Spring

So, Spring is here.  I don't have a lot of Spring decorations.  In fact, I looked around the other day and I realized, I don't have a lot of different or change-able decor.  I need to spruce things up a bit!!  I have gotten out of the habit of making or finding great decorative things. I love decorating for the seasons, but I guess the majority of those seasons are just Autumn and Winter. 

 

So I made a few things:  A very cool clock! {Thank you Carol!}

 

 

 

A very fun wreath!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A trendy table runner!

 

 

 

 

Sadie made an unexpected beauty!

 

 

 

 

 

I found... A very fun frame! {on sale at IKEA}

Still waiting on what I want to put in it. 

Sadie and I have planned a cool art project with watercolors and blowing through straws...maybe...

{will reveal that one later}

 

 Just getting started...the ideas are beginning to {blossom}!

 

 

 

Personal egg

Family night was rather fun tonight.  We made our own personal eggs.  I know it would be far prettier to have them all  match and be cutesy and look sophisticated in an awesome bowl, but Sadie and I thought it would be more fun if we painted our own egg.

 

So we went to Michaels and found 7 wooden eggs.

 

I called everyone in and they needed no instructions.  They just started to paint.

 

 

Kaleb had no interest in the project, so he and Sean did something else together.  He gave Sadie the OK to do his.  See that pink one...that's Kaleb's.

 

Kaleb's:  Pink

Kameron's: jack-o-egg

Amy's:  Concentric Circles

Sean's:  Hand print

Joel's: Bob

Keno's: complex circle and line/face egg

Sadie's: smooth silver 

 

 

The bobby pin

It must have been in January.  I was walking, with Sean in the stroller, home from a walk. I remember the place because it is right in front of Sadie's friends home. I was looking ahead of me, at the sidewalk, and I noticed something on the ground.  Hmmm...when I got closer I thought, oh look, a bobby pin on the sidewalk. I walked on and left it on the ground. 

A week later I was on that side of the street again and wondering if the bobby pin was still there, I kind of looked for it.  Yes! That little thing was still there!  Hmmm...I walked past it.  You know, after I walked past it, I got to thinking about that little bobby pin.  I started reflecting on our move and experience here in Castle Rock, Co. 

I expected there would be times of loneliness after a move. After the busy stage of getting everything unpacked, settling the kids into their routine, finding your way around the town and getting used to all the newness.  Even though I had expected it, doesn't mean I was prepared to handle it. 

It was difficult there for a while.  I have tried really hard to stay close to my Spiritual Strength lately. I do that by reading my scriptures and church magazines and praying.  But I have also tried to do my own type of meditation. I don't always have time to sit and ponder for a long time, so I try to do it when I am doing other things.  Like walking or running or mindless jobs, like filling the dishwasher or folding clothes.

At some point, a small idea came into my thoughts. Look for those other people who may be new or feeling left out and serve them.  It became stronger and stronger. So when ever someone needed a meal, through our church, I volunteered.  I started a playgroup. The young moms of our ward would all get together and chat while our children played. It helped a lot! And I  know it is the right direction.

So when I saw the bobby pin, twice, I thought...This bobby pin is like me.  I have felt left on the sidewalk more than couple of times since being here.  I thought I was useful! I thought I was important! I can do a lot of different things! I can be helpful...But still I have felt left on the sidewalk. 

Twice I saw that bobby pin and twice I left it on the ground.  Was the bobby pin still there to teach me a lesson? Others can feel like that bobby pin, too. Have I walked by that bobby pin, when I should have stopped? Have I been too wrapped up in the things around me to not notice the bobby pin?

I have thought of that bobby pin many times...almost every time I walk down that sidewalk to go on a walk or a run.  Is it gone? We have had a lot of snow and I am sure that things has been scraped off and tossed who knows where. 

Today I was walking back from taking the kids to school.  I wondered if there is any way the bobby pin could be there.  No....too much snow....But yes!!! It was there!  So you know what I did...I picked it up.  I am not going to pass by again and wonder if someone else will pick it up.  It was placed before me, I noticed it and I should do something about it.

There...my story of the bobby pin.  It is taped to my wall to remind me. Take what you would like from this story.  Or not.  It is always our choice.

Meterologists were right...

The big snow storm I was telling you about...it came this morning.  I woke up about 7 am to snow on the ground - almost covering the grass. It stayed with us until about 6pm tonight. 

