The crocuses are in bloom, so we've all got the itch to prune and dig and plant! Two Saturdays ago we put in our spring garden. We planted peas, lettuce, carrots, beets, and radishes. And a golden delicious apple tree. Everyone participated and it was a lot of fun to be outside working together.        Bryn thought it was super cool to till the garden bed up. Everybody helped hammer in nails to string twine between to mark the rows for the seeds. And the hole. Asa has been working on digging this hole for at least six months, and it is so deep! Only one person has fallen in accidentally so far.      Trimming back the raspberries.   Also, our forsythia is in bloom!

Nate invited us down for a little spring break visit to his work. The kids were excited to play on the dinosaur playground, and I was excited to see all the flowers. The gardens and trees are just breathtaking this time of year.

I am so glad to see spring again! Leah's hide and seek spot (notice the short sleeves!) It is wonderful to see all the birds returning! Here's a mourning dove checking out our bird feeder.  This year we've been delighted with this pheasant that has discovered our bird feeder. He is gorgeous - reminds me of some medieval tapestry. We've seen him several times. Peach blossoms. It's fun to go out and watch the honeybees working hard on our peach trees.

Lest you think I'm done being excited about spring, here's a picture of Leah and Addison looking out the kitchen window at the popcorn popping on our apricot tree. Every time Leah sees the tree, she says "popcorn!" with great enthusiasm. It took a while to convince her that it was not, in fact, actual popcorn, and we wouldn't be eating it. And now, on to the post. Our kiddos are growing and doing monumental things left and right. Sometimes I want it all to just slow down! They're getting so big so fast, and occasionally I feel like so much is going on that I'm missing it. Here are a few pictures of our big kids' latest feats. Firstborn first: Addison is somewhat notorious around our house for not enjoying chores. Don't get me wrong, he does them daily, and has gotten pretty quick at them, but you won't ever see him scrambling for the chance to do extras. Well we recently got an awesome book from the library about all sorts of plants ...

Today it is supposed to be 65 degrees and sunny! I love it! Cute little toes are running bare through the grass and pasty white arms are coming out to get their first taste of sun. I've enjoyed watching the kids notice the changes happening outside this year. For some reason I think we're more aware than we have been in the past. Last year just as winter set in, some friends of ours, knowing how much Bryn loves birds, made us some birdhouses. Just because. Isn't that the nicest thing in the world? We finally got around to hanging them up a few weeks ago, and were thrilled to discover that at least two of them have occupants! Little chickadees in the one out the dining room window, and a mom and dad sparrow out the kitchen window. Yesterday our sparrows were making their nest. It was so fun to watch. And today, Bryn hopped out of the car and squealed with delight. I actually thought she'd gotten her fingers crushed in the sliding door. But no, she'd...