Gardening with my MIL

Kevin's parents came in town last weekend and we had a great visit.  The boys headed to Alabama for a work/golf trip and the girls stayed in Mississippi to do some yard work.  We'd inherited a yard full of landscaping that we weren't sure what to do with.  My MIL offered to come and help tidy things up a bit and plant some fun things.

We worked our tails off for days.  We visited local nurseries and plant shops to collect the perfect assortment.  We've gotten a lot of rain so I'm hoping to get some good pictures of the new landscaping when the weather improves.  I'll do a little before/after yard tour for you.

 

Olive got a new rocker for the patio and was happy to take a load off.

 She also LOVED digging in the dirt.

I found her digging up flowers we'd planted so I made her a little dirt mound to play with.  I also learned that she doesn't really have many clothing options for playing in the dirt.  We made due and I think these clothes will be her gardening outfit since she ends up covered in dirt from head to toe.  Pam was super patient with Olive and thought everything she did was adorable.  A true grandma.

I got a crash course in flower education - names, care, potting techniques, digging tips, soil information, Mississippi growing information and more.  I felt like I learned a lot since I really was pretty clueless about gardening going into the weekend.  We had pretty great cloudy weather so it was perfect for being outside all day long.

 We were very careful to keep a close eye on the gardening supplies, but if Olive saw a chance to grab the "shobel" she did it.  She dragged it over to her favorite digging spot.

 I tried to give Olive her own supplies so we could work together.  She loved digging, carrying around a bucket, collecting leaves and picking flowers.  She also decided swinging was more fun than gardening at times.

On one of our final trips to Lowes, she got out of the car and assumed this pose.  I guess she was less than thrilled to be there again :)  She was a great shopper for the majority of our gardening errands.  I packed snacks, a drink and m&ms to keep her happy.

 We all met up at the airport to say goodbye after a busy few days.  The boys had a great time in Alabama, we got TONS done in Mississippi and our visits few by.  I think we all needed to rest after packing so much into our days.