Kameron and I went out about 1:00 and shoveled the driveway.  {It's better to stay on top of those things} By the time we were done, there was enough snow to cover the driveway again.  I walked away...Kameron is the perfectionist--he stayed and did the walks and whatever he felt he needed to clean off.  He went out again about 3:00 and did it again.

The wind was pretty gusty out there.  I am used to wind.  Growing up in Ellensburg, Washington - well you know wind.  Maple Valley gets some pretty good gusts in the winter time, too.  Enough to knock trees down and take out the power in the process.  It was forecasted to blow up to 30 mph today.  Without all the tall cedar trees to watch swaying in the wind, I guess they were right. No power outages yet...whew!

Here is our back yard at about 3:00 today.  Can you see the pond?  Not much, huh?!  Sadie loved the whole thing.  She has gone out two times today and stayed until her snow pants got wet {from the snow}



Our front door

Snow drifts in a nearby neighborhood.

I think we got about 12 inches today.  It was great! I was inside, watching the snowflakes scurry around. Read some in my book, took a nap, organized some cub scouts things, did puzzles with Sean...you get the picture.  An easy, warm day inside. 

Sunday:  today it is very sunny and bright.  The snow looks beautiful! The streets are bare and I guess the weather is going to try and get close to 70 degrees this week.  Yay!

I just don't mind snow storms like this...

 
 
 



don't eat the snow

 I think I can safely say the most kids have a tendency to eat the snow when they are out playing it.  Am I right? I know I did! Many times over. 

Sadie eating fresh fallen snow

Well when we went here last weekend, the snow looked bright white and very inviting.  So yes, the snow was eaten by Sadie.  I cautioned her many times to not do it...it was old snow and we don't know what has ran across it and did who knows what on it.  {It wasn't yellow, that I could see}

 

Well this is what happened to Sadie that night...her tummy did NOT like that snow and she ended up throwing up most of the night and then her system tried emptying it over the next few days, with terrible stomach cramps.  She doesn't look sick here, but those rosy cheeks are a bit too rosy.

I think Sadie will safely admit she will not be eating any snow for the next little while...

Her Daddy tells her it must have been squirrel pee....

 

 

March...

My understanding is that March is the wettest month of the year. When I say wet, I mean that wet comes in the form of snow.  Colorado is a dry state, so they take all the snow they can get.  Apparently, this is a low snow year, so far. 


Love it!! Bring on the snow!

Let me explain a few things about the whole snow experience. When it snows, it is cold, of course, and it will give us anywhere from a couple of inches to 8 inches. {our max thus far}.  Our neighborhood CCR's require that our driveway and sidewalks be shoveled within 24 hours of the end of the snowfall.  No problem.  When we went out to shovel it, I thought is was going to take forever! It was so light and fluffy that it didn't take us very long at all. No wonder people love to ski in Colorado, the snow is all powder!

This snow just will not melt...it's been there a while.

 BUT...a key to shoveling the driveway is to NOT back out the garage before you shovel.  Once a vehicle has backed out or driven in, forget getting those tracks off of the cement.  They are there until the sun comes back.  Our driveway faces North and so we had a chunk of ice from the said reason above, that stayed there for a good week and a half.  Nasty and annoying!

Might as well leave them out...

Once the snow has fallen, all you have to do is give it a day or two and the snow is gone from the major streets and all the sidewalks, lawns or just about anywhere the sun hits.  That sun is so awesome! Even when it is 35 degrees, when the sun is out and there are no clouds, it feels pretty nice - more like 40 degrees.  I'll take those 5 degrees any day!



The little pond in the back is frozen all winter...
hope the fish are ok.

Now that March is here, the thermometer has slowly crept up and we are nearing 60-65 degrees in the next week.  Yay!  But if you recall, March is the wettest month of the year.  So yes, there is snow in the forecast for this weekend. A bunch of it, too.  No worries, it will be cold this weekend but by Tuesday, the snow will be gone from the roads and we'll be back to 60 something.

Snow + Sun = ?

What do you do in the winter time when all the world is white?  Well when the sun brings the temperature up to a grand 50 degrees...naturally you do this...

Joel is targeted...

Near miss above Kaleb's head

Guster jumping after snowballs!



Must...climb...huge...rocks!



Must ...climb...trees!