Adjusting

Well, we're adjusting to the nicer weather and the mild changes to our routine that it brings. It's been a bit hard to get the kids outside. Surprisingly so. I think they're so used to the "cold weather" routine, that changing just takes a bit of time. They (and us too for that matter) are certainly creatures of habit.

Adding to the "I'm no longer living in SoCal" list ... last night at bowling (another thing on the list), a friend asked if I wanted to help him burn 15 acres of prairie land at his farm today. I was bummed that I can't get out of work!!! I mean, how can you go wrong with fire and hanging out with friends! Oh well. I can just see the reaction he would have gotten if he lived up in Santa Barbara county near LA ... I think with all the wildfires they have there, they would have lynched him!

We're looking forward to having my sister and her family around for a while this summer. They're due to arrive in a couple of weeks ... just in time for the nice weather. They'll be staying in Lake Geneva for a bit while they look for the next step in the career path for my brother-in-law, Gow. It will be fun to have them near by to hang out with. I think Sally will get all kinds of attention from her older cousins!

Cycles

Another weekly cycle is beginning ... Monday comes, work starts, school starts, the routine returns.

We had a good weekend. Cyndie was at a Hearts at Home conference in Bloomington, IL. She went with a friend from church. They had a really good time. There were several main sessions, and also a lot of side seminars to attend. They got back around 10p on Saturday. While mommy was gone on Friday, the kids were with Grandma and Grandpa D. They (G & G) had friends from Alaska visiting, and the kids were very good for them. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa. I went over there for dinner after work, then the kids and I went home.

Saturday, my sister Amy and the cousins came up for a late breakfast, then we got ready for my Auntie Karen's birthday. That was a fun time ... we grilled burgers and enjoyed the nice weather and they fun times that maturing cousins have together (more playing, less fighting)! We had dinner over at Grandma and Grandpa's, then hit the sack, tired!

Sunday was church, then more time outside in the nice weather. Late afternoon Cyndie went over to help set up the church Silent Auction (for scholarships to summer camp for the church kids). Then we all went over there for a potluck and to bid on the great variety of goods up for auction. In all, it was a nice weekend ... the best part of which was the great weather.

It looks like this week will be in the 50s and 60s! We're looking forward to time outside enjoying that.

Fun Timmy anecdote. We're driving in the car the other day, and I have the radio on to the Classic Rock station that I like. Timmy pipes up ... "hey, this is a Guitar Hero song" which indeed it was. I was amazed by that. Especially because 1) we haven't played guitar hero for several months and 2) when we did play, it was largely after Timmy was in bed and 3) Timmy himself never played, and rarely sat there and watched.

Coming up on the Weekend!

So, the weekend cometh ... it should be a pretty full one!

Today, Cyndie leaves around noon with some other ladies to attend a Ladies conference somewhere down in Illinois. She'll be getting back late Saturday night. The kids will be hanging with my parents for a bit, and we'll have dinner with them and the doctor who delivered me! He and his wife are visiting for an over night.

Tomorrow morning is a big Liverpool soccer game in the morning, and the cousins will be in town for Auntie Karen's birthday, so there will be lots of activity. Then Sunday is church and in the evening is the church silent auction to raise money for camp scholarships ... it'll be a full weekend!

Fortunately, the weather looks like it will be great, so hopefully we'll be able to get the kids and the cousins outside a bit to play! I think that they could use it.

Colder again ...

but I think spring is on its way. It was REALLY windy last night. Gusts in the +55 miles per hour range. That must have brought in some cold weather, as it's below freezing again. However the forecast shows warmer temps for the rest of the week! That means spring is on its way, and that we can all be outdoors a bit more.

It seems like we've been really busy lately ... so much so that we really haven't even had the opportunity to think about being outside. Hopefully we'll be wrapping up our busyness this week, and have a bit more time to just hang out as a family.

Yesterday was Tim's swim class and art class (the kids hung out with Grandma and Grandpa D). Tonight is the end of Cyndie's ladies Bible study ... they're having a meal together at our place. Then afterwards, I have bowling. Bowling ends on April 8, so that's nearing an end too.

Interesting note on Emma and Timmy's swim classes. When they first started around a year ago, they were the oldest kids in their classes. Now, after having spent quite a bit of time in swim classes, and at Grandma and Grandpa D's pool, they are the youngest kids in their classes. I went to pick up Timmy while Emma finished her class last Thursday and was surprised by how short she was compared to her classmates ... and she's not a short girl! Timmy made a comment last night to the effect of "why aren't any of my friends in my class anymore". We had to explain to him that he's getting to be a better swimmer, so he's in a higher level class.

