Whoa... Playing Catch-Up (Again!!)

As the weather gets nicer, I am getting worse at blogging! Ack! So, let's backtrack, shall we?

April 1st was my birthday. It was a lovely day! Gus and the kids made me breakfast, and I got to open all my presents in bed before Gus left for work. And, since it was a Tuesday, it wasn't a preschool morning-- we (well, the kids and I) had all morning to do whatever we wanted! And, since the temperatures promised to be in the high 40s with lots of bright sunshine, I wanted to go for a walk. So we did! We put on our rain boots and went for a walk out on the rail trail, which was very muddy and still had snow in some parts. But it was great! We saw signs of new beaver activity in the area, some really cool ice formations, and lots of little signs that spring was really arriving (trickling water, cracking sounds coming from the ice on the lake, birds singing-- the works!). We had a great morning!

After our walk, we hurried back to eat some lunch before getting Niko on the bus. And then I set up my hammock on the back deck and basically snoozed for an hour in the sunshine while Maya played nearby. It was HEAVENLY! I think it was maybe 51 degrees? But it was sunny and there was no wind, and it really felt fantastic. Oh, how my perceptions of temperature have changed, haha! I was even wearing short sleeves!

After Niko got home and we went to karate, we drove to a local Mexican restaurant to meet Gus for dinner. It was excellent, as always, but this was the first time we'd ever actually taken the kids there. Niko ate the most non-Mexican thing possible: chicken strips and french fries. But Maya ordered a quesadilla that came with rice and beans, and she was in HEAVEN! It was hilarious! With every bite, she was talking about how delicious it was, and how we just HAD to try some! So, in short, she is a fan. It was awesome!

After dinner, we came back and I blew out my candles. I baked the cake (chocolate chip cookie dough!), but the decorations were 100% the work of Gus and the kids. Can you tell?

Since my birthday, the weather has just gotten better and better! Finally, spring is actually here! I thought these three photos were fun to look at... It's amazing how much our yard has changed in less than two weeks!

So, yeah... we've been outside more and more! The kids were both eager to start practicing for the baseball season. Even Niko has been getting into teaching his little sis the right way to do things, and she is an eager learner. We are going to have so much fun, once we can finally start our official t-ball practices!

We also learned, on April 4th (4/4!) that our fourth chicken is now an egg-layer!! Barbie Q. Chicken lays very light brown eggs. So, we are currently at maximum egg production-- 28 eggs a week! That's a lot! Time for scrambled eggs, quiches, French toast, and any other recipe that requires lots of eggs, haha! We've started giving them away to friends and coworkers, because we have more than we know what to do with. Everyone likes fresh eggs, though, so it's fun!

We've also had our first fire pit of the year. The kids made s'mores, which I don't think they actually like that much. But they like the process, so it's worth it!

Fast forward to today (I'm skipping a lot of playing outside and enjoying the weather... you get the idea!)... we had the town Easter egg hunt at the community center. Both kids saw lots of friends there, and were very happy to run around with them while they waited for the hunt to begin. Our neighbor (Gus' coworker) and his family were there, too, so that was fun. And Maya was even willing to sit with the Easter Bunny (she said his fur was very soft, haha!).

I was actually shirking my coaching duties by taking the kids to the egg hunt, though. As soon as we were done, I headed over to the baseball field to check in with the Little League guys, who were getting all the fields ready for opening day. I picked up our uniforms and fundraiser packets, and learned that they were pretty much done with the fields. So I sort of lucked out! I went home and sorted through the uniforms. Since I already know all the kids on my team this year, I have a good idea of who needs the bigger or smaller uniforms, etc. So I was able to give my own kids their uniforms, which they were VERY eager to test out! I LOVE IT!!

And that's where we are! We grilled our dinner this evening, and had most of the windows open all afternoon. Tomorrow, we are supposedly going to see temperatures in the SEVENTIES-- this will be the first time since probably October. I can't WAIT!!