we can get the rest of the house. Too big of a job for me and too tall of ceilings, and white isn't a bad color except for it is just flat white and shows all of the marks and dirt, etc. Anyway, too much information, but that's what's new with the Sharps.
P.S. The blue is pretty dark, but not as dark as the pictures show. It's hard to get the exact color to show up.