Has Spring Sprung?

Here in North Idaho we have been weathering the storms with hope that spring is just beyond the clouds. There is no April showers only April hailstorms. My May flowers are beginning to break through the frozen dirt only to find cold, white snow. So we wait and enjoy those few days where the sun shines, melting away the snow from the day(s) before, hoping that the night will not bring another storm that shades the sun away.

The kiddos are on Spring Break. This is a joyful, relaxing time for them but a taxing time for us as parents. Those school hours are a nice break for us to spend quality time together or to get certain things done around the house that cannot be done with kids underfoot. We did take advantage of some free skiing tickets & took the kids up to the mountain to snowboard for the day, which gave us "us" time.

Chris is playing baseball, again. He made the JV team and is actually catching this year. Due to the snow they have only had 1 game thus far but he did really good in it. He went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBIs. He even threw a guy out who was trying to steal 2nd on him. I was extremely proud of him (but I'm his mom & tend to be biased). He finished driver's ed too. Rob taught him how to drive the Xterra (a manual) in one day & he's been driving me around ever since. He picked up manual much faster than Ky did. We really haven't had to yell too much at him yet.

Ky spent the first 5 days of Spring break on a service project tour that took her to Seattle WA, Portland OR, Asortia OR, & Yakima WA. It's always good for her to get to stretch out her wings & get away from home, especially when it also entails giving back to others. Now she is home "running a muck," enjoying her time off from school. Ky is our work horse and has started thinking about college and responsibility more. We as parents have been encouraging such maturity and we're thankful that we're getting to the point where we're not fighting her to exercise it. We recently agreed to allow her to take 6 college classes next year during her senior year of high school at NIC (the local Jr. College). We're all excited about this & I'm confident that she will be successful.

Rob & I are good. Baby plans have been put on hold. With much saddness we had to make this tough decision but it was what is best at this time for our family. Right now all of our focus is on raising mature, responsible young adults. We're looking forward to a trip to Seattle in a couple of weeks to watch the Angels play the Mariners. This is something that we do every year & it will be a great break away from North Idaho.

Enjoy these pictures & I'll try to write more.