Ever since we bought our house some 5+ years ago, we have talked about getting a new stove. Everytime we used the oven, you could count on the bottom of whatever we cooked to be well done, to say the least. So we broke down and got a new one last week. It is nice and we love being able to cook and regulate the temperatures. The towel on the front of the oven is one Lorenza sent to me via Patrick and Jenn (very sweet).
Paul and Laura came up with their family on Wednesday and Patrick and Paul worked out in the garden for hours and hours filling in the hole that Pat and Jenn had removed rocks from a few days before. We used to have a fish pond there, when we first moved in, but the fish would freeze in the winter and we decided to fill it in. Now we have more garden space. Patrick is supervising Paul's use of the electric toy (tiller) in this picture.
Patrick and Paul took a break and enjoyed their breakfast of Biscuts and Sausage Gravy, Blackberry Jam and Apple butter. I sat in that glider and watched them work and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the boys working together and teasing each other. I was enjoying it so much and the nice sunshine, I did not realize how much damage that sun could do until later that night. My first sunburn of the year, and hopefully my last. But it was nice to be warm after our winter.
Another shot of the garden. After leveling the garden and tilling it all up, they layed this brick for a nice walkway for us. Now all we have to do is wait for "planting season"
I got a special treat the first part of the week. On Easter Sunday night, we got to pick up Cooper for a few days for some one-on-one, while his mom and dad were looking for housing in the Los Angeles area, where Paul is relocating, job wise, soon. Grandma Rowels had Isabelle and Seth, until their parents got into Vegas on Tuesday and came up here on Wednesday. Cooper enjoyed being out in the snow for short periods of time. He is a little doll and we love him, as we love all the grandchildren.
And lots of purple along the front of the house. The grass is getting green.
BUT, then yesterday evening, April 21st, we got this. Can you believe it. I got this picture, not knowing what I would find when I got up this morning. But we had some droopy yellow flowers. But now that the sun is out and all the snow is melted, our flowers have survived it all. 
No picture of the garden with the "steer manure" spread by the Boy Scouts on Tuesday. They advertised "cow manure", but Harley requested steer manure and when asked what the difference was - Harley said the steer manure had more BS in it. As Abbie says, Papa Tom, you are such a jokester. 
