And all at once the rain stopped, the mud puddles dried up, and the blossoms opened. People crawled out of their stuffy homes with squinting eyes and exclaimed, “it is finally summer!”
We’ve had a busy few weeks with family in town, birthday celebrations and preparing to put our home on the market. We almost missed that summer arrived in the process. Yahoo! Let the blooming and sunshine begin.
I hope that you can take some time to enjoy the pleasures of summer: the first of the garden gifts, baby birds chirping to be fed, firing up the BBQ and having a meal al fresco, or a relaxing sunset at the end of a full day. It is the little things.
“Some of the best memories are made in flip-flops.”
Kellie Elmore
Cheers to the retirement years and the arrival of summer!
Easter means so many things: spring, new growth, hope, love and forgiveness. I can’t think of a better reason to celebrate. One of the ways we do that at our house is to host an extended family Easter brunch and egg hunt every year. We typically have between 30 – 40 people and so it is fun, delicious chaos. If you have followed my blog, you know that I am a big believer in traditions, particularly for kids, but even adults rely on these to build security and maintain a solid foundation. It makes you part of a tribe.
Whether your tribe is made up of friends or family does not matter, the benefits are the same. A tribe provides you with a sense of belonging. You have people you know that you can count on. You share an identity and often a history that cements the relationships. It is a support network. And research shows that being part of a community or tribe fosters mental and physical well-being. For a tribe to stay together you have to be willing to overlook irritations that will inevitably come up. You have to be committed to seeing the good in each other and overlooking any petty annoyances. It is all part of the give and take of making relationships work. The benefits are well worth it. So, if you do not have a tribe, start one. It just takes a few dedicated people to get the egg ball rolling.
I credit my mom (A Tribute to My Mom) and dad with starting and keeping our tribe together. They initiated so many of the family traditions that we carry on today and the Easter brunch and egg hunt is one of several. Since I am posting this pre-Easter this year, the pics are from last year’s brunch and egg hunt.
My dad smiling as he is surrounded by family on Easter. We are so blessed that he will be joining us again this year.
The Easter brunch
How do you feed 30-40 people in your house? With a lot of help from the tribe. Everyone pitches in and brings a dish to share. We have settled into a nice routine where one couple always brings the sausage, one the fruit, one the ham, another couple does the eggs, I make the cheesy potatoes dish, etc. It all works. My creative SIL always brings the bunny decorated cupcakes (featured image above) which is a big hit with the kids.
Tables are put up in almost every available space.
My brother and SIL scrambling the eggs at the last minute (left). There is never a shortage of food.
The Easter egg hunt
The week before Easter Mr. U and I spend a good hour filling plastic eggs with candy. Everyone brings eggs to hide too, but you can never have too many eggs at an egg hunt, right? A few golden eggs are filled with money to entice the older kids to keep hunting after the easy eggs have all been snatched up.
After brunch the adult hiders head outside to get creative with their hiding places. Anywhere within the designated area is open for hiding. No place is too high or too low to hide an egg. As the kids get older, the hiders have to get more creative to stump the finders. Of course, every year they are so creative that we find a well-hidden egg or two later in the summer.
The hiders will stop at nothing to stump the kids.
Son #2 is burying this egg in the ground.
The kids are corralled inside while the eggs are being hidden. Of course, they are trying to peak out windows to get a head start on where to find the eggs. When it gets close, the kids scramble to wait inside the door. We used to try and let the littlest kids out first, but that never really worked. Then we tried asking the older kids to leave the easy eggs for the littles, but that is impossible. Who takes the time to decide if that colorful egg is an easy one or not? Besides, who can pass on picking up an Easter egg right under your feet? Hence, why we just hide tons of eggs. There is more than enough to go around.
The kids waiting impatiently to be let out the door to start finding.
I wish you a very happy Easter however you like to celebrate it. It is the mark on the calendar that tells us sunnier days are coming. Enjoy!
Is it possible? Dare we think that spring is finally here? Officially, it is. Happy Dance! Today, March 20th, marks the first day of spring. Apparently, it was March 21st, but astronomers have moved it up to March 20th. I am good with that. One of the wonderful things about living in an area with four distinct seasons is that you really appreciate it when spring arrives. Never mind that we got about 3 inches of snow at our house earlier this week. The calendar does not know that. It melted quickly and underneath it were signs of spring popping up.
Underneath the snow the daffodils and rhododendrons were preparing to make their spring debut.
I know that most people try to get rid of moss, but I think it is beautiful.
It is hard to believe that the below picture was taken at our house just a little over a month ago.
Several inches of snow in our back yard on February 17th of this year.
The change of seasons never ceases to amaze me, but it is even more fun to watch it through a child’s eyes. We have our youngest granddaughter one day a week and she loves to be outdoors, no matter what the weather. It is hard to believe that the below pictures were taken exactly 3 weeks apart.
She was not thrilled with the bags I put over her new white tennis shoes to keep them clean.
Signs of warmer days are everywhere, even though there are a few patches of stubborn snow in the shady areas. The birds are singing, the squirrels are chirping, and the ice is off of the lake. Happy first day of spring everyone!
Happy New Year to you! I always enjoy ringing in the new year. Not because we do anything special, but because we don’t. We don’t go out and party on New Year’s Eve, we don’t stay up until midnight and we don’t have a hangover the next morning. The end of a year is a chance to reflect. A time to review the last 12 months – the highs, as well as the lows. And more importantly, it is a chance to take some quiet time to consider the future.
For me, the very best thing about a new year is an opportunity for fresh starts. It is a mark on the calendar that reminds us to stop and think about our lives and how we want to move forward. It is a time to decide what we want to carry over into the new year and what we want to dust off of our feet and leave behind in 2024. And while we had some wonderful times in 2024, we also had several things that I am happy to leave behind. So, bring on the new year! May your year ahead be full of precious moments and wonderful adventures.
This Christmas season I am trying to take some quiet time for solitude and reflection. Time to ponder the big and small wonders of this tangled life we live. I hope that your holiday season is full of awe, joy and precious time with those you love.
Lover of flip flops, waking up without an alarm, fireside chats, street tacos, waves lapping up on shore, creativity, family, the cork and all things garlic.
