Sunday, April 7, 2013

The glory of April


Life has been rich and full this week.  The sun arrived with April and our children have been soaking it all up.  Jack was on spring break this week so Nat was charged with keeping both kids busy, and making vacation something special for the boy (he has been missing school quite a bit, saying he can hardly remember what mrs. Reynolds and his friends look like. Two weeks is a long time for a little one...) .  So, they've has play dates and parent center time, swimming and kite flying, even pony rides at lake farmpark...

Here are pictures shared with me through the week while I was at work... Sometimes I really do feel like I miss out on a lot... Sigh...






This weekend's been simply lovely. Sunny, oh so sunny! And a little bit warmer every every day until today, where 60 degree sunshine greeted us on our hike in the Bedford Metroparks... Weekend highlights: Legacy Village on Friday night with Melinda and Will. Closer than we expected but that didn't stop the kids from running like crazy on be stage. We had a really solid Chipotle burrito and commiserated about the strange, black legging clad clones that mobbed the place... (Teenage girls are very strange...) Saturday-- I cleaned the foyer (it was the type of weekend that made one want to clean...) and we took a picnic to shaker Lakes, where we did it all in one hour-- ate pizza, fed the ducks, played soccer, went on swings, climbed. We were wind blown and tired when got home. Jack, but the way, is very excited about soccer. A few more weeks til his league starts up but he got his shin guards yesterday and wore them all afternoon, playing soccer for a good hour in the backyard... Today-- we were out the door by 9:30 because the day clearly told us to not waste a single minute. We hiked the kids down to the stream in Bedford. It was the first time in 5 years that we've done this hike without someone in the backpack carrier, and both the kids hiked like little champions. Slow moving little champions. Lots of looking for walking sticks, investigating rocks, stopping to sit on logs. Once we made it to the stream there were rocks to throw and clamber on, snacks to eat, sand to "make and artist" in, as Ivy says. One very, very happy spaniel swam and swam. Our boy, the king of minor-trauma-on-fun-outings, slipped and stuck his foot in the stream. Couldn't possibly put that shoe back on, nope. He hiked all the way back up with one bare foot. Gotta love him. We were out for almost 3 hours before stopping for lunch at a pretty good little Mexican restaurant on the way home. Not to be outdone, the afternoon and evening stayed sunny and warm. I took my car to the car wash, and snuggled my girl in a sun-filled bed for her nap. We had friends over for dinner and it was delightful. The kids played together so very well, and picnicked in the yard with the sun glinting in their hair. We talked a mile a minute with our friends and had a simply fabulous time together. Thanks, weekend. You've been grand.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Happy Easter!

A day of dresses and eggs,  candy and ham, church and family...











And lest we forget that Saturday was a very busy day indeed, here are some shots from our trip to Rocky River Beach (it was a nice day!  We HAD to go to the beach!) and from dyeing eggs at Melinda and Will's house (thanks for hosting this year!)






Egg hunt!

Shortly after our late-night return to Ohio, I was struck with the realization that IT IS EASTER WEEKEND.  I hadn't even gotten the Easter box out yet...

After getting the kids to bed (you know, at midnight) I was down rummaging for Easter baskets because life stops for no mom and Saturday was the Egg Hunt at the Botanical Gardens and jet lag be damned, we were going to have a great time and take cute pictures.

Both the weather and the children cooperated.  It was a minor miracle.  Fearing snow, we ended up with a day balmy enough to eat out on the terrace as our children ran about in their Easter finery.  Things were a bit brown at the Gardens, but an early Easter can't be helped. We could see the tulips beginning to emerge and we will just have to go back and pose again in a few weeks.  We'll have to try again for the annual shot of all the kids, anyways, as all of our attempts this year turned out something like this:

I think this was the best of the lot.













Here are some pictures that turned out a bit better.
























Happy early Easter, everyone!