My flowers are planted!

I finally got them into the ground last weekend. I have four hanging pots, five ground pots, and a whole bed filled with flowers. As well as two tomato and two pepper plants. It's my first foray into vegetable growing, but one tomato plant already has a small green thing starting. Some of the flowers look a bit sparse, but with some fertilizer, they will fill out. I'll post some photos below:






We had a good time with the family we had in town. Emily and I especially had fun together. She managed to help me plant flowers and make brownies. We made it up to Rocky Mountain National Park and did a brewery crawl in Ft. Collins. There is no shortage of breweries in this part of the world. Marlena ended up coming down for a surprise visit (mostly to see her boyfriend) last week also. She stayed here for one night and helped me flower shop. It was nice to spend some time with her. Things remain drama ridden in her life. I don't know if it will ever change.

Today was an exciting weather day. There were tornadoes that touched down in the area. The caused some pretty significant damage. Bernie is still at work dealing with that, even though he should have gotten off over an hour ago.

Please...let it be time to plant my flowers.

I can hardly wait to plant flowers this year (which is not so different from the past couple of years). I should be thankful that I get to plant them two weeks earlier here, but my patience is wearing thin. Next Wednesday will be the day. I have mostly stuck with easy sun-loving varieties like petunias and geraniums. Last year, my mom and I managed to drown a couple of pots of dahlias. I'll be trying them again, along with some more temperamental impatients, zinnias, and a couple of hydrangea bushes. I am so excited (insert domestic dork comment here). I also want some hybrid lilies that don't smell like shit.

Our Vegas plans are in order. We are leaving June 16th and coming back on the 20th. My mother will also be joining us. I am in preparation for a wild time. The next week we are headed to Great Falls and Bismarck for a week respectively. We also have a day of week-killing planned at our land near Helena. I actually don't think I told anyone about our land. It's 20 acres about 10 miles outside of Helena. It is in the mountains, part near a creek and the other part on a hill with a nice view. We bought it as an investment, but it may become a retirement destination. Pictures are below.


This is the view from the lowest part. On the left where all the trees are is a small stream...



Said stream...


And the view from the hill.

Exciting I know.

Bernie drove halfway to North Dakota this past week to pick up his fishing boat from his parents who had been keeping it for us since the move. He's most excited to get it out on one of lakes. After important household chores like replacing the landscaping trim and finishing out the garage of course.

My last night of class was yesterday, so I am officially finished with this semester. I was much stricter and smarter with time management this time around and as a result managed to get two 100%'s and two 99%'s in my four classes. I always say college is about learning what they want from you and giving it to them. I'm not much of a rebel in this category. I want the grades and I'm willing to work for them, even if it means working to please other people. A 4.0 should be very helpful if and when I want to get my PhD.

Bernie's sister and her family will be here Saturday for a few days. We plan on a brewery tour and Jeremie wants to go skiing. One of the resorts here plans to stay open until June, which is a crazy time to go skiing in my opinion. Jeremie works for Intel as an engineer and he has just finished his sixth or seventh year (not sure). After that amount of time, Intel insists that every employee take a paid six week sabbatical (what a terrible idea...OK, I'm just jealous). They plan on driving from Phoenix to here, then to Minnesota, North Dakota, Yellowstone, Oregon, and down the California coast. With a two year old and a wife who is 6 months pregnant. I'm not sure that the trip sounds like much of a vacation myself.