Projects

Just a few of the latest projects to come out of the "woodshop".  Daddy made the butterfly plaque for Kenna when we were on our trip in Florida.  He described it to me on the phone and I really couldn't picture what he was telling me, but I knew it was going to be nice.  I had no idea just how beautiful it was!  The colors were created by rubbing chalk shavings.  The bird plaque was a gift for me.  The words inside are the lyrics to our wedding song- words that are still applicable all these years later.  I love it and it makes me smile everytime I look at it!  Daddy also made a shelf for Blake's bow and arrows.  Blake picked out the design for the woodburned archer.  And lastly, I had been asking for a better storage system for the boys' many, many legos.  They used to be stored in various baskets/bins and then after play clean-up was always a nightmare...the giant pile of legos all over the floor would overwhelm them.  So Jacob set to take measurements and him and Daddy made these under-bed storage carts.  They are on wheels so they come out from under the bed fairly easily even on the carpet.  Since they are so wide, there is no need for dumping the legos all over the floor.  They can just sort through them in the bin.  This has been a huge improvement in not only storage, but clean up is a breeze!  As an added bonus, Jacob was really proud of himself and is ability to use a drill all by himself.  He has always been interested in building things, but since doing this project he has decided he needs more tools including an electric drill and workbench.  I think we can make that happen! 

Spring Break in Florida

A few weeks ago, my side of the family (minus the daddies) headed down to Florida for a quick spring break trip.  It was a whirlwind of a trip packed full-swimming with manatees, airboat tours, wildlife park visit, games with cousins and lots and lots of swimming!  The house we stayed in had a great view of the river as well as a saltwater pool.  The kids had a blast swimming until they were blue in the lips as well as taking in the local wildlife.  At one point, there was a small flock of some kind of egret/crane in the front yard and the kids were all pretty fascinated by this!  I think the highlight for all though was swimming with the manatees!  The water was pretty cold and we were out in the river EARLY (we left before sunrise), but it was an experience we will never forget.  And I was so proud of my Parker who was very unsure at first, but once he got the courage to get in the water, he had a blast.  We all came home with lots of great memories and look forward to the next adventure!

my little garden helper

first buds

spring bouquet brought to me by my loves

building

spring's beauty

inchworm- our backyard is full of them!

I still can't get used to his "new" smile

planting their seeds for their garden- a mix of wildflower and butterfly

it feels good to us all to start the cycle all over again

It always feels like winter drags its feet and goes by ever so slowly and then one day, we wake up and spring is here!  We all feel that shift, spending most of our days outside, noticing the subtle changes happening around us, taking in the beauty of new growth, feeling the cool earth in our hands once again.  And it feels perfect!

We have been busy.  It feels like this month has been busier for us than usual with activities and travel.  But in between we also have been creating.  I will try to update soon with all that we have been making.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!

Our Easter

Our Easter was a quiet one, as is most years.  The three littlest had been so excited, they woke themselves up in the middle of the night.  I came down to the livingroom at 1:30a.m. to those sneaky pete's digging through their baskets!  I quickly shooed them back to bed and crossed my fingers for a non-grouchy Easter. Thankfully, it worked.  After enjoying their Easter treats and a delicious breakfast cooked by Daddy (followed up with some Italian Easter bread), we loaded up some bikes and hit the Greenway.  It felt good to stretch our legs and take in some fresh air.  We were even led home by a Great Blue Heron- it dove down in front of the van so closely, I was almost sure we were going to hit it!  It was declared "the coolest thing ever!".  The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing outdoors.  I couldn't have asked for a nicer Easter really.

I had a hard time capturing the true color of the eggs we dyed this year.  They were a bit darker than pictured here.  Here is a breakdown of what we used: Pink= beets, Blue= red cabbage, Yellow= tumeric, Orange= paprika, Brown= red onion leaves.  The blue and yellow were my favorites and everyone thought the brown eggs resembled wood which was pretty cool.  All in all, we had a lot of fun and definitely will do this again next year!