Fun stuff. Here's to hoping that we have a nice spring weekend this weekend.

And we're back ...

Hopefully this week will mark the end of a pretty busy spell for the Wildwood DeVries. We're wrapping up a some activities that have taken up a bit of our time (Spa Night, painting at my parents). Maybe we'll even move forward on working on our house a bit!

Some recap bullets from the weekend:

• I had a good time up at Men's Retreat: Played Settlers a bunch, got second in the broomball tournament (I even scored 3 of our teams 4 goals!), was challenged by the speakers and through discussion with the guys from Anchor.
• On the way home, our 5 hour drive became 7 1/2 as 1) the van keys got locked inside the van during a gas stop, 2) we stopped to help at an accident for a 1/2 hour or so, 3) snow started to come down pretty heavy and forced us to go real slow.
• Fortunately, we didn't get any snow here, so spring is still in order.
• A quick look at the weather showed warmer temps all week! Looking forward to the snow all melting away and the yard drying up so that we can be outside a bit more.
• Cyndie's Spa Night with MOPS went well. It definitely made for a busy weekend. We were thankful that our friend Jeannine and her kids could hang with Emma and Timmy yesterday to allow Cyndie to be over at the Spa Night setting up.
• The kids did another Home Depot craft (race tracks) and got a McDonald's treat on Saturday.

So there's a glance into our lives.

Quick One for the Weekend

I'll drop down a post now, since I think the next few days will go by in a blur ...

It's been a pretty standard week: school, work, volunteering, etc. We're really enjoying the nicer weather ... it's supposed to be in the low 50s today and tomorrow. The kids have spent a bit of time outside, and I'm sure will continue to. Cyndie was outside trimming some of the bushes around the house in preparation for the coming of spring. Ah spring, won't that be great! It always amazes me how warm 45 degrees feels at this time of year, especially when I think back to the fall, and 45 degrees feeling really cold then!

This weekend will be a busy one. Cyndie will be doing a lot of set up for the MOPS Spa Night that she's been really involved with. I'll be gone (leaving tomorrow morning) for Men's retreat up in the UP (that's the Upper Pennisula of Michigan for those of you not in the know of the local lingo).

Last night Cyndie and I were talking, and realizing that this year is our 15th wedding anniversary! Wow! So we're thinking about what we'd like to do, and what we can afford. As of now, our best idea is to line up some babysitting (as in 3 - 7 days worth ... hint, hint family), and then allocate however much we can afford. Then when the time comes, we'll just look for some last minute travel bargain. If nothing works out, we'll just hit the road and explore! So chime in with your great suggestions!

Weekend happenings ...

Not a whole lot new to report today ... so some bullets:

• Spent some time Friday and Sunday over at my folks painting ... the kids have been good about helping out with that (meaning, they play nicely, and let us work quickly).
• Saturday Amy, Dave, and the kids came up from Crystal Lake for the day. We all did the Home Depot craft, and the kids were great playing together. It made for a pretty darn relaxing day for us adults!
• We got an offer on our CA house, but I don't think anything will pan out with that. It looks like it was just someone fishing for a steal.
• Sunday we did a lot of relaxing!
• We went out to Chinese as a family on Sunday evening. I think we found only the second reasonably priced local restaurant that we'd actually recommend to someone!
• Sub point to the eating out ... we decided that Sunday evening eating out really should happen more in the late afternoon in order to maximize happy moods/good attitudes. There were no blow ups or anything, the kids just get tired early on a Sunday.
• Emma is really getting to be quite a reader. I think that on average, they take the reading at Woods slower than what we were used to in SoCal, and what I observed to some degree with our niece Sarah in Crystal Lake. But I think Emma's really starting to get the hang of it. Now if only she had more time when she wasn't quite so tired!
• Emma is also really enjoying math puzzles lately ... things like "start with your age, take away 3, double the result to get me". She's always asking me to make them up for her ... good stuff.
• Timmy continues to have a very active imagination. Whether it's playing with his imaginary friend mouse "Jack", or building robots from legos, or having the occasional nightmare at night ... I think all of that comes from his very good imagination.
• Tim is also really into listening to books on CD in his room right now. He loves to build robots and draw while he does that.
• Emma has three loose teeth currently ... she's really wanting some to fall out as she's the only one in her class that hasn't lost a tooth this school year. She's even been specifically asking for apples a lot lately, just to loosen those loose teeth faster.
• Cyndie has been very busy getting ready for the MOPS spa night which is coming up this weekend. She's pretty excited because they have lots of vendors (for facials, manicure/pedicure, massages, hair, etc) coming, which should allow all the ladies that come to be very pampered!

Have a good week all!