Playing at the Lake

Our friends the Lamberts . . .

. . . invited us to their relative's lake house today.

The kids had a great time splashing in the water . . .

. . . except for Todd, who preferred to watch the proceedings from dry land.

I'm not sure whether that was because he's still getting the hang of swimming,

or just because he didn't feel like getting wet.

 After lunch, Daniel the Game Master

led the boys in a make believe video game.

Or maybe it was imaginary D&D?

Whatever it was, they had fun. :)

Bunnies and Birds

Springtime is in full swing these days,

and it's fun to see the wildlife that has woken up

or returned to town.

Bunnies munching the clover in our lawn

(I wish we could convince them to eat all of the 

mouse-eared hawkweed instead) . . .

 

. . . and birds building nests to start families.

One pair decided to build their nest in our expertly painted garage lamps.

While I admired their good taste,

I figured I'd better turn the light on all day

so they could see how hot it can get in there.

They took the hint and relocated.

A Long Game and a Long Nap

The upstairs rooms are heating up as we approach summer,

so Daddy decided to buy a bed

that he could set up in our nice, cool basement.

He assembled it last night,

then he spent most of today sleeping in it

because he tested positive for COVID this morning.

Meanwhile, the kids tried out a new board game

called Mage Knight.

It's a really complicated game . . .

. . . and they were still playing it four hours later.

They asked if I wanted to play next time.

Um, no thanks.

Staying Home with Our Local Peeps

We had a road trip to Maryland planned for this weekend,

but Anna is still technically contagious for COVID,

so we had to cancel the trip.

We were really disappointed, 

but we tried to make the best of it . . .

. . . by spending the afternoon playing

Squishmallow soccer on the trampoline . . .

 

. . . and heading to Cold Stone after dinner.

Todd looks happier than a Peep in a pond.

Daniel looks happier than . . . um . . .

I'm not sure I want to know.

But hey, I'm glad he's happy.

Another Squishy Day

Today is the 3rd anniversary of the day

we expanded our squishmallow herd from one to four,

so each of our kids could have a cuddly friend to play with.

To commemorate the beginning of so much fun and imagination . . .

. . . Joy and Filo the Rabbit (who loves to bake)

decided to make some muffins 

from a mix someone recently gave us.

It was surprisingly hard to get that little box open . . .

. . . but they persevered!

Luna wishes everyone another year

filled with creativity and friendship!

And also sugar.

A Real Live Recital

For the first time since we started taking lessons with Mrs. Bates 

at the beginning of 2020 . . .

. . . our family attended an actual piano recital

in an actual room

with actual people.

Todd played a Suzuki Book 2 song named "Short Story."

He practiced hard and did a good job.

Daniel chose to play "Rhapsodie Mignonne" by Carl Kolling.

It's a cool piece, and Daniel really worked to polish the dynamics

(the spots where a song gets louder or quieter, faster or slower)

that give songs personality.

Anna didn't think she was going to be able to perform in the concert at all

because she is still technically contagious for COVID.

She was so disappointed, but thankfully

our teacher said Anna could come and play 

her soothing Suzuki Book 4 song "By the Limpid Stream"

if she was very careful to social distance when she wasn't on stage.

While the students were performing, 

I noticed some teenagers in one of the upstairs rooms

who couldn't resist listening in.

I think that's a testament to how well the students had learned their pieces.

Parents will listen to their kids play anything,

whether the pianists play well or not. 

If random strangers want to listen too, you know the musicians

are doing a good job.

Wishful Thinking

 These towels . . .

. . . made me chuckle, but you have to admit 

it would be pretty awesome if Alexa could do that.

Nutella Face

The school bus is coming soon.

What should Todd take care of first?

His bed-head hair . . .

. . . or the Nutella smudges from his toast?

May Flowers

A few of the trees in our front yard are kind of scraggly-looking.

Sometimes I wonder why the former owners planted them.

Then spring comes along, and the pretty flowers answer my question.

April is when a lot of plants wake up around here,

and May is when many of them bloom,

like these flowers I saw

in the grass near our library today . . .

. . . and these ones blooming on a canvas at a local cafe.

I have great respect for painters who can reproduce what they see

in nearly photographic detail,

but I also love when an artist brushes simple strokes of color onto a canvas

and creates a minimalist scene that is still recognizable

and beautiful.

Maybe I like that style because it seems likes something

I might actually be able to do someday.

Little Hammock, Geeky Toga

When spring arrived this year. . .

. . . I bought a hammock chair

to hang from our pine tree.

It's a nice place to relax,

enjoy the nice weather . . .

. . . and stuff a pillow in your face,

if you feel like it.

Speaking of doing things a little differently,

Joy cut up a Minecraft sheet to make a toga

for her high school Latin club's annual banquet tonight.

She won the "best costume" award among the first-year students.

Trails, New and Old

The weather has been warm and dry lately,

so I decided to revisit "Standing Water Trail" . . .

. . . (AKA Two Brothers Trail).

Once all of the water finally soaks into the ground,

it's actually a rather pleasant trail . . .

. . . with lots of interesting plants,

like this jack-in-the-pulpit,

growing next to the path.

Later in the day,

Daddy, the girls, and I went for a bike ride

to a nearby neighborhood

with a great view.

The girls found a little path of their own at the end of a cul de sac,

so they decided to go exploring.

I love that we live in a place where we can go take a walk in the woods

whenever we feel like it.

Bird Talk

Do you ever imagine your pets

having conversations with each other?

Tia: "What are you doing?"

Cici: "Nibbling this yummy wood toy."

Tia: "Is it free range wood?"

Cici: "Hmm, I don't know."

Tia: "Pfft.  I'll bet it isn't even organic."

Cici: "Ew! Gross!"

Cici: "So, do you want to try it?"

Tia: "Um, no."

Cheese and Twigs

Today is Mother's Day . . .

. . . and the men in our ward provided a nice brunch for all of the women

during the second hour of church.

I loved the Boursin cheese 

on this charcuterie board . . .

. . . but my favorite thing on the buffet table was the centerpiece. 

It made me chuckle to see that some man had snapped branches

off of a flowering tree in his yard,

and haphazardly stuck them in a vase as a "bouquet."

It was a thoughtful gesture,

but it also struck me as an extraordinarily masculine approach

to flower arranging.

Filling the Void

When we moved into our house three years ago,

I got rid of a weird, pink picture

which hung high on the wall of our family room . . .

. . . but I've really struggled to find something to replace it with.

When I heard that Hobby Lobby was having a big sale on wall decor this week,

I decided to drive up there and see what I could find

to liven up our big, sad, empty wall.

"Hmm.  That has potential . . ."

". . . and I like this design.

I'll take them both, and see which one looks better."

My kind husband hauled out the ladder,

and held each decoration up so I could see how they looked.

The flowery one was too small for the space . . .

. . . but I liked how the larger, simpler design looked.

Hooray for Hobby Lobby

and helpful husbands!