Spring joys

The transition of winter to spring feels more exciting to me with each passing year. Maybe it's the longer daylight hours, maybe it signifies entering a season of getting outside with more ease, maybe because all that's been tucked away for the winter is emerging, and growth is evident all around.

We've had a lot of rain, with a few sunny days mixed in. I'm looking forward to starting our garden again this year, refining a few details from last year, and trying some new things.

Apart from that, here are a few things we've been up to lately:

• playing with bubbles (a fun gift for Cooper from a friend's birthday party) during a break in the rain. Both boys had a blast, and I think that comes through in the photos above.
• eating soups, namely, my hearty beef and vegetable stew and this wild rice soup (I add whole boneless chicken thighs during the first pressure cook, then remove them for the second pressure cook, and it makes for fall apart tender chicken in the soup). I also use einkorn flour for the roux and/or raw cream.
• going on scooter walks again, and visiting the neighborhood park with daddy
• cleaning out the cars for spring, inside and out, and the boys had fun playing in the bed of the truck
• I watched a video on how to fold hand knit socks and it's so satisfying! My sock drawer is looking a lot tidier now.
• watercolors by Coop, painted to become a card for a little buddy of his
• pulling out the teapot Nicholas gave me when we were dating to make afternoon tea for the family. Cooper loves this ritual.
• Cooper loves to borrow my phone and take pictures of anything and everything. Aside from typically (very) unflattering photos of me and Nicholas, sometimes his more abstract pictures are neat.
• Hours and hours of playing with Legos and cars and vehicles, lining them up all over house.

And this week, we went on a hike with friends at one of our favorite local preserves, including lots of creek play and a lot of time climbing on a large pile of gravel. We left very wet and sandy and the best kind of tired.

I'm looking forward to warmer days and more adventures with our little family. Looking forward to more sunshine, and buds on trees becoming leaves, and all the fresh, seasonal beauty that spring brings.