wishing

image from http://blog.zerodean.com/2012/motivational-images/dont-wish-away-your-days/

we have been in full throttle mode. there never seems to be time to slow down as there is nothing i want to miss out on. i almost think that this feeling is 10x worse for a kid. we have been busy visiting the farm, riding bikes, having playdates, visiting the other gramma and grampa, getting used to daddy's new schedule, playing tractors, riding in tractors...... there is so much that i wish for. most importantly happiness and contentedness. i need to know that my kids are happy, paul and i are happy, and that what we do and are doing will only add to that.

all are now sporting new superhero capes. i found a tutorial from Lara here. i tweaked it a little to make them wider at the top and bottom. their superpowers have not totally gone to their heads! not totally!

there are plenty of big wheels to ride in and to spy from.

that sneaky bunny seemed to pop up lots of places and was able to find us even though we were not home. he even left us surprises at the nursing home with great gramma. a won the second prize and now has a new pink bunny.

just wishing and playing and loving. need i say more.

diy color my headphones

my girl will be rocking 4k with her new headphones. this project totally took me back to my tween era. and, even though the school is well over halfway done, it is nice to have a small surprise to brighten the long stretch to the end.

elizabeth at contemporary farm girl walks you through the whole process. the only differences i made were to use crochet thread and to skip taping the one inch thread to the wire before adding another strand of thread. just think of all the color combos.....rainbows, stripes, school colors, seasonal... let me know if you try this. i would love to see the finished product.

you're so fine

spring!! you're so fine. you blow my mind!!! hey, spring!

can you believe this weather and all the gorgeous days we have had. technically, the calendar says that it is still winter but the thermometer is reading in the 80s.  i kind of have the feeling that wisconsin likes to skip spring and fall and go right to the hots and colds of the next season.

h has been doing his fair share of digging and i am sure that i will see lots of these wiggly creatures coming my way all summer long. he has also found a frog already and we can hear the peepers in the fields. h is big on the where?? so, i need to explain that i hear them. i do not see them. he definitely likes visuals. he also likes to make plans. 'that's my plan!'

after our trip, we headed to gramma and grampa's for the weekend. i will definitely be playing catch-up for longer than anticipated. the kids got all the costumes out and we found squirt bottles for all....because when one has something, they all need one. they hid them really well for a moment and then bursted out with joy that uncle was coming closer but still way out of range and started squirting away.

the cousins enjoyed having all the attention.

of course, there was some work involved in the visit. grampa wanted help pulling line fence out on the new farm. we did get "some" work done but we also took the time to fly kites in the warm sun and wind.

i am thinking that this might just be in the lamb of march. ummmm.

sneaky little one

a and h had an awesome day searching out all the tricks and treats that sneaky little leprechan left for them. for some reason even the milk was green and there was fruity cereal on their chairs. after they followed all the clues they also found jelly beans outside.

we need more little surprise days.

st patty's day fun

i just found the crafting chicks and have been all over the site. so many great ideas. for st. patty's day, jamie posted a treause hunt with these adorable for personal use printable clues. check out their site here. 

jessekate designs also has a fun treasure hunt with a twist. check out her site here.

the crafting shicks also featured these cool printables for an awesome teacher. they also have a notecard that you can fill in 'Lucky to have you because...' i think this would be a totally unexpected surprise for a neighbor left on their doorstep with a treat.

can't wait to surprise my two littles with the sneaky little guy that has been turning things green all over town. he got the donuts at the supermarket already and the neighbors front door with a st. patty's day sign. i wonder where he will strike again!

it is totally a first

we did it!! 1 husband, 2 kiddos, 1500 miles (one way), and lots of excitement!!! could you do it? i must say roadtripping with kids was not high on my list but, it went really smoothly and we really enjoyed eachother and all there was to see in the daylight hours.



these kids had all the comforts of home right in the car. i totally think that we overpacked! but, to be fair, we only had a 4 days notice that we were going on vacation!!! so, super excited me packed really hastily in hopes that i was not forgetting anything. and low and behold, things were forgotten but, not important.

