So Much for Spring !!!

The last few mornings we have had some snow flakes falling but no accumulation at all. Well, not today! We had a few inches of accumulation, even the soccer game got canceled, to Nolan's disappointment and our delight! On Thursday we decided that since the weather forgot to catch up with the calendar, we would behave like it was Winter as well and headed up to Mt. Baker. It was a great powder day on the slopes, maybe even a little too much for some of us less extreme skiers. Ethan was zooming down the hill saying "Yeah baby, this rocks" and a few seconds later he was face down in a mound of snow. From extreme exhilaration to utter frustration in a few seconds! It took Shawn a few minutes to find one of Ethan's lost ski. I can say that I experienced moments like that as well. At the end of the day we were all tired but had a lot of fun. I will say though, despite all the winter fun and beauty, we are READY for Spring!!

Our backyard, as seen this morning

Wednesday we woke up to some snow flakes, but by lunch time the sun was out and the boys ate outside. Nolan is saying "Can you believe this?" To which they both replied "CRAZY"!!

Soccer Season . . .

. . . means lots of laundry for mom!! I believe yesterday was one of the most fun soccer practices Nolan ever had! We had some snow/slush falling which made the soccer field very muddy. I stayed inside my nice dry and warm car and could hear their squeals of delight as they chased after the ball and inevitably slided in to mud puddles. Good thing I planned ahead and had towels and sheets to protect the inside of our car as I took 3 muddy boys back home. The washer did a pretty good job in cleaning the clothes and a bit of brushing got the cleats cleaned again, so, lots of fun had and no harm done!

Mountain School

Christian had an amazing opportunity to be a part of Mt School, which is a North Cascade Institute program. They spent 3 days in the mountains, but no roughing it here, they have a beautiful new facility next to the Diablo Dam. All the kids, teachers and chaperons stayed in comfort and Christian tells me the food was good as well, which is very important in his book. Shawn went along as a chaperon and had a great time. He enjoyed seeing Christian among his class mates, and of course, enjoyed all the nature around him. The weather was great with some snow but also a clear night with a full moon for their night walk. They both came home with lots of adventures to tell. I do have to say though, I'm glad that Shawn went, so I got a more detailed version of all their activities.

EASTER SUNDAY

We had a blessed Easter Sunday! The boys woke up to an empty basket at their bedroom door. It did contain a magnifying glass to help them look for their treats that we hid around the house. After finding some treats and a nice breakfast we headed to church. We had a great service celebrating the the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Our cousins Jessie and Ryan joined us for lunch and our neighbors Brandon and Lolita joined us later. We had a good afternoon playing games and visiting. The big guys played darts for hours, they could not stop before they each had a wining round. We even had some sun after rain, hail and a brief power outage, but we kept the egg hunt inside. Just as curiosity, what was your tradition at home? As we were talking, it came out that Shawn, Ryan and I, all had to look for the whole basket and treats, not only for the eggs. That was a foreign tradition to Jessie and Lolita, who always got a full basket in the morning with an egg hunt later on. So we wonder if the looking for the basket might have come from our Mennonite background. I'm fully aware that that's not the reason for Easter, but humor me and tell me about your tradition.

Looking for treats and having fun with the magnifying glass.

Christian won his first Monoply game

He also built an "I spy game" for his brothers

Next time we see Jessie we hope she will have the baby in her arms, baby "Klaus" due date is March 28. We can't wait to meet him!!

SATURDAY

We love to start our Saturday mornings with a good hearty breakfast. It's a tradition that Shawn cooks the breakfast and now we are passing it on to the boys. It was nice to go on an early walk on the Stimpson trail with my friend Ann and come back to a nice breakfast. Our day continued with attending to house chores and then off to another Saturday tradition: soccer!!

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

We fell in love with Bellingham and it's surrounding region when we first arrived here, and the love affair goes on. It's been 5 years now and we are still discovering new sights and adventures in the area. Every March we celebrate our own "Bellingham Day", when we visit a new place or go on an adventure that would not have been possible back in the Midwest. This year Shawn and I were planning on a hike ending with fish and chips at a local seaside cafe. However, all 3 boys wanted to go up to Baker and play in the snow. So up the Mountain we went. It was a great day with lots of fun and play. Shawn, Christian and Ethan started out skiing as Nolan and I went snowshoeing. After a while we met up with Ethan and the 2 boys started to build snow forts and enjoyed some sledding. We had a little picnic out there, with hot chocolate, of course. Shawn and Christian must have heard the word picnic and came down to join us. It sure was a fun packed day as we celebrated and thanked God for the last five years.

The boys now and then . . .

Bows and Arrows

The other day we all went out to look for a few good sticks to be crafted into arrows. The boys are enjoying playing with their bows, but somehow, the arrows keep disappearing. I think we might even have one on our roof! Now they each a quiver full of new arrows.

IF YOU GIVE A BOY A SHOVEL II . . .

. . . he will dig!! The picture says it all!!

IF YOU GIVE A BOY A SHOVEL

He might ask you for some dirt to dig. You give him some woods where he can dig to his heart's content. He will ask you for another shovel for a friend that joined him. Add to the mix a few more brothers and neighbors and the story will end there. He will not ask for anything else and you won't hear or see him for the rest of the afternoon.

It was a beautiful afternoon and after the boys were done with their school work I sent them outside. Not even 15 minutes later they were back inside. I gave them a choice of either staying outside or helping me with the laundry. I did not even hear the answer as I saw the door close behind them. "How long do we have to stay outside?" Until the sun sets, was my reply. It turned out that when the sun did set, they were begging for a few minutes more. They started on a "booby trap" project that required a lot of time! So, just give your boy a shovel and you should have plenty time for your house chores. Only be aware of "traps" when you walk about in your yard.

The Ticket Says It All!

And it sure was a day loaded with Spring!

We had blue skies with no cloud in sight!

Lunch was had outside.

It sure was hard to leave!

SHERWOOD

As Ethan comes up the stairs calling "Daaad", Shawn turns to me and says he knows exactly what he is going to say. Sure enough! He repeats the same words! "Could you make a bow for me?". Shawn had crafted a bow and arrow for Christian, and as you can imagine, by day's end, three bows were made. As long as they don't decide to practice with an apple on their heads for targets, we should be O.K.

It all started at . . .

. . . Samba!

It been four years now since we went to Vancouver's Brazilian restaurant Samba. Olga, Ann, Elvira and I were at a mom's getaway weekend. While a lot off the other girls went to an American burger place, we splurged and went to Samba, and from there, a tradition has been born. The girls enjoyed the Brazilian food so much, that it was decided that I would cook a Brazilian dinner for us and our spouses. We continued down the circle with everyone celebrating their ethnic background. Olga has cooked delicious Mexican dishes, Elvira whips up some amazing Peruvian fare and Ann prepares tasteful Italian dishes. Of course I have to give credit to Peter, who spoiled us with some awesome grilled meat and seafood! It sure has been fun and delicious, I can't believe it has been 4 years since our first dinner.