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Sunday, May 15, 2016

A Little Summer in the Spring

A step back to see the whole thing.  Where did my yard go?!?!  :-)
We find ourselves waking up from a nice little nap on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  Piles of laundry are waiting to be folded..only to be work and dirtied and washed again.  The days are getting longer, yet there seems to be less and less time to get everything in!  The house is clean sometimes, and other times it feels like a whirlwind has swept through.  How does this happen?  How do four people go through so many dishes?  Such are the eternal questions of the suburban family man, I suppose.

This softball is signed by Weird Al Yankovich.  My Uncle Michael kept it in his freezer...because it was weird.  He sent it to me last week...so of course it now resides in my freezer.
Speaking of life in the suburbs, we had a play set installed this weekend.  Our backyard got a little smaller, but the adventures got a whole lot larger for the girls!  This afternoon we had a bunch of friends over, and our backyard felt like a playground for a while!  It was a blast!

I baked a lot last week.  Here is a batch of quad-chocolate cookies.
The countdown to summer is on, and the girls are ready for some days of rest and playing.  Baseball games, trips to the zoo, swimming, bike rides, and outdoor time are all on the horizon.  It will be different this summer, as I am running the summer school program in my school district.  However, I am still allowed some time and the level of intensity is much less.  It is a good thing.  I look forward to another year in my district, and am grateful to be given the opportunity to do so.  There is so much to do!  

The playscape people install the set!
So that is where we are at.  It is time to jump out of bed and attack the piles of laundry and get some work completed before the sun sets!  While it is still spring, summer is knocking on the door...and there is just a little more to do before we can exhale and slow our roll.

-a


The girls were SO EXCITED.  They laid on the floor watching them on Saturday morning!

IT IS DONE!  Despite the cold weather, the girls were still out there for an hour before I made them come in the house.


Audrey at a birthday party where they made soap and painted ceramic figures.

All the party girls.

Audrey and the silly fingers!

Chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon!  What a nice way to start a Sunday!

Today was a little warmer.  Phoebe is even excited about the play set.  

A new couch for our den.  The house is slowly coming together and each room is getting a personality.

Neighbors and friends visited.  Music is playing, kids are laughing, the patio furniture is out, and the sun is shining.  It feels like summer.

Sunday, May 8, 2016

A May Beginning

Mini-Golfing with the girls in Indiana


Violet and the Dragon

Doing the dishes, I look out my window to see a Violet Bird!

A close-up of the rare Violet Bird!

Roasting marshmallows in the fire pit.

Daddy/Audrey chillin

Silly face selfie!

Making cookies with Audrey.

Violet and a skeleton from Uncle Michael!



More memorabilia from the time capsule of 1996. 

Audrey with another flag of the week from Uncle Michael!

Kenosha, WI.  On the lakefront before the Wisconsin Half Marathon!

Kenosha sunrise.

Finishers get a beer and a brat.  I passed on both.  But man were these guys happy at 6:15am!

On the run back towards the finish, the weather looked like it might shift and bring us some rain, but it didn't.

On the road!

My post-race picnic with medal and cheese and bagels in hand!  

The view from my personal picnic place.  

I got my picture with the winner of the hand cycle!  

Phoebe getting crazy in the backyard!

Got my magazine and a fire going on a Saturday.  Life is good!

The cousins in South Bend, IN.

Audrey and cousin Spencer.

Violet trying to look fierce.

PLAY BALL!  Working on the batting stance with daddy!  My little slugger.