Monday, March 31, 2014

Red Tractor

Day 90/365
We spent most of the afternoon outside, soaking up the warm sunshine and temps. I snapped a few pics of our neighbor Herb's Farmall while on a walk. I'm a John Deere girl at heart, but I do love the bright red paint on this tractor.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Yellow Crocus

Day 89/365
We have flowers blooming in our yard! We came home from church this morning and found these little lovelies there to greet us. Now it feels like spring really IS on its way!

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Tire Swing

Day 88/365
We had a lovely, sunny day and ventured to the park to scooter and explore the playground. It was wonderful to hear the giggles and shouts for more from the kids on the tire swing.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Cousins

Day 86/365
Oh, these cousins have had a fantastic week together. We don't want to say goodbye tomorrow, even though we know it's time for us to go home. I am so thankful that I could spend the week with these awesome kids!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Bowling Fun

Day 85/365
We worked hard on school work this morning and were rewarded with a couple of games of bowling this afternoon. I had fun taking pictures of the kids in action, and I scored over 100 on one of my games - not too shabby.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Making Dinner

Day 84/365
The kids made a delicious dinner tonight. They all worked hard and contributed to the meal - I was amazed at their teamwork. I love how this picture shows the busyness in the kitchen just before dinner was served.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Lego Mania

Day 83/365
The Lego enthusiasts have been busy building the sets that Grandpa Bruce bought for our visit. Jevin is proudly displaying today's creation.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Canoe in Snow

Day 82/365
Just in case you were wondering, spring has not arrived in northern Minnesota.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Vine in Silhouette

Day 81/365
A beautiful (but frigid) Minnesota sunset over Rose Lake.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Catching Bubbles

Day 80/365
We had a little fun blowing bubbles and catching them. I love this little stack of bubbles clinging to each other, hanging on to the bubble wand just before the "pop."

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Welcome, Spring

Day 79/365
There may be snow on the ground, but the calendar tells me that spring is here! I am looking forward to flowers blooming, green grass growing and warm breezes. Until we can fully embrace spring, we will take what we can get, which is the promise of spring in the air.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Leaf in Snow

Day 78/365
We had a brief episode of flurries this morning. The air was filled with those big, fat, wet flakes that tend to fall in late winter. We were all feeling a little disappointed to see more white stuff on the ground, but the fresh snow didn't last long. Most of it has melted already, so we only the have the dirty, old snow left. I did take a few moments to walk outside while the flurries were falling and I found this leaf nestled in the new snow accumulating at the base of one of our big ol' maple trees.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Collage: Week 11

Whew! I was behind on making my weekly collages, but now I am all caught up. It's fun for me to look back at the pictures that I've taken over the last three weeks. We sure have packed a lot of stuff into our days.

Collage: Week 10

Collage: Week 9

Flyin' High

Day 77/365
Oh, the joy of swinging in the sunshine! No doubt about it, spring is in the air.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Linked

Day 76/365
I took some shots of the chain links that support the swings on our swing set. I'm not sure why, but I really like this picture. I guess it's because it makes me think of how my life is intertwined with so many others. I am thankful for all of those special people who help to support and love me, each in a unique way. I pray that I can do the same for them.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Scooters

Day 75/365
While it was sunny today, it was still pretty cold. We've had a taste of spring, however, and we are not willing to go back to winter! The kids took their scooters out this afternoon, racing up and down our street. Their cheeks were pink from the wind and cold by the time they were done.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Coloring

Day 74/365
We've had a busy Saturday with running errands and watching a movie as a reward for hard work and good behavior over the last few weeks. Before we left the house this morning, Enavi enjoyed some quiet coloring time. I love that focused look!

Friday, March 14, 2014

Yellow Spider Mum

Day 73/365
We picked up some flowers at the grocery store today and I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of this bright yellow spider mum. It looks so springy, and we are SO ready for spring! While we were driving home from the grocery store Jevin said, "I wish there was a magic word that I could say and all of the snow would disappear, because I would say it right now. I think everyone is ready for the snow to be gone." I couldn't agree more.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Morning Coffee

Day 72/365
I am thankful for my morning coffee, a hot cup of caffeine to start my day. And, yes, I proudly drink out my Christmas mugs year round, especially when they are the only clean mugs in the cupboard.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Blue Sweatshirt

Day 71/365
Jevin, hanging out in his favorite blue sweatshirt. I love those blue eyes and that little half-smile. He is growing up so fast!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Piano Practice

