Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has sprung at the Dumoulin house. The kids are finishing up their week of spring break which has felt so much like summer vacation that I am dreading Monday. The weather has been unbelievably warm and I have really enjoyed having the kids with me.

The kids have taken every advantage of it by playing outside - riding their bikes and scooters, playing in the old chicken coop, on the trampoline and down at the creek. Yes, the creek. You know what that means? Critters!

A baby turtle with a salamander on its back. Now THAT is unusual, slightly bizarre.  The turtle has been with us for several days now.  He has been given a name, Boxer.  The addition of the name is a bit concerning.

To the left of the reflection from my flash is a crayfish.

And finally, this is an example of what has just been added to the endangered species list...MY TUPPERWARE!

I told the kids new tupperware would be coming out of their allowance.

Spring also means market cleaning (boo!) and starting our garden (yay!). Our little patch of goodness is coming along. I am so excited something that has already begun sprouting! SUNFLOWERS! And lots and lots of them.

The seeds were a gift from my Aunt Sue. We planted them in a row beneath our kitchen windows so that we will have this beautiful view of sunshiny, bright yellow flowers sometime in about 2 - 3 months. We will have to weed some of them out, because we overplanted. If anyone wants to come take a few, be my guest!

We still have some maintenance and beautification issues to take care of, but all in all, it is a start.

Elsewhere in the garden, my lettuce is looking a little weak, but I think that is because we had that string of bizarre 90 degree days this week. Tomatoes, green beans, squash, zucchini and a couple of cucumbers. I have a pot with some herbs, another pot with a few strawberry plants and another single rosemary plant. I am still waiting to plant the sugar peas and various peppers. The kids have been an integral part of the process - weeding, watering, etc. I think today they will feed the garden and all the rose bushes in the yard.  We have our first strawberry!

Huh. I just realized that I will need to find someone to watch the dogs and water the garden while we are on our trip in May/June. Add that one to the list.

In a move that can only be describe as self-destructive, I took Sadie to the store that makes me insane yesterday. Yes, Justice. Sadie chose a new scarf and decided she was much better off with her budget to go to Claire's. Good move Sadie! The kids had some money from Valentine's, Easter and from money earned for market cleaning. Let me make a note that my kids have become quite the expert cleaners. For example, Ethan rocked the baseboards in the house and Sadie is a meticulous furniture polisher. Their attitudes have also been that of servanthood for a change and that has made the week wonderful.

Therefore, we have done quite a bit of fun stuff, along with the cleaning. We went to the zoo, the kids had a night with one set of grandparents where they fished and had a bon fire by the creek. The other grandparents took them to lunch and the movies. Two kids have had sleepovers with their cousins and one had a playdate at another friend's house. I failed at getting us to the Civil Rights' Museum or ArtQuest - both things I wanted to do. However, I had to get the house ready for market and we just ran out of time.

This morning my little love rolled over in her sleeping bag. She coughed quite a bit and then looked at me. Her first words of the morning, "I love you, Mommy." What a great way to start the day. If this is any indication of what is to come, I say BRING ON SUMMER!