Eggs and Strawberries

Even though Easter was in April and not March, it still seemed to come out of no where and suddenly happen. The busyness of travel and other commitments kept us from enjoying some of our special Easter traditions, but we still made effort to enjoy a couple of them.

Rather than take our annual Easter Nature Scavenger Hunt with just our family, I organized an afternoon for a picnic and a scavenger hunt with our home school co-op. The more the merrier, and 30 kids hunting for nature items to tell the Easter story was a lot of fun.

I stuffed about 100 eggs with coins and Grady hid them around the yard for our kids to find Easter afternoon. Hunting for treasure never gets old - just as my older boys who are still die-hard about finding eggs.

Thankfully no one made a fuss about missing our neighborhood egg hunt - even if they didn't get baskets full of Easter candy. I decided they get candy and sweets from too many people too many times during the week and that coins was the way to go. My plan worked wondrously until I overheard Micah exclaim that he couldn't wait to buy M&Ms with some of his money.

Our Easter celebration service with church was wonderful - joyful praise and worship to our LIVING Savior. Because if Christ is not alive, then there is no hope, purpose, or value in life. Praise him that he is alive, offers hope, gives purpose, and creates value in life!

Another favorite spring tradition is picking strawberries. Lots and lots and lots of strawberries. With four fast-working pickers it doesn't take long before we have several pounds of red, juicy goodness.

Total side note, but notice this handsome young man in glasses?! His face matured about five years when he put those on and I almost cried in the middle of the optometrist. He doesn't need them all the time, but has been wearing them a lot initially to get used to them.

And to read signs. Every. Single. Sign.

All. The. Time. I can't even.

This 'lil man was a hot mess of red juice, sticky mud, and bug spray-scented sweat. But he was, by far, the cutest three-year old there and he was oh-so-proud of every big berry he picked so I decided to keep him and bring him home with me anyway.

No bugs, overcast sky, and we landed in a time between umpteen field trip buses. And, major plus, all kids picked actual ripe berries this year and I didn't end up paying for white berries, moldy berries, or the occasional rock thrown in for a collection at home. Win.

We may have spent more time playing and enjoying farm animals than actually picking strawberries. The older two were focused on continuous rounds of tether ball, and the younger two thought the grainery slide was the best thing ever.

Me? I personally went for the strawberry slushy and the funnel cake. In fact, I'm considering round two of picking later next week so that I can have another fabulous mid-morning snack. 

Red, Juicy Goodness

It's THAT time of year again. Red, ripe, juicy, fresh strawberries! And, as an added bonus, Grandpa and Grandma joined the fun too.

Strawberry shortcake. Strawberry muffins. Strawberries on waffles. Strawberries in smoothies. Strawberries as snacks. Check, check, check, check, and check!

I don't remember how many pounds we picked, but with four sets of eager hands it didn't take long. And thankfully, Grandpa managed Jaxton's picking so I wasn't paying for sticks, stones, and unripe strawberries tossed into his basket.

With a sunny sky, a mild temp, and a light breeze it was perfect for berry picking. Likely our first visit of one or two more yet this season... out family can put away fruit like it's candy!

(Local friends, visit Hall Family Farm for more details.)

Spring Happenings

Spring sprung in late February and we've been enjoying pollen-filled sneezes and itchy throats ever since. Flowers and buds are beautiful, but the yellow haze that lingers everywhere - well, not so much.

And, since spring has long since sprung, we've got momentum for summer. With 25 school days left, we're getting ready to end some extracurricular classes, put some workbooks away, and transition into days at the pool.

In between some spring travel, we've been focused on school projects, baseball and soccer practices, and playing outdoors every waking moment before the heat of summer arrives. Cap guns seem to continually echo in the backyard woods as my boys run wild, and Annalyse and Jax have gathered numerous bouquets of dandelions that I proudly display until they go to bed that night. Then, oddly enough, they disappear.

Earlier in March I turned a certain-age-that-is-quickly-approaching-40 and my handsome husband will enjoy his happy birthday in another week. Obviously since I'm his elder he should submit to my authority.

We also hosted an Easter dinner and enjoyed having two other families join us for the day. Annalyse took charge of setting the dining room table "all fancy with the glasses that have the skinny part on the bottom, the pretty napkins, and all the small salt and pepper containers."

As the official school year winds down, Annalyse will happily count to 100 by ones, twos, fives, and tens anytime you ask. But, ask her to read and she clams up and defiantly tells you she can't, even though she can. She's not a fluent reader, by any means, but she has taken huge strides and come a long way.

Jaxton can count to 10, sing the ABC's, and is starting to get the hang of wearing big boy undies. Come summer when I'm not focused on school I think I'll put effort into potty training. Right now, he is the neglected fourth child that is almost 2 1/2 and still in diapers.

The boys have LOVED being a part of a Nature Explorers Class for two hours every week. They've enjoyed kayaking, low ropes courses, archery, nature hikes, and their favorite: horseback riding. They are now scheming to figure out how we can either buy a home with a yard big enough for a horse, or who we can become friends with that will "store a horse for us."

Since April arrived, Grady has begun his work season of travel. He's out and about several times each month until August, and fingers crossed, I hope to join him a time or two. While he's gone, I've repainted the dining room and recovered the dining chairs. Let's see how long it takes for him to notice. Five bucks says he'll never know until he skims the Visa statement and wonders why there's a Home Depot purchase.

A full spring, for sure! I'm thankful for a husband who enjoys being active with our kids, for friends who step in to help when Grady travels, and for kids who are usually pretty flexible to roll with the flow and try new things. We are loyal to a consistent routine, but eager for spontaneous adventure.

Nature Field Day

I may have mentioned a time or two - or twenty - that I really like where we live. Part of that involves having Lake Wylie mere minutes from our house. One of Charlotte's larger nature preserves happens to be close to home, on the lake, and offer numerous homeschooling programs. So, you guessed it, we spend a lot of time there.

This past week my boys joined 30 other home school kids for a field day of sorts. An hour fishing, and hour kayaking, an hour taking a nature hike, and an hour roasting hot dogs and playing games. It was a great day making new friends, being outside, and getting to call it an official school day.

My boys were disappointed no one in their group caught any fish, but there were pretty excited to see several herons swoop down to catch fish, and a mamma goose swim in front of the dock with her string of goslings in tow. And Annalyse was sure to let everyone know she discovered "some very big turtles taking a nap on a log." We were told about a fox den with two new kits, but stare as we may, we never caught sight of them.

And while all of this sounds delightful and fun, there were plenty of gaaaah! moments, too. Discipline issues. Taste tests with sand and pine cones. Bossy wannabe mommy. Spilled lunch plate. It all comes with the territory!

Our school year is technically over and we've started summer break. Other than practice math drills and some language exercises, my boys have low-key days ahead of them. No doubt this means lots of playtime at the lake!

A Perfect Morning

Sunny skies.

 Steady breeze.

 Upper 70's.

  Friends.

 Open space.

 Fresh air.

 Work that's play.

Picnic lunch and football and playgrounds.

 And, some strawberry picking.