A Little of This and That in March

Spring is in full swing over here, and I couldn't be happier. Of course, with the green grass and tulips and new leaves comes the rain (or snow!), allergies, and wind, but I'll take it. And did I mention the longer light? That might be my favorite part. I love it. March found us . . . 

Kicking . . . off the month with a brand-new seven-year-old. Maxwell had a great birthday: two parties with families, a few fun presents (including soccer goals), and a BYU cake. And so far, seven has been MUCH better than six. It's like a flip was switched, and all of a sudden Max is kind, helpful, cooperative, and rational. I'll keep him!

Reading . . . the Percy Jackson series (Aaron), the A-Z Mysteries (Maxwell), the Captain Awesome series (Bradley), The Gift of Giving Life (me), and The Great Brain (all of us).

Knitting . . . an adorable little hoodie for our new baby and a pair of mittens for my sister. In case you were wondering, the obsession has not stopped. In fact, I bought enough yarn during the month for four more projects: a baby blanket, which I've already started, a couple of hats, and a necktie.

Taking . . . Pi(e) Day up to the next level. For the third year in a row, we celebrated the arrival of spring, honored the number 3.14(etc.), and commemorated our anniversary in our house by serving pie to friends, family, and neighbors. And, as usual, Mike made all the pies, and my only contribution was to stir one of the pie fillings for fifteen seconds. I was feeling a little guilty about not helping, but one look at Mike's beaming face during the 36-hour marathon and it was obvious he was having the time of his life. He made 41 pies (all from scratch) and nine different kinds (chocolate, key lime, strawberry, pumpkin, cherry, coconut cream, lemon meringue, pecan, and apple). We had great weather and a great turnout and only five pies left at the end, so it was a win all around.

Bending . . . over. Not that there's anything particularly newsworthy in that, but usually bending over doesn't leave me angry and close to tears. But being eight months pregnant has changed all that. Now I just glare at the offending socks or shoes or Legos or alphabet magnets . . . and then call for someone else to pick them up.



Listening . . . to knitting podcasts. It's a problem, I'm telling you. This is one of the main reasons my audiobook count is slowly dropping. My favorites are Very Pink, Fruity Knitting, and Woolful. Maybe it's because I don't have very many friends in real life who knit, so listening to other people talk about knitting makes me feel like I'm interacting with other knitters in some way, even if it's virtually. So if you knit, you should really leave a comment and let me know so I have someone I can talk to about my projects!

Enjoying . . . Clark's imagination. He is at the most delightful age. He spends all day talking to himself, making up stories and games, becoming different people or animals, and roping all of us into the fun. I know this type of play is not uncommon for an almost three-year-old, but, to be quite honest, none of my other kids have been very imaginative, so this is really new for us, and we all love it. Plus, he's just so affectionate and friendly and sweet. My dad says the best word to describe him is "endearing," and I'm inclined to agree. I'd be tempted to keep him at this age forever if I could.

Remodeling . . . the basement bedroom. With the new baby due to arrive soon, it's time for a little bedroom shuffle. Right now, all of us sleep upstairs, but we have a bedroom downstairs we've been using as a guest room. So a couple of weeks ago, Mike reconfigured the closet (giving half of it to the boys and keeping the other half for general storage), painted, and built a new set of bunk beds. We just have to finish up a few other things, and then Aaron and Bradley can take up residence in their new room. 

Celebrating . . . St. Patrick's Day--if you can call a box of Lucky Charms and green milk "celebrating." My kids seem to think it is though, and far be it from me to tell them otherwise.

Taking . . . a little trip down to southern Utah for spring break. Our main reason for the trip was to visit Mike's grandma, who hasn't been feeling very well, but we did lots of other fun things too, many of which are mentioned below. 

Feeling . . . spoiled by all the relatives on our recent trip down south: Aunt Laurie made the most delectable cream puffs (and I'm usually not even much of a cream puff fan), Aunt Stephanie made a to-die-for coconut cream cake (if you can't tell, Mike's aunts express their love through desserts), Uncle Barry treated us to lunch at his cafe (and gave arrowheads to the boys), Uncle Reid kept Clark laughing with his Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck impersonations, and Grandma gave out a constant stream of hugs (and let Clark give her a roller coaster of a ride in her electric recliner). Basically, we just felt so welcomed and loved. Mike has such an amazing family.

Hiking . . . in Arches National Park. I'll admit, I actually didn't do this because hiking just didn't sound overly fun to me. Instead, I stayed with Mike's grandma and aunt and spent most of the day knitting and reading and chatting (a much better choice!), but Mike and the boys had a wonderful time. They did five different hikes, and scaling rocks all day left all of them feeling quite happy. (And, I should mention, on our last day, they wanted to do one of the hikes again, and I did it, too, so go me!)

Collecting . . . rocks. While we were visiting the Bluff fort in southern Utah, the tour guides sent the boys on a little scavenger hunt. At each cabin or building, they had to look for something and answer a question. When they were all done, they got to pick out two polished rocks as a prize. They loved those little rocks so much that they then begged to visit the rock shop in Moab where they spent a little of their own money to feed their new obsession with more rocks. And I have to say, that rock shop was legit. Basically, it didn't matter what kind of rock you were looking for--they had it.

Walking . . . among the dinosaurs. The last thing we did on our spring break trip was visit the dinosaur museum outside of Moab. It was fantastic. There was a half-mile loop with life-size replicas of dozens of different dinosaurs. Many dinosaurs have been found in southern Utah, so it was pretty fun seeing them in their natural habitat. ;-)

Spending . . . some time with Mike's parents. They came home from Germany for a short visit for General Conference, and, as usual, we tried to squeeze in as much time with them as possible. The days always pass too quickly for us!

What were the highlights of YOUR March?