Day 70/365
We had a ho-hum kind of day here, the skies gray and overcast with drizzly rain. We tackled school and cleaning. Enavi and I worked on cleaning out her dresser and toy chests. We aren't quite done, but it feels good to begin the spring cleaning purge. I snapped this picture while Jevin was practicing piano and I especially liked how it looked in black and white - a lot of good contrast. I'm hoping we'll get some more cleaning done tomorrow, and maybe see some sunshine, too.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Apple Pie

Day 69/365
Some days you just gotta make apple pie, for no other reason than it just sounds good. I made the crust from scratch, using a new recipe, and was really disappointed with how difficult it was to roll out. I did, however, snap a few pictures of these lovely Granny Smiths before I peeled and sliced them. They did not disappoint me at all, and the pie is scrumptious - especially with vanilla ice cream on top.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Making Pasta

Day 68/365
The laundry is almost done and I made it to the grocery store - we are readjusting to normal life at home. There is always a post-vacation transition period that involves lots of patience on my part. I'm hoping our first day back to school goes well tomorrow. Today, however, we are still on vacation time; the time change didn't help, either. Davin and the kids made pasta for a really late lunch/early dinner (linner?). They enjoyed breaking out the new pasta machine and making fettuccine noodles from scratch. Messy, yes, but also delicious!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Sunset at Home

Day 67/365
We made it home in time to see the sunset. It feels great to be home and I'm looking forward to tackling laundry and grocery shopping tomorrow. For tonight, I am just happy to be here and I'm thankful for safe travel back to Wisconsin.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Rock City

Day 66/365
We had a long day in the car, but stopped at Rock City just outside of Chattanooga for a break. We loved walking the trails and enjoyed the beautiful overlook. Supposedly, you can see seven states from the top of the cliff. I'm not sure if I could actually spot all seven, but it was a breath-taking view. We're less than eight hours from home! We'll push on tomorrow and hopefully be home before bedtime.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Daytona Beach

Day 65/365
We finished up our stay at Disney by visiting the Downtown Disney area. We made stops at the Lego store (a big hit with several of the kiddos) and the Disney store to make our last minute purchases. It was raining most of the day, so it was a good day to say good-bye and the rain made it a little easier to leave. We made a detour to the ocean and stopped at Daytona Beach. Since the weather was cool and overcast, we had the beach pretty much to ourselves. The kids splashed in the waves, collected shells and built sand castles. It was out of our way, but I am so glad that we made time to see the ocean.

A Full Day at Disney

Day 64/365
We had a very full day today. We visited three of the Disney parks - Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom. We finished off the day with the Main Street Electrical Parade and rides at night in the Magic Kingdom. We had a great time watching the parade and fireworks, plus we were able to ride all of the rides we wanted to with no waiting. We were all giddy with excitement and the kids did really well - no complaining even though it was a very late night for them. It was my favorite part of the trip so far.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Magic Kingdom

Day 63/365
We made it to the Magic Kingdom today and had fun on lots of rides. I caught this pic of the kids on the Mad Tea Party ride. I love the look of joy on their faces and you get the feel of the spinning on the ride. It's not a perfect picture, but I do love those smiles!

Monday, March 3, 2014

Epcot

Day 62/365
We ended our day at Epcot with an amazing fireworks display.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Florida

Day 61/365
We have truly been enjoying the lovely Florida weather today. We've seen green grass, colorful blooms on trees and even got to go swimming OUTSIDE! :) What a wonderful way to spend the first week of March! I spotted some magnolia trees at our hotel this morning and I took some pictures of the vibrant flowers. We made it to Disney World and visited Hollywood Studios this afternoon, as you can see from the second picture. We put in a full day and we are all tired, looking forward to a restful night's sleep and Epcot tomorrow.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

On the Road

Day 60/365
We had a very long day in the car, but the kids were troopers (especially considering how little sleep they had last night). We were in four different states today! We started out in Illinois, travelled through parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. Davin and I split up the driving while the kids tried to spot license plates from all 50 states (Oh, that elusive Hawaii!), worked on a scavenger hunt, read Mad Libs (How many times can we fit the words "stinky", "fart" and "toilet" into one story?), listened to Shiloh and watched a couple of movies. While today was long, we will appreciate the big push tomorrow. We are on track to arrive at Disney in the early afternoon. Florida is just a hop, skip and a jump away!