Random Thoughts

Time flies - it's hard to believe that my last entry here was nearly 2 weeks ago! I have several random thoughts that I will post about today. The fist being a big "YAY!" because spring has indeed arrived. We have had some days in the 80's, which I didn't particularly like because that's too warm too fast. I don't enjoy when the weather goes from winter to summer with only a mere nod at a spring day here and there. But we have had quite a few nice days. "Nice" is a relative term depending on whom you talk to. "Nice" to me is above 50ish, but below 72. I would like months and months of this sort of weather!

Anyway, it's been warm enough for the trees to bloom and yard work to start. Mother Nature is giving us a treat this year with all these beautiful days! Pretty soon, she'll be stirring her pot and the spring storms with tornados will start to arrive. But for now, a big YAY! We have been thinking about ripping out some bushes out front and replacing them with something different. I pulled out a few already and am eager to get some splashes of color planted with some annuals. I have received some awesome plant suggestions from my Aunt Mary, because she rocks and would probably win at Plant Jeopardy if there was such a game. I do not have a green thumb, but I like to give myself an A+ for effort. In my mind I am a Master Gardener (my mother-in-law actually holds this earned title!) that can choose the right plants and kill nothing. In reality, I usually overspend on plants and flowers because I like how they look in the nursery, but they don't like the areas I put them in (um, shade plants really don't like the sun. Really.) I think I'm getting a little better though, so I wouldn't necessarily give myself a D or an F grade anymore. I read the little plastic labels and actually take into consideration that something needs full sun, or shade. Our house faces north, so sun in front is limited, yet my backyard gets no reprieve from the sweltering star. So, my mind has big plans and ideas. I just need to take one step at a time and do it right.

We did mulch around the house and plant 7 Arborvitae shrubs/trees around our deck last weekend. We will keep them trimmed to not grow above the deck rails unless we change our minds and want more privacy. But since the kids are still little, we want to be able to keep watchful eyes on them without having to look through the trees to see them play. We have a really pretty tree in the front of the house that blooms this time of year. Then it drops annoying little cherry-type berries. I wish it would stay this beautiful all year though...whatever it is! ("fruitless" crabapple tree from what I could find) And lastly, I couldn't post without including a couple shots of the kids. Olivia has learned how to make a fish face which makes me laugh so hard when she does it because it's unbelievably cute! Here are a couple pictures and a short video clip.




(click the arrow to PLAY)


Then, my handsome guy doing something I don't normally catch on film - sitting still! He looked so content looking at his year book, curled up in the chair the other day that I had to snap one shot before he took off running somewhere.

Happy Spring!

It may officially be the first day of Spring today, but unfortunately, there are no new buds to photograph outdoors to prove it.

So, I will leave you with this beautiful flower instead....

Where's Spring?

Stupid groundhog. I hate that he saw his shadow last month. Spring definitely does not seem close by, so I can only blame that on Punxsutawney Phil! And another weird thing, is that St. Patty's Day and Easter are so close this year - just doesn't seem right! Way too early in the season to be celebrating the Easter holiday....

But, today was our annual neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Around these parts, March is a cold and gloomy month - much like November. Needless to say we are all very much begging for Spring to arrive sometime soon. With the holiday being so early this year, the grass wasn't greened up yet, no spring blooms popping through the soil, and definitely no sunshine for The Hunt! But we managed, with winter coats, hats, gloves and children with enough energy to keep us all warm - it was as big a hit as it usually is!

One snag we hit this year though, is our usual location in the neighborhood was too saturated from all the melted snow and rain, so we moved The Hunt - to our house, in our back yard! Everything worked out great, got the hunt in before the sprinkles started up again, and all the kids seemed happy with their loot! We ended up with about 45 children participating this year.

Here's an example of the "Spring Feeling" we had last year during the egg hunt when spring actually arrived on time... look at the lush grass, the flowers... short sleeved shirts! See what a couple more weeks of nice weather and sunshine can do?



And here's some photos I snapped at this year's hunt today.... Enjoy!