Texas Springtime

I have been loving every beautiful moment of spring this year. It's been so pleasant and we love spending every moment we can outside. 

I love my roses that are as big as softballs. It's the ugliest bush in the most awkward place in our backyard, and we don't really do much to care for it, but  they are beautiful! I'm having a hard time sharing them with the bees!

The Rowlett Creek Preserves have been visited many a time for a family hike. It's not the same as hiking a mountain in Arizona, but it'll do. 

Hooray! Hooray! For our swing set. It's so good to have something fun for the kids to do outside. 

The hammock is a new addition this year. I wish I could snag a few solitary moments to take a hang, but alas!

Park time is always fun, especially when we get to go with friends. 

I didn't have pictures to show our garden that seems to be thriving, our trip to the splash pad, or our bike rides. Life has been good to us this spring. 

Package from Grannie

The kids got an unexpected package from Grannie yesterday. Boy were they excited!!

It had puzzles and coloring books and bendy straws, gummy bears, and headbands for Ellie Texas. 

It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. Plus, the headbands accent Ellie's cuteness. She gets all sorts of compliments when she wears them around town. 

Homemade Rolls

I have a roll recipe that belonged to my great-great-grandma, Grandma Cluff. I think it makes the best rolls on the planet. This year I decided to offer to make rolls for $5 a dozen for Easter weekend. I got orders for 19 dozen! Plus making some for my family, I'll probably be making a total of 21 dozen rolls! 

I made and passed on 7 dozen today. Tomorrow will be a lot busier, but I've pretty much got it down to an art. It'll be just fine! It's been fun, too! (And I'm going to enjoy the extra cash for spending on our Europe trip later this year!)

Blastball

Hyrum is playing Blastball this spring. He is super super excited to be on the Blue Birds team. Just look at the smile on his face! 

He had his first game yesterday. He had so much fun hitting and fielding, even if he did get trampled a little bit as the entire team ran after the ball! He did a great job and had a superb attitude. 

What impressed me the most was his ability to listen to his coach. She told them that while they were in the dugout their bottoms needed to sit on the bench. I bet Hyrum was the only one who kept his little bottom on the bench the entire time. I told him I was proud of him for being such a good listener!

Park Time

A week or so ago (before it started to rain buckets and buckets) we went to the park. The big kids rode their bikes, we took sandwiches, and it was quite the adventure. 

Ellie loved the pebbles. She just sat and dug in them. I was afraid she might try to eat them, but we only had to tell her not to once or twice. 

Lindi is my little swinging machine. If there's a swing, she wants to be in it and she will do it until her legs fall asleep. 

I captured this moment and it just makes my heart so happy. Look at all those grins! Look at Lindi's big girl hair-do. Look at that Sydney, who I love having around as my sidekick. What a happy little family we have! We are so blessed!

A Dad and His Boy

Tony loves being a dad. He is so much better than me and snatching up the little, happy moments before they are gone. If he has a few spare minutes, he'll run outside and play catch with his boy, even in his suit!

His boy counts the days until "dad's day off." He takes those days seriously and expects a lot of fun to come out of them. I sure love my two boys!

What next?

It's been a rough couple of weeks... 

I think the lice came first. We treated it. We thought we were safe. 

Then I got mastitis. And not just painful mastitis, but fever, aches, and chills that sent me to my bed for a couple of days. I had to take antibiotics. 

Then the lice came back. 

Then the kids got coughs and boogers.  I thought Lindi had pink eye, but false alarm (thank goodness). 

Next Hyrum got strep. Poor kid. 

We kicked the lice in the butt because you shouldn't be nice to lice. (Thanks Kristen, for your help!)

So, if that wasn't enough, Lindi started having diarrhea. We're on day 3 or 4 of that. 

Then, today Ellie was diagnosed with an ear infection and a respiratory infection. It's not RSV, but it's no fun. We get to do breathing treatments and antibiotics and we'll be sleeping in the rocking chair.

What's next? 

Nothing, I hope! It's been rough. I think we've had our share.