SPRING MANTEL and DECOR 2013

In keeping with the tradition of posting things late...here is my spring decor. 

Using a lot of what I already had, I just added some more springy flowers and tried to pull in more pinks and pastels. 

The tulips are Mom's annual Easter gift to me. 

The dining room shelves. 

My bedside table.

And because we still have yet to put grass in our yard, I put grass in our kitchen instead. 

Now I need to start thinking summer...!

SUMMER PARADISE

I cannot even express the joy of being home all day.

Quiet. Calm. With lots of time to do...whatever the heck I want.

For example, I can't remember the last time I made myself a beautiful lunch, sat down, and ate it. Without the phone ringing, cafeteria duty to be to, kids needing to make-up work, lessons to plan, materials to gather, papers to grade, messes to clean, copies to make, e-mails to answer, and band aids to apply.

I can arrange flowers from my yard and be at home to enjoy them.

I can spend all morning weeding and seeding and enjoying the sunshine.

I can get started arranging past blog entries into a printed book.
{Something I've wanted to do for a long time. And what a great family journal/scrapbook to have!}

I can even sit at my window and watch that tree go from this...

to this...in less than twenty-four hours.

The best thing is that I have the time to take pointless pictures of weeds and daydream on a piece of land that Andrew and I own as of 8am this morning.

That's right. Breaking ground this afternoon.

Boo-ya, baby! It's gonna be a great summer.

PERSONIFICATION

I'm sure I looked like the paparazzi to my Easter tulips--the way I followed them around with a camera all week. 

Here are my Easter tulips {thanks Mom} watching the sunrise. 

And helping me enjoy an afternoon snack. 

And hangin' with Andrew while he watched a baseball game on-line. 

That is until  I stole them back they soon got bored and chose to help me proofread my cousin's book instead. 

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Heather's book is so fun, and when it's published you'll all want to be the first ones in line to buy it. You won't be sorry.

This is Andrew informing me that allowing the tulips to accompany us on our Friday night date is "out of the question."

I guess he just wanted some alone time without the little ones. But I shared my ice-cream when we returned. 

Sweet dreams.  

A FEW (more) HAPPY FAVORITES

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1.)
My boots. I admit, I was a teeny bit skeptical when I opened the box Andrew had handed me. I'm a big fan of the small-town country feel, I've been on my fair share of horses, but...I'm no cowgirl. Wouldn't that make me a lame-o poser?
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Those were my thoughts then. But since that time, I have fallen passionately in-love with my cowgirl boots. I plan to marry them as soon as it's legal in the state of Idaho to do so.


*awkward silence*
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I apologize for that. It was bit extreme and I don't know what made me say such an embarrassingly shameful thing.
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Just know that I love the boots, and firmly believe every girl should own a pair. *ahem* Any-who...
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2.)
The flowers in my yard.
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What fun it is to be able to cut these from our yard and have a bouquet like this for free!
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Uncle Doug gave us a couple clay vase-like things that he made. I've used them to display flowering tree branches...

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...and blossoming lilac fronds. Fresh flowers make such a difference in the feel of the house...and in my womanly moods.
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3.)

Sunshiny rainstorms. There is something so fresh and beautiful about pouring rain in the sunshine. It goes against all my instincts to have all those drops falling from a clear blue sky. Liquid happiness, I tell ya. (Can you see the rain?)
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Sometimes it's hard to see rain with the camera, so I thought maybe you could see droplets on my car a little better...shimmering in the sun.
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Anyway, happy Friday, blogger buddies!
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We're going camping again. =)
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CATERPILLARS IN A CUP

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I ordered them from the Internet. For the children, of course. The aforementioned children were convinced they could tell each caterpillar apart. Apparently, the insects' unique personalities made this possible.

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Meet Frankie, Bob, Steve, Germaine Jacoba, and Frankie Joe George Cheese Bob III. At least that's what I've been overhearing these past few weeks. (How do they even come up with this stuff?)

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They crawled around their cup, eating, pooping, and building a disgusting mass of webs...until one by one, they hung head first from the lid like gymnasts. A week later, all five chrysalids hung in a happy row...butterflies baking within.
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At this point, I opened the cup, untangled the chrysalides from their webs, and pinned the lid inside this netted butterfly atrium. I didn't even gag!
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The darker they get, the closer they are to being baked through. By the time they emerged, each chrysalis was almost black.

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Even when we had a student on watch at all times, we missed every single emergence. It happens fast! But we were sure pleased to have all five turn into beautiful, delicate painted lady butterflies.

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They drink with their long, curly tongues from sugar water sprinkled on flowers or from fresh-cut orange slices.
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Our next step, is to set them free to their natural habitat. That is, if the weather will cooperate. It has to be above 55 degrees.

