It's nearing the end of April and I'm so excited for spring and the warmer weather that has finally arrived. Winter clung to us with an extra strong grip his year and it wasn't easy. This season of life with little kids in the house makes not being able to go outside regularly all the more insanity inducing. Next year my sweet Isaiah will be 1 during winter and darn it all we'll be out in that flipping snow. We are also planning on going on at least 2 vacations to warm places next year... and hopefully each year after for as long as we're able. Winter in Michigan is simply too long.
That being said, I'm now moving on because it's ALMOST MAY. Heidi's donuts and lilac blooms and walks with my boys... ahh. I opened all the windows in the house today and it still smells of outside upstairs even though I closed them a few hours ago. As I was sweeping out my mudroom earlier I thought to myself, spring is my favorite season. I don't know if that's truly true, or if I am just a little happier than normal of it's arrival. Either way, spring is new life and I'm enjoying it. We have lilac bushes right outside our kitchen window and when it's open the beautiful floral scent fills half of the house and it's simply delightful. At least, I imagine it is. Last year was our first year in the house and my morning sickness hit at the exact time the lilacs bloomed. It was horrible actually. I was still getting used to the house and our "smell" hadn't permeated it's walls yet. You know, how each family kind of has their own smell? Yea, the house still smelled old and foreign, so combine that with cooking food and strong lilac and you can imagine how barfy I was feeling last spring. But I digress.
Today I gave Julian and Gabriel popsicles and they enjoyed them sitting on the porch in the warm breeze. My boys love it outside. Isaiah was a little fussy so I moved him outside too and he calmed right down. We blew bubbles for a bit and then came back inside to tidy up our back room that just got remodeled with fresh paint and new carpet. I'm feeling so blessed right now!
Some goals Dave and I have for this summer are to find fun things to do as a family, things that the kids will enjoy that we will also enjoy. Let's face it, it's so not easy when kids are little! We have the added challenge of our children's ages being spread apart so they are into different things and that can make finding family activities a little complicated. Dave and I also want to find a little more adventure with just each other, because it really is hard to stay excited about cleaning the house, earning a paycheck and going through the monotonous routines children need day in and day out. We really do love it and know we're blessed, but we want more adventure outside the house with each other. So this is what we've come up with so far:
Kayaking
Bike riding with trailers hitched to the back
Family walks and hikes
Barnes and Noble/ bookstores
Parks that are safe where small kids don't need constant intervention
Hotel overnights
New restaurants
More friends over
In-state travel (and out-of-state travel this coming winter because, snow)
And we're working on more ideas!
We are open to any and all ideas, so if you have any of your own drop a comment!
Happy Spring!
Lindsay
