How to Welcome Spring

Well, first of all, the best way to welcome Spring is to take full advantage of SPRING BREAK. 'Nough said.
But...this is how you do it if you happen to live in our household.

First, you must delight in/obsess over the blossoms on the plum tree.

See? Delight.

You must play nicely in the backyard through all hours of every day.

You must open windows in all the rooms of the house.
And pet whatever animal happens to be lurking outside.
Luckily for us, it's only ever a cat.
Our cat, to be exact.

Hi James.

You must leave hats, socks, and shirts draped over the garden fence. It signifies springtime.

As do the turning leaves of the pomegranate tree.
She's a-turnin-a-green!

But I love the hint of red still left.

You must get all up in the tangelo tree's business, trying to spot little buds.
Because it's exciting.
Because the birds ate them ALL last year.

You must leave old vases of old flowers sitting on the garden fence from that party we had a few weeks ago but didn't ever actually clean up after all the way because right when you were about to someone got in a motorcycle accident.
They look a little wilted. But still good.
(kind of like the guy who got in a motorcycle accident looked for a while)

You must be generally happy.

Whether playing...

Or lounging.

You must wear baseball hats and look like little boys.
Unless you're a girl.
Then you can just look like a darling little girl.

You must take choosing a movie for rest time seriously.
(I like his hand out to the side, like he's talking this over with himself)

You must enjoy the warm afternoon sunshine in the sandbox.

And yell at mom when you see her taking your picture.
Because being loud feels right sometimes on a warm afternoon.

You must swing with abandon...

and have popsicle mustaches...

and squinty grins.

Or upclosecontagiousgrins.

You must throw fit after fit about the tricycle until Daddy puts it in the trash (recycling bin) to make a point.

You must bond with the spider who lives in the plum tree.
And want to name it Arachnus Deathicus because everyone wants to watch Megamind all the time.
I know it's a horrible picture but it's the best one I got. I had to include it because I checked on him every day and was sad when he disappeared but now he is back so I celebrated by including his picture here.
(It's getting late, can you tell?)
But anyway, he's that spot in the middle.

And what a view he has!

You must vow to not let the birds claim your harvest again this year!!!!
With conviction.
And cd's hung in the trees to reflect light and scare the peabrains away.

You must juice citrus, particularly lemons from Grandma and Grandpa's tree and make yummy yummy juice.

Getting really excited about it is a bonus.

You must delight in your pitcher of fresh squeezed lemonade enough to take a picture of the pitcher.

You must play chase games around the kitchen where, really, it's not entirely safe to do so.

You must go to the bookstore for Family Home Evening so everyone can choose a new book.
But, first, ride some bikes.
Oh, yeah, and it's best if this is all done in pajamas.

You must visit the Lunts and have a snack picnic in their backyard.
Ben, James, Bethany, Livia, Staten, and Maylee enjoy time together. Only Teagan is MIA. He was getting changed or something after playing catch with his dad.

You must earn your own little garden set by helping with some chores.
Prepping the soil...

Planting the seeds...

and decorating your mini greenhouses with stickers.

You must help get some more spring veggies into the family garden.
OR
Just dance around the backyard while Mom does it.

But it's best if you help a little.

With breaks, of course.

It's also best if you laugh while you're working.
I hear it helps the seeds grow.

Laughing while you're playing is good too.

But, back to business, you must wear green to match the plants you are planting.

And stand back and appreciate the experience of a first garden.
Complete with Disney Princess labeling tags stuck into a not-yet-planted section.

And last, but not least, you must be grateful for all you have and are able to do.
Because, really, you can't really help it.
There is so much to love and enjoy.
Happy Spring!