Spring is in the air

Never mind that its 25 degrees out right now. Its the first day of spring!   We've had two days of temperatures in the 40's!  There is hope for the future. 

Also life has been busy with little time to write.  So here's a quick photo recap in an attempt to keep up....

Swim team is underway!  Both kids have jumped right in (ha ha) and are doing well.

 I love watching how this tall boy is coming along with his strokes. And working on starting off the blocks!  I am hopeful that he'll stick with this sport, and find his way to shine.

 Weekend before last was extra long for the kids, who got yet another snow day!
Fluffy lovely sunshine snow, good for sledding and tumbling and climbing for hours. The very best kind of snow day but for the fact that I still had to teach...

Of course, that day of teaching wasn't so bad as I got to enjoy a trip to the Akron Art Museum with my students.  A lovely little museum with a few treasures in its collection.  But wow are we spoiled by CMA, I'll tell you that...

 Friday night we hosted some good friends for a playdate, and shared the joy of ooblek....

 ... then hosted a little birthday party for Melinda, with conversation and laughs and keeping kids up past their bedtime because we were having fun together. I do so love our friends.

 Speaking of friends--- this little dog!  She's been loving time at the dog parks-- South Euclid, Edgewater, and pictured here, Lake Farmpark-- and continues to be certain that every dog she sees is her best friend.  I love this picture, her fearless, big-paw leap towards a much larger dog.  She's a go-getter, this girl.

 What is a more certain sign of spring than baby farm animals??
The barns at Farmpark never disappoint.

 A concert at Severance Hall to close out a busy Sunday.  Ivy is narrating the above-mentioned baby animal photos for Gram.

 Skipping ahead a week (because our lives, the mad rush of them, are lived from weekend to weekend these days, the hours in between blurred and busy with lessons and sports and cooking and running and dishes and laundry laundry laundry and tired-TV-watching each night)...

This past weekend we finally got to the new Children's Museum (thank you "free for male caregivers" day!!).  Our girl was largely overwhelmed by the noise and crowds but we were very impressed!  Wish we'd had this place for all those years of kids home on weekdays...  I think Ivy would love it with a friend and a little less craziness...I think even Jack would have enjoyed it, though he chose an invite to a friend's house over this trip with us (how did he grow up so fast?)

 Guess what she found for us to do here?  Laundry.  Got out of my house, went to a new place... pretended to do LAUNDRY.

We did thoroughly enjoy the dollhouse and miniatures exhibit.  Amazing collection, with all sorts of great craftsmanship, imagination, and collecting on display.

 I was particularly enamored of these tiny Nativities, built inside nutshells.  People are amazing.

 Sunshine beckoned and we visited our old friend, Wade Oval Lagoon, on our way home.  Ivy has always loved this statue.

 Then, we closed the day with a spontaneous drive to Edgewater for sunset.  The ice on the pier was magical, on fire with the slanting sunset light.

 Nat and Ivy clambered on rocks, while Winter and I walked the paths and took in the intoxicating views.

 Lavender skies and a glassy lake, shining city coming out of hibernation....

... fingers of ice among the rocks, glowing red sometimes with the sun, glinting  a silver path to forever...

 I do love this lake. 
And this girl.  And this dog.

 Sunday:  We went back to the lake!  With temperatures topping 50 (!) we had to get out!  We soaked up vitamin D for almost 2 hours, loving our favorite spot.

Winter made fast friends with Winston....

 ... and the kids created "stores" among the beach debris. 

 I collected LOTS of seaglass and drank coffee and watched my puppy race over the sand.

 It was pretty perfect.

Winter and Winston had a game where he would dig a hole and then she would get in that hole.  Seriously.  They did this over and over.  It was great.

For a while we had quite pack of dog-friends gathered, running and wrestling in circles around-- and sometimes through-- Ivy's little store.  Much to her consternation.  Poor girl.

Days like this, views like this-- they will get me through these next three crazy days of teaching before spring break, and this next week of freezing temperatures.  Warmth is coming!  Time off is coming!  More lake days are ahead.  At the midpoint of this challenging year, when I feel like so much of my life has consisted of just making it through-- it is good to remember that life can be reveled in, too.

We'll make it! Spring is in the air.

In like a lion for sure...

The ten day forecast, here on the 7th of March, shows temperatures in the 30's straight on through.  Last week, we welcomed the month with a snow day and as I type the street is covered with snow again.  The days are longer but just now it feels as though spring may never actually arrive.

Around here we're getting over a whole slew of February bugs (4 out of 4 family members on antibiotics! Good times!), keeping up with a puppy (SO many teeth!), and starting spring sports in spite of the snow (hello again, swim team! Hooray for clean children!).  Also, looking quite forward to this month of March heading out like a lamb...

Catch-up photo post!

A bright spot in the midst of February darkness-- fun night out with a couple of wonderful friends.  We don't do this nearly often enough...

 Lots and lots and lots of time with various people, in various states of ill health, snuggled into the couch.  Puppy snuggles help.

 An outing to the interesting, yet creepy, Historic Kirtland village.  My enjoyment of the historic re-creations was dampened a bit by the intense preaching we got from our zealous (and adorable) missionary tour guides... It did spark some interesting conversations in the car afterward, including Ivy getting very interested in filling out her "comment card" to ask for more information about "That book they were talking about and why it is so good."  Oh, my little believer.

We headed from there straight to a nice little birthday party for baby Ava... Where Ivy promptly got hit  by her next virus, feverish and droopy just a short while after this photo was taken. Little one could not catch a break last month!

 A few days home from school found her on the mend, and then it was Jack's turn the next week... and Nat's too, who found himself with a sinus infection that kept him from sleeping well for weeks.  I'm not sure I had a full night's sleep during the whole month of February!
But life continued on.

Look at this big kid, so tall and competent.

 Look at this big girl, so poised and proud at her "Wax Museum" presentation.

 She's Debbye Turner and her friend Mariah is Gabby Douglas.  This was such a grand event, listening to all of these wonderful children presenting their reports, watching our school community come together, eating a delicious potluck.  What's not to love.

 A warm-weather respite at the end of February...

 We rediscovered playgrounds!

 And the lake!

 And, came up with a new game!  (beard jenga!  I do love my family...)

 And then-- two days later:

 Can't complain about a snow day on March 2nd, though.  It was JUST what the doctor ordered.
 Sleeping in, snuggling bunnies and getting one last day of snow play under our belts.

 We also took Winter to the dog park, where there were no other dogs (I wonder why??) but there was agility equipment-- to run the kids on!  Winter has since started Puppy 2 class where she's going to get on agility equipment each week, and she is taking to it easily and with plenty of enthusiasm...

Nat and I snuck out for a quick date on Friday, leaving the kids home with a sweet neighbor girl for company.  MIX was pretty fun this month, Kabbaret themed with techno music beats and strange, Berlin-esque street performers.  We also loved the "European Vistas" exhibition,  losing ourselves in the grand-scale paintings of piazzas and domes and memories of travels past...

The next day-- a trip to a dog show in Tallmadge where Winter got a grooming and some time with her breeder...

 ... and a shopping trip where we dreamed of summer.  I'd buy these kayaks in a heartbeat if it would make the warm weather appear!

Sigh.  No summer just yet.

But--we're on the mend around here!  Finishing our antibiotics and getting back to full speed.  Tackling our busy days and watching a little dog grow before our eyes.  The beginning of March is never easy, but like every month, it will go fast.  Don't want to miss a snowy moment...