March - April

I honestly don't remember much about March, but April was full of fun. Kaitlyn's spring break was the same week as Ryan's, so she flew out for the week. She managed to make it just in time for her birthday AND Easter. We had so much fun. We enjoyed some of our favorite eats and went to visit Andy and Janelle for a few days. I never get enough time with my kids. It seems they grow up and become your friends....and then they're gone, but we cherish each and every visit. They are so much fun!!....even if I snore too loud for Kailtyn...we still had fun!(right Kailtyn?!).

Last couple of pictures show the difference a few years will make....time goes by too quickly! Same place, same people - different year♥♥♥♥

Andy and Janelle also came up one weekend in April because Andy had tickets for him and Seth to see the Dawgs play, so I took Janelle and Josh and we went to the spring festival days at Washington farms. We picked some strawberries(as much as Josh would allow) and then had some fun on the farm.

A couple pictures Andy took of their fun day...

We had just opened the pool, and it was ready for swimming. However, it wasn't really warm enough, so it was more like a polar plunge. It was a pretty extreme shock to the system for poor Josh, who said, "it took my breath away." - And so we did bubbles...

As always, family time is the BEST time!!

February

February seemed to go by in a flash. Casey had surgery to repair an abdominal hernia, so we spent most of the month in recovery mode. They were hoping to do it laparoscopic, but that didn't work out so he's had a longer and more intense recovery. Recovery is never fun, but especially when you've got places to go and work to do. He's on the mend now, and I continue to be his mother, reminding him what he should and shouldn't be doing...other than that he is healing, slowly but surely.

His favorite socks(not really)...

His schedule consisted of rest, walk, repeat. So, we called our walks outside our "walkabouts" in search of Casey's #1 yard enemy - the dandelion. He can spot them a mile away, and if you didn't already know...dandelions are 100% edible, but we didn't eat them. We just collected them into a bag to be tossed away, so the seeds could not spread around in our yard.

Bye-Bye Dandelions

He also had a fun reunion with a not so yummy drink. Thankfully the reunion didn't last long!

I took him on a field trip to one of my favorite spots in Athens. It a juice shop that makes fresh juice daily from raw, natural and local ingredients. This particular juice will cure whatever is in need of curing...known or unknown - It's my favorite!

We are also blooming around here, so spring is in the air. We've had a few warmer days, which is so nice! I love spring!!

Even though recovery is hard, it also is something that requires a mandatory slowdown. I like that. We are so busy during our days/weeks, it's nice to be forced to slow down every once in awhile, take a break and enjoy the time spent together a little more!

Hopefully this is the last of the surgeries for awhile, but we definitely need to try and make more time to rest, relax and repeat!!

Cold Winter

We've had an unusually cold and wet winter. It was so cold our pool iced over...Ryan had fun while Casey tried to break it up so the weight of the ice didn't pull the cover off. Good times!

Like I said...

I'm ready for spring already!

Poor Blueberries

When we moved into our house we inherited a nice patch of 7 blueberry plants. I was extremely excited to enjoy our very own blueberries this summer! I've never had my own blueberries. We also inherited a very deep and long burn pit, which Casey has put to good use. He has spent many of his weekends trimming trees and burning debris from our yard. I have always been here advising him to be watchful/careful. He has a history of burning and letting things getting a bit out of control. Well, I went out for a few hours one weekend and came back to find a yard that was partially parched, as well as 3-4 blueberry plants. Ryan came outside just in time to help Casey in putting out the fire that was spreading quickly throughout the yard. The grass will grow back, but more than likely we've lost the blueberries - so sad.

New family rule = no burning unless you have a spotter!

We are thankful nobody was hurt. Lesson learned. Again.

#fireflashbacks...

Hey Casey...