Spring Has Sprung

Ducks are fun. So are other small children. Little B likes to make friends and is a very curious fellow, to the point where we think that sometimes, he is altogether much too nosy. Thankfully, most people don't seem to mind.

"Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!"

~ Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

Ice cream cones are a delicious treat, and Daddy is very good at sharing.

Spring seems to have arrived to stay in upstate New York, and people are coming out of the woodwork to breathe the good, fresh air. We haven't seen any flowers budding quite yet, but there are small green shoots pushing their way up out of the soil -- it won't be long now! 

Collecting the sap from maple trees

On his own two feet!

The sunshine, warmth and the simple goodness of being outside seems to bring out the cheerfulness in everyone, and it's contagious! Our little family has had such fun these past two weekends. One of our favorite things about living where we do is how MUCH there is to do outside when the weather is nice. The Adirondack region is absolutely beautiful, and now that Little B is older, we very much look forward to many bike rides, hikes, swimming in lakes, and other Nature Fun this year. 

We found some of our Kindermusik buddies at the park.

Friends provide good opportunities to learn to share.

This weekend started with us leaving Little B at home with a night-time babysitter for only the second time in his life. B just doesn't do very well being kept up past his bedtime, so we have arranged for an at-home sitter while we go to community group.  We tucked him in bed early, and although he woke up while we were gone, he allowed her to soothe him back to sleep. We've decided this girl is a keeper for sure and are so thankful to have her be available for Little B.

A Sweet Moment

We also joined in the fun of NYS's 17th Annual Maple Weekend on Saturday, going to Sugar Mill Farm for a scrumptious pancake breakfast, which included homemade pancakes, sausages, fresh (hot!) maple syrup, and coffee with creamery-fresh milk and maple sugar. What a treat! We learned about the syrup-making process on a tour, starting with seeing the tapped maple trees to visiting the sugar hut, where they sold maple cotton candy (amongst other maple-y things). It made my mouth water for the maple ice cream at the county fair in the summer! Oh, I just love spring and summer!

A perfect day for a picnic lunch when we got home from church

A weekend of good weather also meant a trip to visit the ducks at the park. Little B is enjoying the freedom of trotting around on his own two feet when we are out and about now. The stroller now serves mostly as a baggage cart and the occasional napping spot. 

We also enjoyed our 50-cent ice cream cones from Stewart's for wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. I think this is the first year that we have actually wanted ice cream on St. Patrick's Day. Normally, it is still much too cold to truly want the celebratory ice cream cones (even when they were free!). 

We wrapped up the weekend with our Lenten season tradition of having friends over for Sunday dinner.

Our neighbor buddy, Carter, came to play in his cool wagon!

We hope all of you had a wonderful St. Patrick's weekend, too!