Weeds, weeds and more weeds

As many of you know, even though we will officially have been in our home for 2 years this coming October, we have yet to have landscaped our backyard. Oh, it’s not that we haven’t meant well. The rains were starting and the yard was muddy when we moved in so we thought we’d target the following summer. Then, our Little Miss made an early appearance and we were understandably distracted. This past spring we decided that A/C was a MUST HAVE so we made that a priority and again, the yard waited. You know you’re procrastinating though when your neighbor asks, “Are you ever going to do anything with your yard?” Now, Fall is around the corner and this is what we have to face.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. We are hoping to have the weeds cleared within the next week or two. We aren’t sure how much more we’ll get done before winter sets in but are wanting to at least get the sod down. Of course, we have another excuse and will continue to take it slow; Hubby's still recovering from back surgery. Plus, I am admittedly not the best at “dirty” work and am not known for having a green thumb (despite the fact that my mom has an amazing talent for growing beautiful flowers as did my grandma. The genes must have skipped a generation).

Speaking of not having a green thumb, I was telling my dear, sweet husband the other day that I really, really, really want some nice hanging flower baskets next year. With as much kindness and tact as possible he replied, “Maybe we should start with cheap ones to see how you do?”

That's OK, don’t gasp in disbelief that he would actually SAY such a thing. I couldn’t exactly argue considering that my mom had just gotten me a nice dahlia plant for our porch. It lasted exactly a week before it joined the other potted plants I effectively killed this summer (sorry Mom!). Did I mention the red geraniums that I was so excited to plant in our front window flowerbox last summer? I decided to save the time (and money!) and didn't even attempt them this year.

Well, off to work on the weeds. At least it’s good when I kill them. We’ll keep you posted with our backyard progress. Just don’t have too high of expectations to see a beautiful “after” picture anytime soon. Maybe NEXT summer. In the meantime, I have a lot of research to do (please let me know if you have any good gardening websites, books or hints to share!).

Summer Oh Summer, Where Have You Gone?

As we sat outside in the new outdoor amphitheater at church this morning I realized, it’s official, summer is on the way out. You know it’s chilly when Hubby (the one who likes to wear shorts year-round) even has a fleece jacket on.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love all the seasons of the year. I appreciate the uniqueness that God gave each quarter. Autumn colors are my favorite and I love the beauty of snow-covered mountains and trees in the Winter. Every Spring I enjoy looking for the first flowers to bloom and listening to the birds chirp outside (though most who know me well are aware that I’m also a little afraid of birds. It’s something about the fear of being pecked and ummm…pooped on).

Summer however holds some of my favorite memories from childhood. Summer reminds me of spending endless hours at the stable riding my horse and hanging out with the other barn kids. We would literally ride all day long getting ready for the county and state fairs. Once at fair, we would spend all week at the fairgrounds showing our horses and eating the “let’s see how your intestines ‘fair’ food”. Summers also remind me of water-skiing (next to riding, my favorite sport!) and camping at the lake.


For Hubby, Summer reminds him of riding bikes, building forts, driving tractors, family picnics and picking berries.

OK, so the last one is not such a good memory. Both Hubby and his brother refuse to pick berries to this day as a result. Thankfully Hubby gives me the go ahead to pay a little extra for the “they-pick" blueberries that we now hoard each summer!

Ah, Summer. We can’t wait for the Summers to come when we get to help create fun memories for Little Miss. Teaching her to swim, ride a bike and horse, fish (Daddy is going to have to bait the hook), play catch, raft, BBQ’s with family and friends…oh, the fun times to come!

Bekah's first camping trip

I know, it's only the second day and already, a new post. This won't be the norm but of course, I am a little over-zealous having just started this new site. I was reading my good friend Joani's blog this morning and was excited to see her post on our recent camping trip. Click on the link to read Joani's description and see some more pics of our Little Miss. We had a really fun time with the Curtis couple, as well as the Booths & Bronsons. Little Miss was the only kiddo but it will be just a matter of time!

Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep in our tent (a.k.a., "The Lodge"). It was cold and even with the layers and thick blankets, our little girl couldn't sleep unless she was in our bed. Of course, then Hubby and I couldn't sleep! We probably got no more than 2 hours of quality rest but it was still well worth the trip. We had a beautiful view right next to the river, great company and just loved being outdoors.

The cold couldn't scare us from going again. We're hoping to make camping a yearly tradition with these couples and their future families. Our last trip together as couples was to Alaska for Mark & Joani's wedding. They didn't seem to want to stay with all of us in our cabin after the wedding but the rest of us had a great time!

Welcome to our new blog!

The “West Coast Wagners” are giving into contemporary culture. We are finally starting a family blog! The funny thing is that we didn’t even know what a “blog” was until the past couple of months. Thankfully we are comforted in knowing that we aren’t the last people on earth to learn about this trend…we’re certain that our parents (on both sides!) will first hear of the word when we send them this link!

OK, so really it’s me (Jodi) who has gotten into blogging recently. I admit I’m somewhat addicted to reading the blogs of several of my friends. I have enjoyed finding out what’s been going on in their families, looking at recent pictures, contemplating thought-provoking insights that people write about and learning more about what God’s been doing in and through others. All that to say, while many people have been caught up reading about Harry Potter, I’ve been caught up in blogs!

Our goal for this blog is to try to stay better connected with friends and family across the country (and world). Phone calls are great however being restricted to verbal communication makes it a little difficult to convey “life” as it occurs. E-mails are nice but it can be hard to remember who you shared what with.

Let’s just say upfront that it will most frequently be me (again, Jodi) who is the author of this family blog (after all, everyone knows that I’m the “wordy” one in this family!). Not to say that Hubby won’t add his two cents once in awhile (no pressure Honey).

I for one am excited about this new “project”. I’ve been looking for a creative outlet. I don’t sew (I wish I could quilt!), I’m too impatient to scrapbook (I still haven’t put our wedding pictures in albums let alone all the pictures of our baby girl!), I’m not crafty by any sense of the word. The one creative sort of hobby I do enjoy is to cook but I could certainly stand to avoid the extra calories that passion comes with!

We haven’t decided how frequently we’ll post and will leave that open ended. We want to keep this active and interesting yet don’t want to be consumed by this site. We’ll target a weekly update but will make no promises. Warning if you do start reading this: We are offering no guarantees about the quality of this blog and can’t say how long it will last but for now, we’ll give it a try! Let the blogging begin!