we passed through 7 states. seeing our name in big bold letters was ever sooo cool for mr. h.

we ended up stopping for the night twice on the way down. the second day we stopped at high falls for lunch just south of atlanta. it was the perfect weather for a picnic lunch and stroll to stretch our legs. h also helped the rangers by gathering sticks into a pile.

when i see this photo, i immediatley think how fast she is growing and how independent she will be shortly.

i wish we would have taken more on the road photos and/or had more time to explore some of the other parks along the way. tennessee was full of them and the mountains made for a gorgeous background with added waterfalls from thawing water running along the highway.

h is checking out our first florida morning as we made it halfway down the second day.

see...still smiles after 1500 miles! we made it to a wonderful home away for the week.

such an awesome house and such a great way to relax.

ava and hudson got right down to business and donned their swimsuits and caught a fish in like 5 minutes!

3 hours later we got to watch our first florida sunset over the bay.

the next day, we visited john pennekamp park. we did some beachcombing and water scouting and then headed out for a glass bottom boat road. never again. well, maybe if i take the drugs. they warned us about getting seasick and planes, carrides, lakes, etc. do not bother me so, i thought nothing of 3 foot waves.....until we got out there and then i wanted nothing but to return to land. a and i spent most of the time on the top deck. h and daddy viewed the bottom of the ocean from inside. i swear nothing phases that boy. sorry no cool fish and coral photos from me that day.

the next day we plopped our wisconsin butts down at harry harris beach. a totally free beach during the week. right away when we got there we spotted a crab in the water and when he had not moved after we came back from exploring we thought he might have been dead. surprise on us. 20 minutes after allowing h to carry from up and down the shore i heard "yikes! he, tried to pinch me." what a stinker and lesson.

the next day we headed almost all the way down the keys to bahia honda park. absolutely my favorite. perfect sand for building a castle, a little warmer water, and lots of paths and wildlife to explore. we walked all the way out on the bridge over the water. amazing how far up you are and that it was constructed in the early 1900s. across the gap you can see the other part of the bridge that is deteriorating from the elements.

the altantic side of the park was completely different. the waves were much rougher but, it would be the ideal spot to read a book. i just needed an adirondak chair to sit in.

 along with the jellfish that swam with us all day. we saw these 2 splashing about in the bay. 2 mantees! i wish i would have gotten a better picture but, h was travelling the other day. they are big!

 all i can say is ahhhh. we so enjoyed ourselves and our getaway. it was truly a blessing to spend this time together.

ps. on the way, almost anything goes including giant sugar icy slushies from a gas station. i cannot believe how quickly they sucked those things down. we came back to a lot of snow but, thankfully our neighbor had taken care of our driveway and this week the snow is all gone and the temperatures are hitting the 60s. spring here we come?

for the love of...

for the love of birds. we got together with our neighbors to stir up some treats for our feathered friends. they didn't exactly turn out so we improvised and next time i think we will try this recipe.

if only they would have set up. they stayed crumbly and would not hold together. we got out of the house and enjoyed ourselves.  it has been a little harder to get out the door lately. sometimes it is nice to just stay in a nice, cozy, warm house and it seems as if we all have different agendas. i have found myself repeating and repeating what i need them to do from getting their coats and shoes to stop bouncing off the walls. i find it so hard to comprehend how there energy does not get used up.

since the birdseed ornaments did not work we used a little peanut butter (mix will oil....birds do not have salivary glands), spread it on old bread, pressed into the birdseed, folded them in half and put a piece of ribbon on them to hang. note to self.... next time be sure to place highger than the dog can reach. she tried to sneek away with one!

it was a lovely day to treat our friends and to explore the world of creatures outside our door. so hard to believe that this is a february scene. tomorrow the world is going to look a little different. they are big and fat and absorbing every sound so that the world seems calm and restful.