April

All the way back in April, the kids were still going full steam ahead with school. They had spring break the week leading up to Easter. We really did not have anything planned for that week but did decide to drive up to DC on Holly's midweek day off to visit the zoo. We got there and realized we had stupidly assumed the clear, sunny Richmond weather was going to carry over into the D.C. forecast. Once we arrived, it was very cloudy and seemed like it could pour rain at any moment. All of the parking lots at the zoo were full and while we sat in traffic we began discussing alternative plans for our day in the nations capital.

After finally getting out of the zoo parking traffic and after it did rain like crazy, we stumbled upon a parking spot in a neighborhood with no time limit, no meter. We took our chances and carried on with our zoo plan, having to walk a little distance to get back to the zoo. Fortunately, it did not rain one more drop for the rest of the day. Evyn declared the visit to the Reptile Discovery Center the very best day of her life and we got to see the lion cubs out frolicking with their parents. The ape house stunk on many levels - we all agreed on that fact. It ended up being a great family day in DC despite our lack of planning for bad weather.

As our little family tradition has dictated for the past six years, we also hosted our annual Easter Egg Hunt on April 23rd. We expanded the guest list this time to include some of our new friends from the neighborhood. As usual, Holly dressed up like the Easter Bunny and it was a beautiful day for a party at the Lively house. It was also Reagan's first egg hunt that she could really participate in. During the big hunt, she had quite the entourage and it was impossible to photograph her due to her team of admirers. She came dressed in fairy wings and was, by far, the best dressed and cutest.

Reagan even helped me get all of the kids lined up for the countdown to get the potato sack races, egg races and three legged races started. As you can see from the pictures, all the kids are crying and no one had any fun at all. Those poor, poor children.

The day after the Lively Family Egg Hunt was Easter and we headed to our favorite aunt's house for food, family and more fun and another great egg hunt. Next year, I am going around and stealing all of the golden eggs - they had cash inside. That's my kind of egg hunt.

Evyn and I ended the month of April stuffing peat pellets with vegetable seeds for our garden. Actually, they lived in the kitchen window until they were ready to make the big move outside. I followed the directions on the peat pellet container and "hardened" the plants before planting them outside. It's amazing what can happen when you follow the directions. It took me years, but I now can successfully start seeds indoors and plant them outdoors without everything dying thanks to the hardening process - who knew? Reed and Evyn both helped prep the garden soil and really helped speed along the process. Breaking up dirt is hard work, but when you have two eager children and several hoes and shovels, the job gets job super fast. We planted snow peas, cucumbers, lettuce, corn, squash, tomatoes and green beans this year.

Spring and Summer 2011

I said goodbye to winter by confiscating Evyn's little teddy bear calendar and transforming it into our family summer planner. There were things we talked about doing last year and the year before that we did not do because the activities never made it to the calendar. In an attempt to do it all, I marked all of Holly's days off, mapped out the weekends that we could plan some escapes, wrote down when we would have company, birthday parties, as well as our summer family beach getaway and then filled in the rest with camps and activities for the kids. Just like that, I find myself knocking on August's door. We have been busy socializing with friends, having parties, camping, daytripping and swimming. My lack of blogging time always means that life is moving rapidly and my personal time is always lost in the shuffle (and I'm working far too much and not quite getting enough sleep). On the bright side, we are certainly living and doing and experiencing. I cannot complain, except maybe about being tired sometimes.

In an attempt to recap the last few months, I'm going to break it down month-by-month. Here we go.

The Fourth of July

What a weekend we had. It is memorable because of the plans that we did not have. We have not entered a weekend plan-free in months, especially a long holiday weekend. All of the gatherings and things to do were beginning to wear on us both, so we spent some time trying to catch up on eating family dinners, which have become rare, playing in the pool, cooking and watching movies (Evyn and I give 'Secretariat' two thumbs up). We ended the long weekend at the home of some great, new friends, eating incredible food and setting off our own little fireworks display between thunderstorms. I wish life were like one big, long summer weekend.