Right Now:

 Nightly dog snuggling.  Jon's best friend.

 Birthday, Mother's Day, and other assorted sewing projects.  All spread out in the dining room/school room/sewing room.  Maybe we should call it the multi-purpose room.

 Joanie has been a busy sewing machine!

 All of the flowers are blooming.  Even the jasmine on my front porch.

The garden is producing peas, greens, onions, and salad.  Lots of beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, carrots, and melons have sprouted.  I have high hopes for this garden!

Strawberry Season

It started early this year, that strawberry season.  With the rain we had this weekend, we've only been able to go pick once so far.  But with warmer weather predicted, I'm sure we'll be back to it very soon.

What better breakfast during strawberry season than strawberry shortcake?  There's none better, we say.  With lots and lots of whipped cream.

Chincoteague Part II

 Playing in the water together.

 A radar plane at Wallops NASA base.  It was making the weirdest sound!

 Ponies, ponies, ponies!

See the baby?

Chincoteague Part I

  Sarah in the surf.  This child has no fear.

 Madeline tolerating our foolishnes.

 Check out the death grip.  Again, no fear.

 Jack was Sarah's willing partner in getting really wet and going W-A-Y out in the water.

 These pictures were taken the first day that we arrived on the island.  We checked into our hotel, rented our bikes, and rode out to the beach on Assagteague Island.  After several hours of beach, we rode home, very wet and very sandy.  I'm glad that I didn't have to vacuum that hotel room!  A certain child who has been plagued with allergies and is certain that he suffers from asthma (a boy on his baseball team has asthma and uses an inhaler) kept us awake until 3:00 AM with his coughing and sniffing, so that wasn't fun.  But, heck, we're on vacation so it's really all good.

Sarah's Peculiar Habit

Sarah loves books. She will happily perch herself in a lap (mine, preferably), suck her finger, and listen to stories being read to her. She enjoys a wide range of genres too, which makes reading with her a real joy. There is, after all, only so many Dr. Seuss or Elmo stories that a Mom can read without wanting to toss the book out the window of a moving vehicle. We'll read fiction, non-fiction, and even some biographies--if the pictures are cool enough. Yep, reading books is definitely one of our favorite things to do.

Where am I going with this? Well, it seems that Sarah is a book-sniffer. She has the peculiar need to smell the books before we read them. As in, "Wait, Mom. I need to smell the book before you start." Seriously. Out of curiosity, I've smelled a few myself, just to see what the deal is. I can't decide if she's searching for a specific scent, like new book smell, or if she's smelling to determine if the book is old and musty. She never comments on the sniff result either. No "This book is stinky," or "This book smells funny." Just sniffs and moves on.

Weird, huh? Sorry there are no photos to accompany this post.

Weekend

Pack Baby?

The Ergo has a weight capacity of 40 lbs. but no age restrictions. Jon exceeds the weight for sure.

This picture was taken last night, after our walk in the woods. Sarah rode for a portion of the jaunt, and then Jon complained of being tired of walking. Like any good mom, I suggested a ride in the pack. He obliged. Love the salute.

Tired

On our way.

Waiting for the egg hunt to begin.

Practicing?

Just Bill.

These pictures are from this past weekend at our favorite Easter egg hunt. Despite having to maneuver around other parents who insisted upon participating in the hunt (and stealing the eggs from the littles), we had a nice time. The contents of the eggs pretty much stunk, so most of it ended up in the trash can at home. Our dentist would be relieved to hear that. These are the only pictures, as my camera battery died just before the start of the hunt.

Trying to recover from several nights of a wide-awake toddler and a paranoid 8 year old ("So you CANNOT catch diseases from puppies?" or "I got soap in my mouth while I was taking a shower. Is it poisonous?" or my personal favorite, "I think I touched Sarah's slobber and then accidentally put my fingers in my mouth.") I'm pretty sure there's a full moon out.