Rites of Spring

Everyone knows the signs of spring - daffodils peeking out, tiny green buds bursting forth from every tree, clouds of white buds haloing Bradford Pear trees and of course the planting of the my garden.

After several long days and some tiring manual labor (largely donated by my husband) the garden is filled. We are trying a couple of new things this year - mounded rows and black weed blankets to keep the weeds at bay and the water from draining down the hill. From last year we brought back the tomatoes, basil, parsley, cilantro, peppers and rosemary and have added strawberries, carrots, cucumbers and broccoli. The garden was actually so full this year I had to put my herbs in potters along the side. Hopefully, I will get a bountiful crop this year. Stay tuned.

The March

Most children are lucky to be born with two sets of grandparents. My children are especially lucky because they have three. Along with Grandma and Grandpa and Nini and Dede, Greyson and Quinn have Lolli and Pops our friend Susanna's parents. The Knights have taken us into their family and them into ours and this past weekend was affirmation of that.

Lolli, prior to her retirement, spent the majority of her life working tirelessly to save babies through the March of Dimes. And even though she is 'retired' now she still fund raises and Marches for Babies every year. This past Saturday was the Gainesville FL walk and along side a memory marker for her own daughter Laura, who was taken far too young, Lolli erected this...


a memory marker for our Aydan. Words cannot describe how much this simple act meant to me, Raif and our parents.

Lolli, you are truly and extraordinary friend and honorary family member. Thank you from the bottom of all of our hearts. We love you.

Best Friends

We started vacation-palooza** off with a bang this weekend with the arrival of the Roberts clan. The arrivial of Susanna, Keith, Kinley, Blakely and Derby was met with much excitement. Kinley is Quinn's best friend (and Greyson's future wife if I have anything to say about it) Guinness and Cooper love playing with Derby and at this point Keith and Susanna are more like family then friends. Plus this was the first time we got to meet baby Blakely. So needless to say we have been waiting for this visit for a long time.

Quinn got to have her very first sleepover and was pretty much attached to Kinley the entire time.

Greyson was showered with attention from Ms. Susanna and found another guy to play sports with in Mr. Keith.

That left Raif and I to spend the weekend with a child who slept a lot, stayed where you left her and didn't once talk back (there are some things I miss about babies!!).

Best Friends Forever...


**I have dubbed this summer vacation-palooza because from now until August we pretty much are booked every weekend. Lots of fun but man are we going to be tired.

Sunday Rain

The sun did not shine
It was too wet to play
So we sat in the house
All that cold, cold, wet day.

I saw there with Greyson
We sat there we two
And I said "How I wish
We had something to do!"

After a beautiful 70 degree Saturday where we spent all day outside it was quite disheartening to wake up Sunday to cold, miserable rain. Though the Cat in the Hat did not step in on the mat we managed to keep busy.

We spent the morning working on a little modern art**


And in the afternoon Quinn and I enjoyed some quality girl time by stringing beads and making necklaces.


While the men went off by themselves and worked on some serious construction projects.


I think we had almost as much fun as if the Cat in the Hat had been here himself.

**Our art was inspired by my new favorite book "Kid Made Modern" It is a kid's arts and crafts book with a modern art twist and has a lot of great, easy ideas that break the traditional kid's craft mold.

Fruits of Their Labor

This past week saw the first glimmers of spring. The warm weather not only brought out the first buds of the year but the Erim gardeners as well. We spent last week and Saturday planting flowering bushes out front, strawberry plants in the garden and one very special project: the kids' very own blueberry bush. They filled the pot with dirt


helped plant the bush

and watered it.

They have been tasked to water it every day after school and hopefully in a few months they will be able to enjoy their very own blueberries.

G.O.A.L. (Part II)

Week 2 was slightly better than week 1. While Greyson cried most of the time, he was out there 'skating' and he finally got a crack at the puck. Even through his tears when I asked him if he wanted to come off the ice he said no. Hopefully this week will see even more improvement.

Spring Joy

A warm day with sunshine
Two energetic children with energy to burn
One twisty slide
Equals sheer joy