Spring Break: The Main Attraction

...was Grandma Ruby! As lovely as Tennessee is, she's the reason we chose to go there.


Cozy took this picture for me! ...one of the few we ended up with for some reason (I don't think I snap as many when we're at home...) Didn't she get a good one?

Grandma and I were hanging out with the littles in the shade of the garage, watching Tony light off the last of the fireworks, since we failed to find another shop nearby. (The night before, when we asked James if he was asleep, he said, "Shhh! I'm thinking about teaching zombies how to use fireworks!"


I'm not sure how many fireworks Cozy actually saw. She had to run (barefoot across gravel) to Tony and watch every time he'd light one....and then she'd usually be running back to us while it went off.


Grandma let me steal some sedum starts. I'm trying to nurture enough of them this year, so that I can make a sedum wreath next year.


It's going on my basement steps. Silly, I know, but I look out that basement door window every time I do laundry, and I'd like to see something there worth looking at!

Grandma was a lovely hostess. Sweet about our crazy children. Let me take over the kitchen. We had a nice time talking about kids and sewing, etc. What a sweet friend!

Spring Break: Fun Stuff to do in Tennessee

One big perk to visiting our TN family: FIREWORKS!

They are legal to purchase and light off all year long. Happy day for every little boy (and those who are young and mischevious at heart). We stopped at a store right after we crossed the border...


...but it was late, late, late. We told little James that he'd have to wait until the following night to light them off. It was the first thing he asked for when he awoke the next morning. ...and then he kept trying to convince us that it was getting dark out, the sun was going down.

Finally, at dusk, we all went outside for the show!


Tony was lighter in chief. (esp for mortars!)


Anthony was his assistant, responsible for the bottle rockets.


We got to reminisce about the time Uncle Mike caught his sleeve on fire with a bottle rocket! Don't-hold-the-bottle! :)

...and we got the scariest sparklers known to man. What could be scary about a sparkler?


Flexible. Two feet long. ...and then a toddler cracks it like a whip!

Scary.


Cozy was like a tiny (less psychotic) lightening-bending Azula! (For my fellow last airbender fans).


I only wish I'd had enough light to get a video of James literally jumping up and down with excitement. The joy!

Spring Break: The First Leg of the Journey

Joy! Joy! Everyone (including Dad) had spring break at the same time! (I was concerned that their vacations might be staggered.) We could take a trip! We had been wanting to make it over to Tennessee to see Tony's Grandma Ruby. The kids hadn't been there in years...some of them hadn't been there ever.

A day or two before we left, Tony and I were talking about finding somewhere to get a quarter or a half of a grass-fed cow. He did a little googling and found somewhere right away. ...and, what do ya know, it was right on our way, nestled in rural Virginia.


The stop at Berriedale Farm was wonderful! Nelson and Lizzie were so friendly to us and sweet to our kiddos. The kids played fetch with the dogs...


...and fed carrots to Cassie (the mule) and Leeta (the horse).


James, tagging along.


Everyone petting and grooming Leeta.


What nice people. Also, the meat we've cooked up was delicious. When we go back for more this summer, we're staying in the cabin! :)

Patio

My patio is finally finished! Oh, the happiness! Now I just need to retrieve my bench from the basement, so we can all sit and enjoy the fruits of Tony's labor.


Can I even tell you how much nicer it is to go out the back door and see this...


...instead of this...


I've planted the flowerbed with all kinds of lime, purple, and pink goodness. (Tony was so shocked they all seem to be thriving with so little sunshine. :) Not savvy to the whole "shade plants" concept. Finally something I know that he doesn't!)


Isn't my tiny owl adorable! I bought him for $4 at Target probably a month ago....and then misplaced him until this week! (Typical. I did the same thing with the new shower curtain.) I think he's so sweet amid all of the rocks I pulled out of the kids' rooms. {Rocks are outside toys!}


My little coral bark maple finally sprouted some leaves, proving I was not duped into paying $15 for a stick in a pot. (It's a leafy stick in a pot.)


...and here's where I'm subtly hinting to Tony about the next project I want us to do. I'm not saying a thing until he asks what I want for my birthday. :)


I have a whole master plan for my backyard - in my mind - and that's what I see every time I look outside.

St. Whatty's? Day

We celebrated St. Patty's Day a week late, because I'm just awesome and organized like that.


Kiddos didn't care. They listened to the stories, ate the rolos, painted, and were just happy they didn't get pinched!


We'll call it a semi-success.

Garden Show

We decided to try the Home and Garden Show in DC. Two littles volunteered to come with us...and they were o-so-glad because we took the Metro. (Easier than driving and parking downtown. (I think that's Jonny's "gangsta" pose?)


Cool artwork inside the convention center...


...extremely disappointing show.... Doesn't the guy sitting there look as depressed as I felt!


Heavy on the "Home" - not even close to the Seattle Flower and Garden Show. (I guess there's a good one in Philly.) I did get a subscription to a local gardening magazine and some yummy dip mixes. ...better than nothing...


Walking past China Town to get back to the metro.


You know it's China town, because Fuddruckers is bilingual.


We grabbed some food at a super-busy California Tortilla and then headed back home.

Jon and Annika pretending to be asleep on the train. They had a wonderful time. And, as Tony said, I never would have know how lame it was if I hadn't gone. :)

New Pet

No, there is no way I'm going to recover that chair. It's in great condition and neutral enough for me! :) If I thought it needed recovering, I wouldn't have even bought it.

Cozy did her smile thang for the first time in forever...although, I suspect it was just the sun in her eyes.



We have a new pet.


His name is slimy, and he lives in the flowerbed.

It's amazing how long kids can stay interested in a worm hunt. We were down by the creek this week and saw a snake-sized worm. Huge! If only I'd brought my camera. {Darn.}

Every child should grow up near a creek...since skipping stones is one of the great joys in life.