Spring Break

This is quite possibly the first spring break since E was born that I haven't actually wanted my husband to go back to work. Usually he's quite the task master during spring break, because thingsmustbedone.

And they always are done. And this year they were all done, too. But it was nicer, more relaxed. The kids are getting older, the landscaping is getting maturer, and the weather is getting nicer, all making for a nearly-perfect spring break.

Mr. Einstein finished his National Teacher Board portfolio and mailed it off (yippee!) We had E's birthday party at the bounce house with homemade knock-off Oreo ice cream cake (yummy!) at home.

We went to Seattle to visit family and Ikea (love!) and bought some new armchairs. We rearranged some furniture, and our house finally feels comfortable and looks like grown ups live here.

We did some weeding and some pulling. I dug up tons of nasty aster plants in our front planter and, sadly, had to throw some of my beloved day lilies away with them. Mr. Einstein mowed the lawn for the first time this year and got the sprinkler system all ready.

We bought seeds for the garden we're going to put in this year and replaced some weather-stripping (stupid cats).

I started to organize all my recipes online (yay!) and made a huge donation of baby stuff to the crisis pregnancy center here in town.

We filed our taxes. Yes, we are that family.

We spent Saturday in Leavenworth "hiking" along the river. We had a blast! I think we're going to start making hiking our family activity, assuming we can find some good, easy trails out here. The kids had a wonderful time, and so did Mr. Einstein and I. It was overcast and warm, but not humid. It was so relaxing, and we randomly ran into quite a few people we know. Small world! One person we hadn't seen since college. (That's more than 10 years ago!!!)

Sunday afternoon we went to Potholes State Park and hung out with some friends from church grilling hot dogs and watching our kids play (18 kids among 4 families!). The wind blew, the rain fell, but we had so much fun! What a perfect ending to a wonderful week!

And because I like to post pictures, here are a few from our day in Leavenworth. All are unedited, straight from the camera. I liked the muted colors, so I left them.