Signs that Spring is in the air

Signs that Spring has hit my world:
-the bikes are slowly making their way from the basement to the garage
-as are the scooters, skateboards, and airpumps.
-we can't get the cars into the garage again as there are bikes, helmets, scooters, airpumps, jackets, shovels, and other various items littering the floor
-Cameron comes in the front door after school, and goes right out the back
-the boys' friends are calling on them (and vice versa) again, rather than calling on the phone to see if they want to play
-I've noticed that my windows are dirty
-the Human Beings around this neck of the woods are coming out of hibernation
-the cat is constanty running to the door wanting out
-the buds are starting on the trees and bushes
-after school I'm yelling at the boys to pick up their "spring" coats, rather than their winter ones
-Matthew and Spencer are taking longer to walk home from school
-the BBQ is starting to get a work-out
-the grocery bill contains items such as ribs, hamburgers, hotdogs, and steak
-there is garbage everywhere (the worst part of spring - stuff that has been burried under the snow banks for months)
-the road crews are out in full force
-shoes are muddy
-the grass is soggy
-birds are singing
-people are smiling again
-we are reaquainting ourselves with our neighbours

David had a photo challenge this month to take three pictures of signs of spring. Here are my entries:

Wikipedia Tag

OK. So there's a blog tag going around out there.
The rules are:
1) Go to Wikipedia
2) In the search box, type your birth month and day but not the year.
3) List three events that happened on your birthday
4) List two important birthdays and one death
5) One holiday or observance (if any)
6) Tag 5 other bloggers to complete it.

It seems like a fun tag game and I don't want to wait until I'm tagged ... well, because I just don't get tagged ... so I'm going to jump in anyway and play along.

Three events that happened on my birthday:
1. 1902 - American Old West: Second-in-command of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang, Kid Curry Logan, sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labor.
2. 1940 - Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz married in Greenwich, Connecticut.
3. 1954 - In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, an 8.5 lb (3.4 kg) sulfide meteorite crashes through a roof and hits Mrs. Elizabeth Hodges in her living room after bouncing off her radio, giving her a bad bruise, in the only unequivocally known case of a human being hit by a space rock.

Two important birthdays and one death:
1. 1874 - Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Nobel Prize laureate
2. 1957 - Colin Mochrie, Scottish-born Canadian comedian. Hey cool! Colin Mochrie shares my birthday!

3. 1900 - Oscar Wilde, Irish writer (b. 1854) My list of deaths to choose from was far shorther than the birthdays. That must be a good omen.

One holiday or observance:
Barbados - Independence Day (from Britain, 1966) This one I had to include because for 5 years while we were living in Barbados, the whole country was celebrating my birthday.

I'm not going to tag anyone individually, but everyone who reads this. So, tag, you're it!

I am ...

... home from our wonderful holiday in Florida
... tanned and relaxed
... a wife
... a mother
... a friend
... a daughter
... a sister
... loving
... addicted to scrapbooking
... a photographer
... an animal lover
... someone who loves to laugh
... a procrastinator
... someone who craves organization
... a shy person by nature
... an introvert
... striving to make my home a soft place for the men in my life to fall
... a woman of faith
... always striving to be a better person
... a homebody but love to travel
... still in my pjs
... a tea granny
... too hard on myself
... too hard on my kids
... an internet junkie
... most comfortable in jeans and a t shirt, and barefoot
... Canadian
... anxious about what lies ahead for Matt
... a musician
... independent
... stubborn
... happiest when I am just hanging out with my family or my friends
... a nature lover
... a stay-at-home-mom and love it
... a mother of teenage boys - nuff said!
... a paper hoarder
... missing spending time with my family
... going grey
... going grocery shopping Yuck!
... me

Just another day in Paradise.

The nice weather has continued. The last couple of days have been perfect weather, sunny and warm.

On Tuesday we decided to take the boys to St. Andrew's State Park for the day. We've never been there and heard that it would be a good place for Cameron to do some fishing. It's a very nice little park with some nature trails. One of them goes along the shore of a small lake where you get to see alligators and lots of birds. We had a lot of fun trying to find the alligators who were hiding just below the surface of the water, while we were standing on the shore.

Cameron did some fishing off the pier there. He loved it but didn't catch anything. He didn't even get a nibble, but it was a gorgeous spot just to sit and watch the boats go by. He used shrimp for bait which he had a lot of fun trying to gross the rest of us out with. It worked!



Then we went to the beach in the park which was gorgeous. All three boys had fun exploring the rocks while John and I sat and tried to spot some dolphins that were swimming by. We managed to see two pods (is that what they are called?) of them and I was alble to get some shots of them on my film camera with the zoom lens on. I hope they turn out.



Today was supposed to be overcast all day, but around 11 a.m. the clouds broke and we ended up with clear blue skies all day. It made for another great day of swimming in the heated pool (OK, for those who know me well, I know you're rolling your eyes because I don't swim unless it is dreadfully hot outside ... so I sat and baked in the sun instead.)



Since we had such a nice time yesterday at St. Andrews, we took Cameron back to do some more fishing. He really wanted to fish from the rocks where someone told him was a good place. After a few attempts and a lot of tears because the line was getting caught in the rocks, and the rod broke, Cameron stated that "this isn't a very good day." We suggested going back to the pier which he was very happy to do. This time, he was able to get some nibbles, but still no fish.

Tomorrow it appears that some rain is coming in, so it looks like a shopping day. Yay! That's a good thing because I'm feeling a little fried right now.

We've arrived.

Doesn't that sound good? We've arrived.

We arrived in Florida on Friday morning around 11 a.m. Eastern Standard time. We made really good time driving considering we were about two hours late leaving. The boys were so quiet all the way down. I don't think we had one fight in the car. Wow! Hopefully we'll have the same on the way home.

We've had great weather so far. It's been in the mid to upper 70s during the day ... and sunny. We've been to the beach twice and already been shopping ... more than twice. Yesterday I got a little red so we decided to take a break from the beach today. The boys have been itching to go go-carting so we did. They love this go-carting place so we end up going there every time we come here.

When we arrived, Cameron went in the front door, after saying hello to his Grandparents, and went out the back door. We've hardly seen him at all except when he comes back to show us the latest critter he has found. He met a little friend who is just like him, so the two of them are enjoying exploring together. Matthew and Spencer are enjoying their video games. John and I are threatening to leave them home next time since they don't even seem to be enjoying their surroundings. They tell us they are, but it doesn't seem so. I don't know, maybe the video games work better here than they do at home. Maybe the screen looks better. Maybe the warmer weather makes their fingers more nimble. Whatever it is, I think we will need to have them surgically removed when the March Break is over.

I've been mia for a while. I've been madly painting. We have so much that needs to be done so I'm trying to just plow through. At this moment I have the halls on the main floor and lower landing done. I still need to do the trim. I've done the dining room including pillars and trim. I've done the kitchen, but still need to do the trim. That's it until we come back from holidays.

Speaking of which, we are leaving tomorrow for our annual attempt to see the sun during the March Break. We will pick the boys up at school at noon and head to Florida. We'll drive straight through and should pull into Mom and Dad's place about the time they are having their breakfast on Friday morning. Hopefully the drive will go well.

Today will be errands, packing, and cleaning.

I went for a haircut yesterday. It's been a long time since I've been unhappy about a haircut but she did a terrible job. I asked for a trim and came out with very short hair. How does that happen? It's not even the same style! I don't get it. If I have time later I will show you before and after pictures. You will be shocked! I was! So were the boys. John, on the otherhand, was very brave. He tried to make me feel better.