Sun

We have had a glorious weekend, thanks in large part to the sun. Although I have to agree with the kids that it is a little bright after so many weeks of clouds, everything seems better when the sun is out and there's not a cloud in the sky. And, when the daffodils are blooming and the trees are budding and even flowering in some cases. Despite my guilt about enjoying something that must have some connection to global warming, I am loving it! I just tell myself that it's just an El Nino year, like the weather people say.

Anyway, it feels like spring. In fact, it feels more like spring than spring usually feels. Spring in the northwest is often my hardest season, because it seems like the sun should be coming out more and it usually doesn't until about July. This year is my kind of year! (As I write this, I am knocking on wood because I'm sure there must be an epic stretch of clouds and rain headed our way...)

So, we went to church today - the same Unitarian one, which we continue to like - and as we were leaving, it was so beautiful outside that we decided to go and get some plants. You know, because our garden doesn't have enough of them. The previous owners of our house crammed the lot so full of plants of all kinds that we can barely deal with them most of the time...but we have a few bare spots in the front, so we figured we would fill them. We ended up getting two blueberry bushes! Or, more accurately, some sticks that will eventually become blueberry bushes. We bought one "bush" that is slightly more mature than the other, so we may actually get a few berries this year!

By the time we planted the blueberries, we were on a roll, and the kids were still having fun, so we tackled our strawberry plants next. We've had them in containers on our front steps since we moved in, but they were getting overcrowded, so we moved them to our square foot garden planter on the other side of our front yard. The front is the only place that gets enough sun to grow fruits or veggies. Now we have (what will become) a beautiful strawberry patch out there. We have been blasting through our fruit reserves from last summer, so hopefully we'll have a bit more home-grown fruit to start off this year with when summer gets going.

The rest of the weekend was great, too. We started off with a family dinner at my grandma's house on Friday night. The kids stayed up way past their bedtimes, but for a good cause. We all had fun socializing and running around and shrieking at the tops of our lungs. Well, they did, anyway! It was fun to watch them playing with everyone.

Then, on Saturday, we had brunch in the morning with old friends and a playdate in the afternoon with new friends. Both were lovely. Sacha and I both had time to go running yesterday, and we watched some 30 Rock in the evening, which is always fun. Then, today, we capped off the day with dinner with Apa (steak!) after he and the kids took a trip to the park.

It's a good thing we're all refreshed and recharged, because we're going to have a big week! The kids and I are flying to California on Wednesday to visit Grammy and Grandpa. Sacha's going to join us on Friday evening, and then we'll all fly home together on Sunday. It will be my first time flying alone with both of them, so wish me luck!