Spring (!) and more (!)

Spring has finally sprung here in Madison! We have been waiting SO long for days like this ... daily trips to playgrounds, no hats or gloves or boots, being able to play outside after dinner, flowers blooming ...


I think we could finally say about midweek last week that spring was finally here. By the weekend we had a true heat wave come through (it reached 80 degrees on Sunday!), and today is just beautiful.


The girls have been truly excited about all of the signs of spring; they remind me every day how special this time of year is :) They love checking on the flowers that are coming up and looking for sprouts in the ground or buds on the trees. They're also very in tune to the different birds that are out and about, thanks in part to our weekend at Grandpa and Grandma's.

One fun thing we've done this year is designate some of our stuffed animals as "outside toys". This way the girls can bring some of their make-believe and pretend games outdoors with them. Horns (Anna's cow) and Lake (Kate's coyote) have been to many playgrounds already this spring. I think they're going to need a good washing one of these days.


We had a playdate cancelled this morning so the girls and I headed to the state park for a hike. What a beautiful morning! Anna is getting to be a pretty good hiker, but she still gets tired by the end of our hikes. This morning tired her out enough to take a nap this afternoon (which is why I'm able to post something on the blog right now). Kate, on the other hand, is good for about 5 or 10 minutes, and then wants to ride in the backpack most of the rest of the time. We'll keep working on it, for her sake and mine :)


I'm getting a bit antsy about planting the garden this year. Last spring was much earlier and warmer than this year's and by mid-April last year I had about a third of the garden planted. This year I have only one row of peas planted and some spinach and lettuce in. The rest will be able to go in soon, right?

In addition to the arrival of spring, we're dealing with lots of decisions in our house right now. For those of you who didn't know, we're planning on putting on an addition and remodeling the kitchen this summer. It certainly adds excitement and also a bit of anxiety about the decision making process to our lives. We can't wait to enjoy a larger kitchen and dining area!