Spring in CA!

Warning: SO MANY PICTURES!

I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that our summer plans got turned on their ear when the timing didn't work out to visit my niece and nephew in Spain while we were going to be in Europe. Happily,  we discovered that they were coming to visit their mother and Grandparents in CA, so we crashed that party!

Todd flew out a few days early with Caleb and Lilyanna since that was significantly cheaper than waiting the couple of extra days that I had to with the older boys due to their concerts, rehearsals, and tests at school. On a Thursday night immediately after Nathaniel's band concert was over, we went to the Dayton airport where we hung out for 5 or 6 hours waiting for our 5:30 am flight. Incidentally, if you have to be in an airport all night before you go through security, Dayton is an excellent choice. Lovely lounge areas for sleeping!

 Or not sleeping. ;) 

We are so tired.

A view from the San Mateo Bridge. I swear fog like that only happens in the Bay Area. I love it there.

 When we arrived, I was told there were going to be some family pictures. Surprise! So, Grandma took the boys shopping for adequate clothing to wear and I went to sleep. I think I'd been awake for something like 36 hours at that point. There's something to be said for having extended family nearby. I went to sleep and the village took care of my children. It was a lovely thing.

 Nathaniel hates pictures. But the weather was so fantastic, even he couldn't master too much grouchiness about the day.

Lilyanna is ready to move to CA. She was VERY happy to wear her warm weather dresses and sandals again!

 My nephew's English is very good, and my niece's is getting better all the time, but when that fails, the universal language of gaming and technology takes over nicely. ;) 

 Do you see this grass, people?? Caleb kept taking off his shoes just to feel it in between his toes. We'd forgotten about grass here in Ohio. It's been so long.

Oh, yes, and here is Lilyanna with the orange tree in my in-laws backyard. When my father in law is feeling particularly feisty, he texts me pictures of it heavy laden with oranges. He sends it to me in February. I usually send a note back that is impolite at best.

This was taken right after my 12 year old niece tied with my 15 year old cross-country running son. We teased him about that for the rest of the trip.

Seriously. Caleb and Lilyanna are ready to pack up and move.

Sunshine! Grass! Blue skies!!

 There was a shopping day for the girls. They picked these shirts out separately and were excited to model them later. Lilyanna thinks Maite is the best!

 The best part was watching these cousins play together. They only get to see one another every few years, so it makes me happy that when they do, they are able to jump back in to friendship with one another.

Speaking of being silly together, we stayed up late one night to do this to Grandma's kitchen. ;)

Some pranks transcend language barriers nicely.

It was a lovely trip. And we are even more resolved that we need to go visit them in Spain in a few years before everyone is entirely grown up and it gets too tricky to do so!

Seven Things Sunday

1. This is what the first week of March seems to look like in central Ohio. *sigh* We are all so ready for spring and no more snow and ice. BUT, at least the sun is beginning to emerge and the cement gray skies will go away until next late fall finally. Oh happy day!

2.  And this is what a math test looks like at our house lately. A few months ago we switched over to an online math curriculum called ALEKS. It has made math time during the day a much happier experience. When I read the reviews about the program and it talked about how motivated kids were by a pie chart, I confess I did not believe it. But it's totally true! Caleb checks his pie chart all the time to see what he needs to work on to make pieces bigger. It's bizarre to me, but I'm really glad it's working for him!

3. I made my last payment at the hippie-commie preschool this week. Sad to be done being there daily, but Lilyanna is so excited to go to Kindergarten in the fall, that it feels right.

4. On Friday, we had the wonderful pleasure of meeting up with some friends that we were young marrieds with back in our pre-kid days in the Perth Amboy Branch. Serving together in that branch forged a friendship probably stronger than it would have been otherwise (seriously, refiner's fire, people!!), but we sure are glad that we get to touch base with them every few years! Our kids are such compatible ages, that it makes visiting with them fun for the whole family! Here are the kids (except Benjabooboo who had a choir competition and couldn't make it, and Warren who has his own life.).

5. Oh, and then there was this:

 My BABY turned 15 years old! I sure do like this kid and I'm glad he's mine.


6. I'm just going to leave this picture here and say that there is more to come regarding it.

7. I can't believe how quickly spring break is coming. We have just a few short weeks before our big hike!! Appalachian Trail, here we come!

Tomorrow I will...

plant the peas and lettuce!!!  After I clean out the garden bed and add in the compost that's been brewing since last summer!

I will also make a stab at cleaning out the garage.  Because it's terrifying.

I can FEEL spring coming!  I'm all energized about doing projects and getting dirty and that's after a week of my kids being on spring break while my husband was on a business trip and my dishwasher being broken!

I'm ready to do a happy dance out in the sunshine tomorrow!!

Did I mention that we got a light box this winter for Light Therapy for all of us?  It helped.  It really did.  I could tell the biggest difference in Caleb if he used it in the morning.  But that light was NOTHING compared to the real honest to goodness SUN!!  Caleb and I are both bouncing off the walls full of energy and ready to GOOOOO!

What are your plans for Spring?

Mo-ther!!

A few days ago, Benjamin and I were walking home from the playground. He was a bit ahead of me, and I was so happy to be out in the wonderful springtime sunshine, that I spread my arms and flapped them like wings while making goose sounds and crossing the road. When I caught up to Benjamin, he didn't even look at me, but said in the driest voice possible, "Well, THAT was uncalled for."

His response to my ridiculousness made me throw back my head and laugh, and then hug him to me quick before he grows up all the way.

Happy Spring!!