Still loving me some spring

Sunday after church I grabbed my camera and ran over to my parents house to capture some spring photos. The sun was shinning beautiful and it was calling my name. Gosh, it was a gorgeous day! The temperatures have cooled off this week but are now calling for another beautiful warm weekend again. I'll take it.

I joined a gym 2 weeks ago and am loving it! I love to see and feel the progress I'm making. The gym has weights for strength training and cardio equipment. The weights are OK and I'm doing them but my favorite are the cardio. Just in 2 weeks I've more than quadrupled my times and increased my speeds. I'm loving it!

It's only the end of March and we are going like crazy on the yard. Something is motivating me this year. I've been cleaning out flower beds, weeding, transplanting hostas, making plans for bigger and better. I find myself sitting at work dreaming about what I can dig into when I get home.

Things I'm loving right now.....

Birds singing, oh how I've missed my birds this winter.

Green! I notice more everyday now.

Sunshine and blue skies.

Evening backyard fires.

Staying outside until it's too dark to see.

Cooking outside on the grill.

Motorcycle and Jeep rides.

Hope you have something great to look forward to this weekend.

Spring

Craig has been in Indy at a trade show the last few days. So being I am home alone I called Mom and Dad yesterday while I was at work and invited myself over for dinner. At 4:00 I flew out the door, stopped at home and got Seadra and Zoe so they could go with me, then arrived to a wonderful home cooked meal of brats on the grill, orzo lemon pasta salad, fresh green beans with ham, beet salad and fresh strawberries. My parents are the best! Poor Fiona has turned so unsociable with people she is not familiar with that I didn't take her.

Then I walked around Mom's gardens and took hundreds of photos of anything that screamed spring, which was almost everything. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE spring? Well, I'm saying it again.

Then last night I lay in bed with the windows wide open enjoying the cool breezes (this is the best sleeping weather). I laid there thinking about how incredibly happy I was. I have two well adjusted happy kids who are a complete joy to be around, I have a husband whom I adore, 3 crazy dogs who make me smile everyday, a job I love (most of the time).... I drifted off to the most peaceful sleep. And then I woke up to the sounds of a gentle rain. I laid in bed an extra few minutes this morning just so I could listen.....

It's rained almost all day today but I didn't mind. It's only making things grow and greener. Right now I'm sitting on the front porch swing listening to the birds. Seadra, Zoe and Fiona are out here with me. They think they are protecting me.

And last I leave you with a "spring chicken". This is my Dad's rooster. I think he's beautiful!

Happy Weekend my friends.... and Happy Spring!!!!

Oh Happy Days.....

Spring has arrived in all it's glory! Every breath I've taken this week was slow and deliberate. I am relishing every moment of it. I feel like a caged animal who has been let out.

For 2 weeks straight we have been breaking record high temperatures and the sun has been out... boy has the sun ever been out. It's been nearly impossible working inside an office knowing that it's 80 degrees and sunny outside. As soon as Craig and I hit the door after work the texts start flying. Wanna go riding tonight? Wanna go get ice cream? Wanna work in the yard? Wanna have a fire tonight? Wanna go out to the cottage? Lets go kayaking! Lets cook out on the grill tonight!

My bluebird house went up a few weeks ago. I am still waiting for occupants to show up. Free mealworms for life for the lucky occupants!

We are way ahead of where we normally are this time of year for getting stuff done in the yard. Things are starting to look good.

Jordan was home last weekend. She only has 4 more weeks of school left and she will be home for the summer. I'm so looking forward to having my girl home this summer.

My Kayak Buddy

This was "THE" weekend. The weather was perfect and I got to take the kayak out for the first time this season.

I first set out on my own but Zoe chased me half way around the lake trying to get my attention and begging for me to pick her up.

She won.

She is the perfect kayaking buddy. I think she enjoys it as much as I do.

She's relaxed, calm and loves the sights and smells.

She knows where the best spot in the kayak is.

And when she gets tired she curls up and takes a nap. I LOVE MY ZO-ZO!

Loving me some weekend.....

Love this face... Love my Fiona.

The weather is fantastic this weekend. Craig has had the bike torn apart for months detailing it. He spent all morning putting it back together. We wasted no time and went for our first ride this year. It felt sooooo good! It was really windy today so we didn't go for a very long ride. The winds are suppose to calm down tomorrow so we'll be out again tomorrow. What a mood lifter!!!

My content precious Zoe

I took this photo of Zoe a few days ago because I thought it was hysterical that she was cramming her fat round body into Fiona little bed.

But tonight I have a different perspective as I look at this photo. I look at it now and I see a content dog making the best of something she couldn't change. She decided to "go" for it even if it wasn't ideal or perfect. She's making the best of it and enjoying it anyway.

I need her attitude tonight. I am in a funk that I cannot seem to shake. One problem is that it's Thursday evening and I am exhausted. It's been a stressful week at work and all I can think about is wishing it was Friday at 5:00.

I have a date with my kayak Saturday and I'm hoping it breaks this mood. Maybe Zoe would like to go with me.

Family Outing

We did something today we only do about once a year, if that. We drove to Grand Rapids and went shopping at the mall there. Maybe not a big deal for a lot of people but we are not mall shoppers. Craig just isn't a shopper at all and well, you know from my many posts about thrifting that malls and Macy's are not my style. But just for kicks we went today.... and it was a great day! The best part was that Caleb and Jordan went with us.

We ate ice cream and soft pretzels, shopped at yummy chocolate shops and ate dinner at TGI Friday's.

Jordan and I drooled over shoes. If I wasn't so cheap I could totally be one of those women with 100 pairs of shoes.

Caleb bought some new clothes for his trip to Florida. Caleb and Jordan are flying to Florida tomorrow morning to spend their spring break with Craig's parents.

On our way to Grand Rapids we stopped at the Harley dealer. I've been keeping my eyes open for a black leather Harley jacket. Haven't found one I liked yet until today. I am now the proud owner of a leather riding jacket.... Now if the weather would hurry up and turn to spring. I'M READY TO GO RIDING!!!!!

The emblem is actually black and gray but it looks white from the flash because it is reflective.