My hyacinths are faded, but Nathaniel’s tulips are blazing in the front yard. Last fall, Sydney let us each pick one kind of bulb, and then he did the hard work of planting them so that we could enjoy a spring surprise.
We’re settling into our summer lifestyle. Within ten minutes of arriving home after church, we were all out in the backyard, settled into the top tiers of the playground (underneath the newly leafed-out locust), eating strawberry/cream cheese/arugula sandwiches. This evening, we had homemade pizza on the deck in-between play (kids) and gardening (adults) sessions.
Although Sydney is swamped, he took the time this weekend to try out his new yogurt-maker. He claims to be able to make yogurt for half as much as it costs in the store. For a family that buys several quarts a week (and that would love to use a quart every day for smoothies in the summer), this is a pretty big deal.
For the adults in the household, this is a busy time of year. Sydney’s stretched thin with three classes (at two different universities), a sizable garden, and plans for farming. I’m simply trying to wrap up my four classes and keep the end-of-the-year slide toward graduation (double the usual meetings, three times as many obligatory student activities) from overwhelming me. Both Sydney and I are also trying to fit in some writing, since we’ll be delivering conference papers in May (Sydney: Michigan), June (Erin: Leeds), and July (Erin: York by Skype). Our kids have been embarking on their own studies. Nathaniel saw a picture of an activity he liked in a kids’ magazine and presented me with this bunny rabbit the other day:
Erin