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The Youngest - Bike time (a duplicate from earlier in the week)

The Elder - We went from Winter to Summer in 3 days. Time for tank tops and shorts.
The Younger - A Boy in his natural habitat - Reading Lego Club magazine on the porch couch, and telling me about his day.
Joining Jodi for 52 portraits

Unintentional Adventure

This morning I had a little adventure. When I say little, it was actually much more of an adventure than I had planned, but still little compared to, say, camping or kayaking down the Mississippi.

I went to my favorite spot in Saint Paul this morning, and I noticed that the trails were a little too muddy to do any exploring (since I had The Youngest in the Ergo).
I decided I would just take a seat on a nearby rock and listen to the waterfall and photograph the scenery.
After I took the photo above, my phone tumbled end over end down into the gully.

Well, I climbed down to get it, it had fallen about 10 feet, and when I got down there I couldn't climb back up! It was just too muddy and the leaves were quite slimy under my feet.
There was nothing for it, I had to climb down and come back up the other side.

If you look carefully, you can see the path above where I slid down on my behinder. I thought about grabbing a loose hunk of limestone to use as a sled, but in the end it was just me and my jeans.

So, across the stream I went, over this log bridge,

 up the stone steps,

 past the ever-lovely Shadow Falls,

 up the second flight of stone steps,

 and up through the brush to the street level.

The park is about 3 blocks deep, and as I was traveling around the outer edge of it, I saw this much easier pathway in. Perhaps next time...

What unintended adventures have you had lately?

Dare I Say It?

I know what you're thinking; "Where's the snow?"
Well, it might have happened. We might be making the transition into Spring.
This afternoon, The Youngest and I went on our first walk in the woods of the year.
She enjoyed the birdsong and the sticks, and I enjoyed being outside hatless and seeing the buds on the trees.
Also, we got to see a doggy romping in the river.
And in that last photo, you can see there are a few intrepid sprouts breaking through the ground cover of last year's leaves.
This is my favorite time of the year in the woods.
Every time we visit it's a little different.
We have the added bonus of a few newly-paved paths to explore this year.
It's all very exciting.
What's making your day today?

Wishing for Spring

If you saw my post yesterday, you know that we're having some unseasonable weather here in Minnesota. Today was much more pleasant, I'm almost convinced that it's Spring.

Even if it's not quite the beautiful late April we're used to, I still had the itch (which is admittedly rare) to do a little spring cleaning and re-arranging.

The major shift happened on our front porch, which has been a catch-all for junk and stuff that's on its way to the Goodwill, and outdoor stuff for years.

Today I moved out a big empty dresser and rotated the table and love seat to make a cozy place for homework. 

 Then I brought most of our extraneous pillows over and made a pillow pit.

The Youngest and I spent most of the day out here looking at books and snuggling.
She also got in some bike time.

And, speaking of bike time, The Elder and The Younger have been growing and growing, just last Saturday we had to trade up The Elder's violin to the next size, and each of them have outgrown their bikes since last Summer.

So The Elder and I took a trip to our favorite bike shop and found this beauty.
I would estimate its birth around 1993, if the color scheme is any indicator.

She's pretty chuffed about it, as you can see, and even this borderline ridiculous weather isn't gonna stop her from enjoying a bike ride around the neighborhood.
The Younger has a new/hand-me-down bike and now we're ready for Spring.
Not to be impatient, but it has been over 5 months since our first snowfall and I wouldn't mind putting away the mittens and boots.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

That's what I keep telling myself.

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Final day of Gymnastics for The Elder
The Younger -  Silly boy
The Elder - Look at my back bend!
The Youngest - Pre-show dinner of dogs and fries.
Joining Jodi for 52 portraits.

15 of 365

The Youngest - Always on the move.
The Younger - Riding the wolf. (I love how the ears of these statues have become burnished from all of the children petting them)
The Elder - Watching sharks at the zoo.

Thundersnow!

 Sometimes April gives us a little wink and plays a joke on us.

This morning there was lightning and thunder and snow.

Well played, April. Now get back to work and bring us some Spring, please.

For the Locals

Yarn Along

Time to Yarn Along with Ginny.
I'm quite excited to say that I have made a little progress on the yoke of a sweater that's been on the needles for a long, LONG time.
I started it 3 years ago, and just haven't had the right recipe for the yoke.
I've started it 3 times, with 3 different patterns. I thought about designing it myself, and was too busy to sit down and do it.
Then, last week I spotted a darling sweater on Ravelry with a sweet patterned yoke. I thought I had better just jump in or I would never get it finished.

It's taken a little fudging to get my already established pattern to gel with the chart from the Drops cardi, but I think I have it in the right place now.
So, a few minutes stolen here and there and I should be able to make some headway this week!
I haven't had much time to devote to A Dance with Dragons lately, but I have read Blueberries for Sal about 10 times in the past few days. It's a good thing that book never gets old.

What's on your needles lately?

Tried and True

My mother-in-law is in Arizona for the winter. Yesterday, during our birthday party for The Youngest we had planned a skype visit with her. The process proved a little difficult, and while we were waiting, my mom thought we should try a more user-friendly method of communicating.

The Elder and Younger were quite impressed with the old cup and string.

One Year

Well, it's hard to believe, but it's been a whole year since I met you, little lady.
You have been such a perfect addition to our family.
Everyone who meets you can't help but comment on your sweet disposition and gentle ways.
You're truly a joy and I am so glad you came.

Happy Birthday to you, My Youngest.

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The Elder - She's writing a newspaper.
The Elder (a two-fer!) and the Youngest playing on the playground.
The Youngest enjoying a spring day.

Joining Jodi at Che and Fidel
More of my project here.

Bare Feet

Not to say that there aren't still patches of snow and ice on the ground, but it's 50 beautiful, sunny degrees out there and I went out in my bare feet.
It's feeling like Spring today!

Crafting On

It's Tuesday morning! Time to Keep Calm and Craft On.
I posted on Sunday about the kids' Easter baskets that I wove late night on Saturday.

 The Younger's (above) turned out a little like a train wreck.

I do like the free-form feel of The Elder's (above)

Yesterday I re-wove the Younger's and it's more respectable. Fewer random windings.
My jobs are all very creative and crafty (I spent last week teaching sewing to a wonderful group of girls at Treadle Yard Goods) and I am often left with little or no time to do much for the family.
I have made The Elder an Easter dress almost every year but I had to let go of that this year. I didn't finish her sweater, in fact I started it twice and had to rip both times. I did make a dress for The Youngest, but not quite in time for Easter. She wore it yesterday.

In the face of this lack of success, it was gratifying to have something handmade to give the kids on Easter.
What's coming from the work of your hands lately?
Linking up with Nicole