Spring!

It finally is consistently feeling like spring here in Wisconsin.  Hip, hip, hooray!  With the warmer weather comes all sorts of spring and summer like activities.

The kids helped me plant the first round of the garden a little more than a week ago.  Broccoli plants, peas, potatoes, onions, and beets all went in the ground.  We haven't had enough rain since then to encourage the seeds to sprout, but I'm hoping it will happen soon.

After the broccoli finally went in the ground, more of our seed trays and growing lights were available to start tomatoes, peppers, and flowers.

Thursday night we had our first (small) harvest of asparagus.  More to come soon, I hope!

In the last week or so the kids have also been able to experience the outdoors again.  After we spent time planting the broccoli, Kate and Anna got into the water and the hose.  By the time they were completely soaked, Ethan wanted to join in.  Our well water is COLD, though, and he didn't last very long.

We have also gotten out the bikes again, with Matt and I being able to do some individual rides, Ethan getting comfortable on his little bike again, Kate trying to relearn how to ride without training wheels (she didn't have much practice with it last fall), and Anna being able to ride longer distances (like down to the park).

The kids and I met up with some friends on Wednesday after school at Olbrich Gardens.  It was a beautiful afternoon with plenty of flowers.  Ethan had already had a big day and was exhausted trying to keep up with the bigger kids; Anna ended up giving him a ride towards the end.

The kids and I also visited a local park yesterday afternoon; it's always been one of our favorites since it is right on the lake.  Inevitably, we end up sitting on the beach throwing rocks into the water for long periods of time.

Somehow, with all of these events going on, I have forgotten to take any pictures.  I'll have to be more conscious of this in the future.

On top of these activities, Kate had her first swim week at school this past week, even though she came down with a nasty cough/cold on Monday.  Regardless of colds, all the 1st graders were quite tired by the end of the week after walking to and from the high school each day, with 1/2 hour of swimming sandwiched in between those walks.  Ethan and I surprised Kate on Friday by showing up to watch her swim with her class.  She loves these kinds of surprise sightings during the school day.

Ethan also had his 3-year-old screening with the school district this week.  All kids in McFarland undergo this brief screening process of various skills to help identify any who may need extra help before Kindergarten.  Early intervention is the key!  Ethan, however, needs no early intervention.  He is well within the typically developing range in all areas.  The bonus for me this time around was that I already knew many of the therapists conducting the screening since they have worked/are working with Anna :)

Speaking of Anna, we had an interesting new experience on Friday night.  The McFarland PTO sponsors a "sock hop" for the Intermediate School (grades 3-5) in the spring.  I asked the girls on Friday if they were interested in going and they said sure; they're usually up for just about anything these days.  So after dinner, we donned some fancy knee-high socks and headed in to school.

My first impression of the dance held in the gym was that it was loud.  Then, as I watched the kids interacting with one another, I realized that before we know it, our girls will be "tweens", with all that implies.  Sigh.  I'm not ready for that.

Anna warmed up to the event faster than Kate, but that's pretty typical.  By the end of the night, Anna was having fun with a group of girls she knew in 2nd grade; Kate had also found a fellow 1st grade buddy and was thoroughly enjoying herself.

I'm glad we went.  It's always good to provide Anna with these opportunities, not just for her at this moment in time, but also to make sure she is still visible to her peers and their parents.  The more everyone sees her and interacts with her, the more comfortable they are with Anna.  Plus, I was able to meet some of Kate's classmates' parents ... finally!

One morning this week, we looked at the calendar to figure out how many more weeks of school we have.  The kids needed some extra motivation for the long weeks.  We learned that there are only six weeks left of school, and three of those weeks have only four days!  I think we're going to make it :)