Spring

Cheri helped the kids paint and glue sparkles onto Thunder Browns, whom Alice now calls “Lullaby”.
 

Everyone loves sparkles; Gryphon did some experiments with glass and sunlight the other day.
 
  
And now for some bird pictures taken from our window. We got a visit from a band-tailed pigeon (the first one I’ve seen) and a few Eurasian collared doves.
  
The hummingbirds and grosbeaks (Gryphon claims to have counted 16) have returned from their vacations, and we saw a flicker hopping around the grass yesterday.
 
Gryphon spent Thursday night throwing up with another virus, so he and Alice relaxed on the special “movie couch” built under the art table.  He managed to get to school for the last 90 minutes – in time to see Mrs. Bradford go home sick. 
   
Saturday evening we had dinner with Cousin Amy, Matt, Maia, and Fiona, who were passing through on their way to Victoria.  Unfortunately Cheri got called to the hospital and couldn’t go, but we planned to meet at the park on Sunday.
 
But Cheri and I got hit with the virus that night and had to call off the park to spend the day recovering on the couch.  Alice was sick last night, but is doing well now.  We’re tempted to homeschool if only to avoid germs.

Momma’s gallery

  
Last weekend Alice made a smiley face and Gryphon made a mushroom.  This weekend we made a video:

Gryphon wanted to go exploring in the woods again, even though it was rainy, so we got suited up.
 
It’s been warming up recently, and Cheri and I have been making progress in the garden – here’s a comparison with this time last year:
  
I got to do some work in the tree house, but had to quit early. 
  
One of our bare walls has been filled with Cheri’s paintings.  The bird feeder is getting more action,  and Gryphon has been eating more lately too.  When he wants to.
  

A week in pictures

Last Saturday Cheri and I went to see The Tannahill Weavers play some fast-paced Scottish music that evening. Meanwhile, Gryphon found we had recycled some of the papers from his backpack, and he painstakingly wrote the longest sentence we’ve seen.
 
We made it up to him with pancakes on Sunday (here we have “Darth Maul” and “Smiley Face”).
  
On Tuesday Gryphon made a primer to teach Alice how to read and count. 
 
And we spent a long time cooking up fancy chocolate cookies that weren’t very good.  On Wednesday I cut down some trees and Gryphon harvested the “beards” from one.
 
Thursday was dentist day.  “I like dentists more than doctors,” Gryphon mused afterward.

Alice and I played at the Y and went out to lunch on Friday.  In the afternoon Gryphon led an expedition into an unexplored area of our woods while I fought blackberry vines nearby. 

It was pajama day at his school.

Check ups

Lately Alice and I have been having art time while Gryphon is at school.

We’ve been watching the snow family melt.

Meowmers needs insulin shots now, and has to cut back on his donuts.  But the kids’ check-ups with Dr. Laura were good.

We noticed a familiar bowl-cut on a poster in the doctor’s office.