....I've got some catching up to do...

Yikes, have I been slacking!  I still haven't posted about Easter weekend!  Well, I'm not going to get into what kind of candy the kids got and whatnot, but I *will* share a bit about how we spent the Saturday before Easter because it was just too much fun to *not* tell you about it!

We started off the day meeting up with my cousin and his family at a GIGANTIC Easter egg hunt.  It was pure craziness.

O and Moo

(unfortunately, Rye was at her dad's house

and didn't get to join in our fun...

I'm sure they did their own thing there)

Look at all of those eggs!!!

Look at all of those people!!!  

...and that was just the people

on the other side of the football field,

there were just as many on our side!

And off they go!

O's got some loot!

More candy!

They even had a petting zoo there....

I'll let you guess what my favorite animal was

(keep in mind I'm a knitter and crocheter)!

I LOVE SHEEEEEP!!!

...and a cute little goat.

The bunnies were sweet.

O really liked them.

Afterward, we headed over to my cousin's house and hung out for a bit...  Most of the day was spent feeding and chasing their chickens.  I was amazed at how well behaved *all* the kids and the chickens were!  

O and Moo feeding the chickens some leftovers.

Look at her pretty coloring.

O says he thought they would try to eat him!

They have an old willow tree they like to eat the bugs from.

My cousin's daughter and Moo with the chickens.

My cousin showing the kids how to feed the chickens.

The little bag on top of the coop is a calcium supplement-

Chickens need their vitamins, too!

My cousin made the coop...

I informed him that he'll be doing

some building for us when we have

our own piece of land someday.

Fresh eggs!

Moo showing off the eggs that were laid that morning.

Lunch!

These were by far the best eggs I've *ever* eaten.

Yum.

 

More calcium for the chickens...

who knew they like to eat their eggshells?

My cousin's daughter and O playing.

   

My cousin's son- 

I told him to smile and say cheese...

This is what he gave me, haha.

Last year, they had a phenomenal garden, which they're getting going again this year...

Potatoes

Strawberries

Garlic

Ducks visiting their koi pond.

We had such a good time hanging out there!  Plus, my cousin gave me a whole bunch a plants to bring home!  (I'll have to show those off in a future post)

...Oh, what a beautiful day...

...Just a few quick pictures to share...

One of our backyard visitors.

Rye lookin' pretty under our lilac bush.

Stop and smell the flowers

Pointing out our new blooms.

They're so pretty!

I love how they look like they're painted!

I know that they're weeds, but I think they're pretty.

February showers bring march flowers...?

I'm sure if you live anywhere in the Midwest you're getting sick of hearing people talk about just how insanely beautiful the weather has been.  I mean c'mon, it's bee in the upper 70s to low 80s and its not even spring break!  All of this warmth and sunshine has me in the mood to garden, but I'm a little wary of doing any real planting at this point, especially given that it's suggested that planting should begin in early May for our area.

Well, I *did* go ahead and plant one measly little packet of rhubarb swiss chard seeds...  figuring that it's a cold weather crop, so it *should* be fine.  Hopefully it survives if we happen to get another frost (which I'm praying we don't!).  I also got a bunch of seeds started, some to be transplanted into the garden and some in pots, all of which can be brought inside if we have to.

There's a whole bunch of stuff here...

radishes, mustard, two kinds of swiss chard,

arugula and tom thumb lettuce!

Again, there's lots here...  buttercrunch lettuce, 

cucumbers (the "regular" kind and some for pickles), 

three of four different kinds of tomatoes and eggplant!

Yesterday, I got the kids outside for most of the day (again) and this time I remembered to bring the camera!  I didn't manage to get any good pictures of my baby plants (swiss chard, arugula and buttercrunch lettuce are all coming up!), but I *did* get these...

All three of these pictures are plants that have surprised us...

this is our first spring in this house, 

so it's fun to see what kind of flowers are coming up!

Yay, springtime!  We tore a bunch of bulbs out of our garden and moved them to another area, not expecting them to flower (or even survive, for that matter) but the crocuses have blossomed and the daffodils a budding (again, no good pictures of those yet)!  I also managed to get the kids to help out with cleaning up the leaves and sticks around the fire "pit" (it's not really a pit, it's more of a fire thingy....  I'm not sure what to call it).  The idea of yard work has been a lot more fun for the kids since we got our compost bin a few days ago, for some reason they think it's lots of fun to watch things decompose.  Oh, who am I kidding?  It *is* fun!

Moo hard at work.

Our pretty pile of sticks and logs that we 

cleaned up from around the fire "pit."

Obviously, the kids have gotten a lot of play time in as well...

O and Rye chasing around soccer balls.

The girls had a friend stay overnight,

so this was a good chance to get some

quality cops and robbers in.

O in Daddy's truck.

Getting all of that energy out!

Now, I know I'm going a little overboard on the pictures, but it was too gorgeous not to take tons of them!  ....so what's my favorite part of being outside?  

Robins were my favorite bird when I was a kid...

I *love* that rusty orange color on their chests.

So regal.

I think I might have to embroider one soon.

I *think* this is a downy woodpecker, 

please correct me if I'm wrong...

This guy (or girl, I'm not sure)

was hanging out for quite awhile

and, of course, as soon as I put the camera down

it was joined by two more!  

I didn't manage to catch all three of them together...

But I *did* get this video of the first one!

(sorry it's shaky...  and please ignore the screaming children in the background)

Of course, after all of that nice weather, today is dreary and rainy...  which I don't mind.  I'm enjoying my coffee that much more.