Spring Cleaning

Last Sunday afternoon we began our spring cleaning.

Outside!  Finally!

Picking up sticks is always the biggest job in our outdoor spring cleaning.  And summer maintenance.  And fall "getting ready for winter/sledding."  Our trees are always shedding.

What's the best thing to do with all of those sticks?  Build a campfire!  The word "campfire" makes picking up sticks recreation rather than work.

And along with a campfire comes an impromptu cookout.
Our first campfire and cookout of the 2014 season!

We already have two camping trips planned for this summer, so we need to get in some campfire practice.  It's unusual for us to schedule camping trips in advance, but we decided that if we are going to camp more than once this season, we need to be intentional and get them on the calendar...before all of the campsites are taken.  My next goal is to figure out where we want to take our fall campout this year and get our spot reserved.  The tricky part of this is that Carrie will be in college.  I might need to wait until I can see when she will get a break.  I still can't believe that I will be homeschooling three kids rather than four next year.  I think that it finally sunk in a bit when I made out my curriculum shopping list for last weekend's homeschool convention.

I digress.  Which is easy to do when I start talking school.
(It's one of my favorite subjects!)

Back to campfires and cookouts.
(Another favorite subject!)

If you look carefully, you can see all of the little mud splatters on Matthew's face and clothes.  He had been working hard in our little creek with a hoe and a few rocks.

Ahhhhh...buds on the trees!  Here comes spring!

That was almost one week ago.  Today it is overcast, chilly, and rainy.  But you should see the grass!  It is turning such a pretty shade of green!  And I think that my daffodils and forsythia will be in bloom very soon.  April showers!

William did drive home from homeschool group yesterday.  The rain had stopped.  The river was high.  The speed was 55 miles per hour.  And he did a great job!  He will soon be starting his "behind-the-wheel" portion of driver's education with the same driving instructor that Carrie had.  It's so convenient for us, because he lives just down the road from us and can pick William up and drop him off after each lesson.  I love that!

Rather than driving this morning, though, we'll be heading off to the doctor's office.  William's congestion, sore throat, and sinus pressure has finally turned into the ear infection we had been hoping would not appear.

I'm ready for the warmth of spring and the riddance of winter sickness.
Bring on the spring cleaning!
(Did I really just say that?)