This and That: More Garden Photos and a Blog Award...

With the school year winding down, (only 5 1/2 weeks left 'til summer break!!), I've been SUPER busy! This week we begin EOI (End of Instruction) testing, which will run until May 11th. Yup, you read that right, that's 4 WEEKS of testing! I always feel so bad for the kiddos having to test for that long, but EOI testing is a state requirement. On the upside, May 23rd is the last day of school and summer break officially begins!

As I am sure that many of you have seen on TV, there have been some really bad storms hit Oklahoma in recent days. We are so very thankful that we only received rain here in Broken Arrow, and none of the terrible tornado devastation that Woodward had. The rains have really caused my flowers to burst into bloom, so I thought I'd share a few more recent pics of some of the views in my back yard...

Here's a photo of the flower bed along a portion of my back fence. The clematis, which is climbing up the trellis, has GORGEOUS purple blooms; and the knockout rose bushes are budding as well:

Here's a close-up view of those beautiful purple clematis flowers:

We have 2 blue bird houses hanging on the fence near this flower bed, and a blue bird couple have decided to call one of the houses "home" and lay eggs there. Here is a photo of "daddy blue bird" guarding his home:

And here is the precious treasure he is guarding...5 sweet little eggs:

Some other interesting wildlife that we have living in our back yard, (besides our 13 year old beagle, Hunter!), is a family of rabbits. These cuties reside under our garden shed, and have adorable little babies that hop around our back yard. (Funny thing...Hunter doesn't even notice them because her hearing and eyesight aren't very good due to her age. In "people years" she would be 91!!) Here's a picture of momma and daddy rabbit hopping around our yard after the rain:

Recently Mike added a weather vane to the top of our garden shed, and I just love how it looks!

As you can see, the Jackmani Clematis vine growing on the trellis located on the side of the garden shed has gotten so big and is about to burst out in deep purple blooms any day now. I'll share a photo with you once it's bloomed!

Last but not least, a BIG thank you to my blogging friend Justine at Kerr-afty Creations for the following award that she sent to me:

"Liebster" means favorite, and I am honored that she selected me as a recipient - thanks, Justine!! You'll want to check out her blog...she is SUPER talented and has lots of fun crafty projects posted there!!

Upon receiving the "Liebster Award", I am to pass it along to 5 of my favorite bloggers that have 200 or less followers....so, in no particular order, here they are:

1.) Lisa at Lisa's Loft
2.) Stacie at All Things Crafty
3.) Gloria at Scraptabulous Studio
4.) Tammy at The Stamper's Cottage
5.) Kimberly at Scrap-It-Girl

I hope that you'll take a minute to visit these terrific blogs...I KNOW you'll find lots and lots of crafty inspiration when you do!!

Wishing you a wonderful and safe week ahead!

Blessings,