Spring Break Fun

Weekly Happenings: This past week Joseph was on Spring Break. It was nice to be able to sleep in every day (especially since a couple of us are still struggling with the time change that comes with Daylight Saving Time). We had play dates, went to the zoo, and relaxed at home. Because of the craziness that’s going on with the coronavirus, we’ve also made sure to wash our hands more often than before and have kind of kept close to home. Thankfully, we normally keep a couple flats of water on hand to begin with, and I happened to stock up on toilet paper and hand soap before a lot of the activities and events started getting canceled, so we haven’t been affected by the shortages at all. It will be interesting to have church at home, though (since the leaders in Salt Lake have told us to cancel all meetings, including Sacrament meeting). Also, Joseph’s school district has decided to close down all the schools for the next week, so Spring Break has been extended. I think that we’ll be keeping even more close to home this time, though. We want to be able to help with the social distancing that the city leaders are advising, which will hopefully prevent mass spreading of the virus.

The Weekly Weather: It’s been really nice spring weather: sunny and warm (but not too warm). We’re supposed to get quite a bit of rain this next week, so I’m glad we got to enjoy a bit of the sunshine.

What Paul’s Been Up To:He only worked part of the week and then took Thursday and Friday off. He spent a lot of that time doing some yard work and starting some needed maintenance on some of the pipes for the irrigation system.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: I’ve mainly been an entertainment device this week…also a transporter to fun places. 😉

What Joseph’s Been Up To: I’ve sort of let him rot his brain on video games this week, haha. I was not anticipating also having school off next week, so next week I’ll probably make sure he does something a bit more constructive.

What Abigail’s Been Up To: She’s been perfecting her “little sister” game by pretty much shadowing her older brother. Thankfully, he’s extremely patient with her!

This Week in Pictures:

Home made beef and broccoli. It was pretty good! I love having an enamel-coated cast iron pan. I have the benefits of cast iron (even heating, good browning), but I can cook things that would normally wreak havoc on the seasoning of the cast iron.
More daylight in the evenings means more time for bubbles!
It also means more time for swinging (this was after Paul dug out and killed the fire ants that had decided to “build” their hill inside one of the legs of the swing set).
A relatively recent discovery: fresh chopped garlic stored in water (that I can keep in the fridge). No more messy garlic press and garlicky smelling fingers!
This is what Abigail thinks about mornings that feel earlier than they are.
They always need a picture on the hippo statue at the zoo.
Abigail was fascinated by these birds that were literally a few feet away from her.
Checking out the African crested porcupines.
This was all that Abigail talked about for almost the entire car-ride to the zoo: wanting to see the elephants.
Hanging out on the bronze elephant.
Seeing the dwarf mongoose all piled on top of each other was pretty funny.
Checking out the okapi.
In front of the Nile crocodile. I’m glad there’s a thick pane of glass between us and it!
They also found it amusing that the hippos were stacked.
They both love seeing the tropical fish.
On the zoo train. I’m not sure what caused the scrunchy nose, but it was cute, so I kept the picture.
Here’s a non-scrunchy-nosed one.
Super Sky!
She said she wanted to share the chair with him…he didn’t realize that meant she was going to pile on top of him.
It’s hard to believe they’re getting as big as they are.
Abigail was convinced that this was perfectly safe…Joseph had his doubts, haha.
Sword fighting.
It was a good thing he had his shield. 😉
I could tell he was going easy on her.
Such a good big brother!
Living the toddler-dream: munching on cookies and watching a show.
I made eggs for breakfast this morning. As I was putting my pan away, Abigail told me she wanted to play with it. Figuring that would be an excellent way for her to break a few toes, I suggested she play with this mini cast iron pan instead. She told me she was eating eggs. 😀
 

A Couple of Pictures and a Video

Weekly Happenings: This was pretty much the most average of average weeks, haha. I didn’t even really pull out my phone to snap any pictures (hence the title of this post).

The Weekly Weather: Spring is getting here slowly but surely. The mornings have been cold but the sun warms things up throughout the day so the afternoons have been quite pleasant.

What Paul’s Been Up To: Pretty much his typical schedule of work and working around the house/yards.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: Not much out of the ordinary for me, either.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: He was excited to wrap this week up since next week is spring break. He’s looking forward to sleeping in, playing with his toys and games, and probably a play date or two.