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Pretty, yes?

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On another spring topic, look at my tulips! We're starting to see some color!!

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Soon to follow will be my allium...or purple-poof-ball-Dr.-Suess-flowers...as I like to call them. Uncle Doug, I was glad to know what they're really called...but I still like my name better. No offense.
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SPRING BREAK DAY 4

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We watched our church's General Conference via the laptop. I enjoyed a Sunday without formal meetings...a Sunday where we were able to see each other before the evening meal.

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.Between sessions, I worked on updating our picture frames with more recent photos. I now have 12 frames to redistribute through the house.

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And Andrew surprised me with a homemade Easter Cake as he called it. =)
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Yes, the tulips continue to be an ever-present source of joy. They follow me around the house depending upon the room I am currently spending the most time in.

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Afterward, our need to expend extra energy took us on several walks. The second one lasted an hour and a half. We talked, laughed, pushed each other into puddles, and picked out aspects of neighborhood houses we'd want to add to the our dream home.

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Believe it or not, this was the least embarrassing of the photos we attempted.

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We also came across the Easter Bunny formed from quickly melting snow...

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And traces of big foot in our very own town! Check out that footprint!
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We hope you all had a happy Easter. Ours was the simplest, happiest, most relaxing of holidays. I love my Andrew, the church is true, and there is still one more day of Spring Break!

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SPRING BREAK DAY 1

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I just lay in bed enjoying the morning until 9:00. Then I got up and ate cookies for breakfast.

This was partly out of celebration(no work), partly because they were easy access on the table, and partly because no one would have to deal with the hyper sugar rush that would follow, but me.

At least until 5:30.

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I recently used my Christmas gift card at Barnes and Noble, to buy a certain favorite movie of mine. I tried to watch it with Andrew last night, but fell asleep around 9:30. I think Spring Break has been a long time coming.
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So this morning, I watched it again. Okay, fine.
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Twice.
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The second time was with commentary.
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But the day wasn't entirely unproductive. At Barnes and Noble, I had also bought a recipe binder that now needed to be put together. My stacks of hastily scrawled note cards have quickly become unruly. It took both viewings of Nemo, before all of my favorite recipe cards were carefully organized.
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After a lunch of (ahem) cookies, I sat in the window, pondering with delight the green splashes beginning to appear in random corners of our lawn. But then, I watched as unexpected snow flurries worked to cover them up. Not even our tiki torches escaped the new blanket of snow.
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Spring: so close, and yet so far.
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But then, our friendly, neighborhood UPS guy saved the day with an unexpected delivery!
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Someone must know me very well. Oh, how I love tulips!
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I was happy to be celebrating spring indoors, even if Mother Nature wasn't cooperating without.
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Alright...this may be getting extreme. But I can hardly help it! I love them. As I type this, I pause every few moments, just to gaze at the vase sitting next to my computer.
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Yes. Somehow, the tulips managed to find themselves in this photo as well. But I did mention how I love them, right? Anyway...I digress.

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A few hours later, Andrew greeted me at the door, bearing the contents of our mailbox. This included a much anticipated package from a much admired dress-making-company! (the contents of which, will have to wait for another post...)
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Now I am off to deal with this sugar-induced headache . I think a candle-lit bath is in order. Note to self: Make oatmeal for breakfast tomorrow.

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Until tomorrow then!

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SPRING-Y SATURDAY

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Today is the official, first day of spring. It is certainly starting to feel like it outside. This is what my tulips looked like under today's sunny skies.

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Andrew got dressed this morning with plans to do some winter clean-up in our yard. Holy Hannah. He is such a stud. There's something about those work boots and his flannel shirt that gets me every time. I would compare him to those rugged Marlboro men, except that those guys advertise cigarettes.

And smoking is icky..

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{Hands off ladies.}

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Anyways, thanks to his hard work, our yard is now as prepared as we are for spring to come forth in full force! The grass is still brown, but as you can see...no snow!.
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I would have loved to join him, but I had hours worth of work of my own to get done. Although, I did get to work on our sunny front stoop...with a great view of my man in action.

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Later, as if to honor the first day of spring, Andrew found this little guy hiding in our backyard. It's official. Easter is just around the corner!

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Andrew was so funny about it. He asked me for a carrot and a box, and set them up in the yard. I think he has plans to catch our furry friend..
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But Andrew must REALLY be ready for warmer weather (or really bored), because the next time I looked out our kitchen window, I saw him setting up some tiki torches. As far as I know, we have zero plans for throwing a luau anytime soon.

I still need to ask him about this strange behavior...

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Well, everyone, happy Saturday and happy spring! Think lots of warm thoughts, and who knows, maybe you'll find a luau invitation in the mail soon...

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