Greening

St. Patrick's Day weekend was an easy one for us, with sunshine and summer-like temperatures.  Since I was still recovering from my weekend in Cali, we made a conscious effort to take it easy.  For us, that means bringing out the water toys and lawn chairs and letting the boys rip around.

Apparently the kids were excited about the sunshine too, and decided not to nap.  Mattias' solution was to take them on a long bike ride to lull them to sleep.  Unfortunately this was counterproductive-- Mattias was worn out after his hour of riding, and the kids (after their nice nap) were ready for more destruction.

That afternoon we went to the Cody household for a St. Patrick's Day potluck.  Corned beef & cabbage, stew, soda bread, and chocolate Guinness cake were on the menu.

 

Between our 7 kids, it was pretty chaotic! First they did chalk art...

 
 ...followed by some face painting...

 

...add in a little bouncing...

...and climbing and garden watering...

...then top it all off with a chocolate gold coin hunt...

...and you have yourselves a partay!  And a massive crash from the sugar high.

The entire neighborhood seemed to be celebrating the official arrival of spring, and we were partied as hard as the rest!

Ellie Escapes!!!

At the beginning of March I had the wonderful opportunity to fly back to my home state, for a good friend's wedding.  I bought the tickets months ago and was really looking forward for 3 days of relative quiet.  The vacation began at my layover in SFO's Terminal 2, whose new yoga room made national news.  After getting my Ohm on, I was treated to a celebrity sighting (George Lopez), Pinkberry froyo, and uninterrupted web surfing.

The first order of business, after checking into my hotel in Carlsbad, was hitting the beach.  It was a bit breezy and not even 70 degrees, but I didn't care.  I put my swim suit on and laid out next to the wide open Pacific Ocean, almost in an act of sun worship.
 
It was glorious.  The waves, the laughing children, the pelicans flying overhead-- all symbolized a freedom I so rarely taste.  No responsibilities, total awesomeness.

The next morning my friend Crystal and I went out to brunch followed by a stroll on Oceanside Beach.









There were surfers and kelp, 2 things I don't see (but now appreciate) very often.

Since I don't get to SoCal very often, I made a point to visit our friends in Temecula.  The Tumers  are friends of ours from our days in San Francisco, where Evren and Jenny were in the same grad program as Mattias. 

The family of four now has a house on a lot of land, where the kids have space to run free.  They have an orchard, 2 dogs, a hand full of cats, and best of all, their own tractor.

 The house is situated on a hill, giving them great views of the surrounding hillsides and vineyards.  Jealousy really set in for me when I remembered that you can have a vegetable garden year round in California.  But the writing on the rocks below touched me the most.  They are so symbolic of how Jenny & Evren have worked so hard just to that the kids could have their own piece of the world.

That afternoon we attended my friend Ryan's wedding, set in a lush garden in Fallbrook, CA.  Ryan is one of my best friends from vet school, where we sat next to each other for nearly 3 years.  It was such a joy to see him in such a happy place.

Crystal was my hot date of the evening.  She tolerated my silliness, hit the photo booth with me, and let me eat 2 slices of wedding cake.

But the most exciting part of my trip?  Returning my rental car the morning of my flight.  While filling up the tank at a gas station, the car automatically locked itself with the keys still in the ignition.  I would like to find the person who invented this auto locking feature and punch him in the nuts (if it's a woman, I'd give her a wedgie).  After pleading with Budget's roadside assistance operator, I got the number of the local roadside assistance company they contract with.  I then called and pleaded with Bryan, who after listening to my damsel-in-distress story came to my rescue in 5 minutes.  Not kidding.  I hugged this dude as soon as he arrived and thanked him profusely for unlocking my car.  And what did I owe him in the end?  Nothing.  Dude wouldn't take anything but a handshake.

All that, in just 3 days away.

The Big Thaw

This past winter was nearly nonexistent, but we still heralded the first signs of Spring.  The daffodils started to bloom, my greens survived in our planter box, and we have had plenty of opportunities to play outside.

We also celebrated a visit from Lola, who was pleasantly surprised by our California-like weather.  She got to dig in the dirt for worms with Linus, and push Magnus around on the bulldozer.  The last time Linus saw her he was a little bit of a terror (think the peak of the terrible 2s/3s), but this time he was a complete darling. 

Every time she comes we tend to feast.  I think we're having Korean food here.

She even got to come to Friday playgroup, which is a lot crazier now with 5 preschoolers and 3 toddlers!

I tried to entertain the kids with my newly acquired balloon animal skillz, but it only led to utter disappointment as my animals popped one by one :(

 

Her visit lasted about a week, but really felt like 3 days.  With all the kids activities, shopping, cooking, and hanging out, we didn't get much down time.  When we did, we watched my new favorite show "Downton Abbey" on Netflix.  It's pretty amazing, my mom coming to visit us at least twice a year, all the way from California.  She could be in Hawaii, or somewhere else more fabulous than our little house in Arlington.  But she chooses us, and that makes us feel loved.

Then a few days later we celebrated a most central and beloved person in our family: Kerstin.  Her 60th birthday warranted something special, even though she insisted on simple take-out and an evening at home.  We did a little bit more, with balloons and decorations and a fancier home cooked meal.  Thanks to many friends and family who sent in pictures, we were able to make a birthday slide show set to music.  Kerstin cried, as we expected.

After toasting with champagne we enjoyed a roast pork tenderloin accompanied with a Swedish wild mushroom cream sauce and roast squash and carrots.  Mmmmm.

























And of course we had birthday cake, which the kids clearly enjoyed.