What Abigail’s Been Up To: She had a play date this week, which she enjoyed immensely. I probably need to set those up more often for her.

This Week in Pictures:

We had an early morning visitor that just chilled on our doorstep for a few hours yesterday morning. I didn’t know if it was a moth or butterfly, but when I posted the picture, my nephew told me that an easy way to tell the difference is by wing placement: apparently butterflies will close their wings when they land for long periods of time while moths will lay their wings flat. When I got a closer look at it (I wanted to make sure its wing hadn’t gotten caught in the door when I closed it, since I had completely missed it when I went out), I could see the fern-like antennae that also seem to be a classifying feature for moths.
This is a further out picture to show just how big it is. I’m still surprised when I see such large moths. It hung out for most of the morning and then flew off some time in the afternoon.

Bonus Video: Abigail is a super-hero, here to save the day!

 

Leap Into…March

Weekly Happenings: I really felt as if the title of this post needed to have the word “leap” in it, since today is February 29th. We only get a 29th day in February every four years, so today is fun in that aspect. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is going to be the first day of March. Joseph has his spring break the week after next and then before I know it, we’ll be looking summer in the face. As for what has gone on this past week, nothing too out of the ordinary. Joseph and I had dental check-ups and Abigail got her first legitimate haircut (other than just getting her bangs trimmed). We’re such party animals, haha.

Weekly Weather: We’ve had some pretty cold days. It’s as if Mother Nature felt she needed to get in one last hurrah before spring. 😉 It’s slowly getting warmer, though, for which I have to say I don’t mind. I dislike humid cold way more than I dislike humid hot.

What Paul’s Been Up To: He’s been busy at work and then today he’s been getting to the little things around the house that he had to put off when he injured his finger. I’m so grateful for him and all he does.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: Other than what I’ve already mentioned, one fun thing I did was go to see the newest Emma movie with a group of my friends. It was nice to get to go out with friends and see a movie that I knew I would enjoy immensely and that Paul would…not have, ha.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: Pretty much just school and the like for him. He’s getting excited for spring break coming up. 🙂

What Abigail’s Been Up To: As I mentioned before, she got her first “real” haircut. The back part of her hair was so much longer than the sides, that I felt like it was really time to have it evened out. They took off a few inches in the back and it’s so much neater now. Oh, one funny story: we were playing hide-and-seek and I was pretending I couldn’t find her, so I was “looking” out loud (“Oh! Is Abigail hiding under the pillow? How about under the couch?”). After each question, I would hear this giggle and then hear her say “Noooooo!” in this really animated tone. It was awesome.

This Week in Pictures:

I can’t remember if I posted a picture of this fun basket I found to keep blankets in downstairs. I needed something that was soft so that it wouldn’t scratch our floors and would also (as Paul pointed out) withstand any abuse Abigail might attempt to subject it to.
I got the blanket basket several weeks ago, but this past week, I wanted to find storage for Abigail’s books that she still has downstairs. I needed soft baskets for the same reason that I needed the blanket basket to be soft. It didn’t even occur to me until I was already at Target (where I had purchased the blanket basket) that I might be able to find matching baskets in smaller sizes. I was so happy!
When Abigail saw me with my phone out, she wanted to have her picture taken. 😀
Last picture before her haircut.
They took it up to her shoulders.
They also trimmed her bangs since they were starting to get in her eyes.
This is the main reason I wanted to get the baskets. Before, the books were simply sitting in the shelf and she would just pull them out and scatter them. Now she pulls out the baskets and can just pull out the ones she wants. She hasn’t scattered them (yet), but if she does, it’ll be easier for me to put them back in basket.
Saturday morning snuggles!
Showing off one of his LEGO creations.
I told him I needed a picture with him smiling after he pulled that last face, haha.
He wanted me to take a picture of him with his other LEGO kits and creations. I love that he still loves those bricks!
I went ahead and got out my decorations for March. 😁
This is probably one of my favorites.
A handful of cute decorations for the piano…
…and a new quote for the board, of course.
Sometimes she picks interesting places to have her before-bath-and-bed snack. This is definitely one of those times. I guess it isn’t an issue if nobody else needs to be in the kitchen. 🤷‍♀️