It's Finally Getting Nice...Wrong!

We had a bit of spring fever at our house last weekend. We spent a lot of time outdoors on walks and bike rides, doing yard work and, of course, playing football and basketball. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

 

 

 

My helper!

 

I like having a miniture work horse to help me!

 

 Football season is over, but it never ends at our house.

 

Jackson finding a candy box and, after shaking it to make sure there was nothing in it, he threw it away saying,. "You shouldn't litter." This made me so proud!

 

On one of our bike rides Jackson's peddle spun off (weird, I know.). "MacGyver" pulled out a pair pf pliers and fixed it.

You'll see a white ball just about to Jackson's coat. Chris was trying to hit a moving target.

 

 Relaxing a bit and enjoying the awesome weather.

(Let me caveat this by saying that "awesome" this time of year is in the 40's. Pathetic.)

 

Jackson played with friends most of the evening until the sun started going down (it was his bedtime almost!). Maggee ran out to greet him.

 

 I'll repeat what I've said a million times...

Ladies and gentlemen, she's a special dog.

 

Jackson drew a picture of Chris and I as part of a school activity (he has my artistic ability). Chris is on the right near a tree stand ladder. I'm on the left running on a treadmill at the YMCA. He even drew the TV that hangs down. He has us pegged.

 

 

Little did I know, the coming week would bring fog, freezing temperatures, snow, rain and sleet. So much for "Finally Getting Nice".

 

2013 Easter...Fail.

Easter was interesting this year. The Friday before Easter my parents came up and we all dyed eggs and enjoyed a plethora of finger food for dinner. We tried a few things new this year like using rubber bands to give the egg a tie-dyed look and spray painting them with chalkboard paint, allowing us to decorate with colored chalk and a metallic paint. The new decorating methods were a hit!

 

What wasn't a hit was Easter itself. The 24-hour flu once again hit the Stokes' Household. Jackson bore the brunt of it on Easter.

 

I'll let the pictures tell the story... 

  

 

It started off good with egg dying on Friday night with my parents.

 

 

 The Love Birds!

 

 Do you think we have enough dye cups? (18!)

 

 The chalkboard paint was a hit. Chris did the turkey egg. Show off.

 

 One of the tie-dyed eggs Chris made. I'm not sure why his wedding ring is on top of it. Maybe he anointed himself the king of egg dyeing? (if so it is well deserved)

 

 My Mom's edible creations. Three chicks ready to take off in their race car?

They all succumbed to our hungry bellies eventually.

 

 

My Saturday Fun Run!

 What's more colorful than our Easter eggs? My new shoes! This is a big deal for me. Not only are they new shoes but I switched back to Saucony (had been an Asics girl) AND they're a completely different kind of shoe...a minimalist shoe. According to Saucony's website here's how you would describe these neon beauties:

"A neutral running shoe that allows your foot to run uninhibited. It features minimal midsole construction with protection from the pavement, an EVA sock liner and a lightweight, breathable upper. This shoe has a Heel ProGrid LITE and EVA+ midsole. The XT-900 carbon rubber outsole offers exceptional traction properties without sacrificing stability."

 

When in the hell did shoes become so complicated?

 

The verdict: I love them!

 

 Chris and Jackson picking me up at my run destination. I look like a rainbow with all my various colors. I digress.

 

 

Now on to Easter itself...

 Maggee tempting herself with death by chocolate.

 

Instead of church with my parents here's how Easter morning began.

 

 Jackson gave up on hunting eggs about 8 eggs in. Chris and I had to remember where to find the other 41 eggs (yay!). Here's how we found him after the hunt. My poor little guy.

 

Easter basket time! He could care less that the Easter bunny had come. Note the enthusiasm. I can't blame him because here's what happened next...

 

 He threw up all over the floor. Easter was over.

 

The verdict on Easter 2013: Epic Fail

 (we need a do over!)

 

 

Sunny With a Side of Winter

Let's start with sunny. Arizona is sunny and I miss it! I also miss the Syring's...but they're coming for TWO weeks at the end of April! I can't wait to see how much Tesla and Prana have changed. The last time I talked with Mike they were both over 5lbs, what champs! Speaking of champs, my Nephew completed his first solo climb last week. That is so awesome!!!

 

Here are a few photos of the babies and of Rohan being a champ.

So sweet!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the side of winter...it's still here. I remind myself that we chose to live here...Ok, enough complaining (for now!).

 

I cant say we have anything earth shattering going on on this end. I did get to speak to Jackson and 100 of his closest kindergartner buddies as part of the school's career day. Kindergartners are so curious and the littlest of things we take for granted leave them in awe. It was a lot of fun and Jackson really enjoyed having his Mom at school with him. One of the parents who spoke is a nurse and she handed out scrubs. The kids LOVED them.

 

 

This is a photo of Jackson and one of his friends as we readied for a walk. Jackson's friend wanted to hold Maggee's leash. I cautioned that she can pull a bit. Ok, a lot! He insisted so  I gave him the leash and....Maggee just hung out. She never pulled while he held her.

Damn that dog!

 

 

We spent Friday evening at a gymnastics facility. Jackson and his friends love this place, and I love it because it provides them with a safe place to be daring while also allowing them to have fun and to use up some of that never ending energy!

 

 

While watching Maggee outside the other day I was reminded of something I had seen on National Geographic about the fox. See below. :)

 

I think she may be part fox? Can't you hunt those?

JK!

 "I hear the mouse, he's right underneath me..."

 

 

Ambush!

The fox was successful, Maggee was not.

 

We wrapped up the weekend with some outside stuff which included pruning the apple tree. Jackson took part this year and did surprisingly well. I'll bet Chris can't wait until he can mow the lawn!

 

 

This is a short work week (yay!) and I took Tuesday off as well to accomplish "stuff". But first thing is first, I needed to run. I didn't just want to run, I needed it. It clears my head., and God knows all the crap that's up there!

 

Mission accomplished.

 

Clear head and ready to tackle the day!