High Five for Friday (3.27.15)

1. Spring has sprung! It began earlier this week, and here in Texas we expect this gorgeous but short-lived season to wrap up within the next three or four days. (Yes, days. We consider Spring more of stepping stone between winter and summer than an actual season.)

Remember our Easter tree? This is what she looked like on 

the day we dressed her up with brightly-colored plastic eggs:

And this is what she looked like earlier this week:

Like I said, spring has sprung!

2. When I scheduled a playdate for Hallie last Saturday afternoon, I knew I'd need to use the Hallie-less window of time to work on a few writing and editing projects. Since I still had Will with me, I asked him if he'd rather watch NCAA Tournament basketball games while I worked at home or play the academic computer games First in Math and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing (yep, Mavis still teaches children how to type) while I worked at Starbucks. He chose Starbucks because, in his words, "we don't get to spend enough time together, just you and me, away from home". My sweet boy…who (I'm pretty sure) just wanted a cake pop.

So while I wrote one blog post, edited two others, and downloaded pictures from our spring break trip, this boy earned a few hundred points in First in Math and practiced typing the letters E, R, U, and I. We periodically looked up from our computer screens to talk about what we were working on, and to share bites of our treats with one another.

I love spending time with him and I always will.

3. I snapped this picture of Will on a recent outing to a local outdoor market.

He'd hiked to the top of a small mountain climbed up a small hill and paused to take in the view of the market from across the pond. After running around with his friends for more than an hour, Will needed a moment of quiet and stillness and he found it right here…right next to this young couple who, less than 10 feet away from him, were openly making out.

I could barely stifle my laughter at how completely oblivious Will was to the public display of affection going on right in the middle of his peaceful moment. And at how completely oblivious the two teens were to Will having a peaceful moment right in the middle of their public display of affection.

4. Last night my Wisconsin Badgers made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA basketball tournament! We can't wait to watch them play again - and hopefully make it to the Final Four - on Saturday.

5. Happiness Highlights:

We may actually get to eat broccoli from our garden this year!

And maybe someday lemons will actually
grow on our newly-planted lemon tree.

My cousin took this picture of the Ohio house in which my
Grandma Hallie - my Hallie's namesake - and her sister grew up.
This little glimpse into the first Hallie's childhood made me smile. 

And here's my Hallie, acting out her own "the hills are alive with
the sound of music" moment, complete with singing and spinning.

The photo is blurry and dark, but if the beautiful face
in picture doesn't say "happy", I don't know what does.

Happy Friday, friends!

Linking up with High Five for Friday!