Spring has sprung!...kind of.

It's our second springtime in the pnw and it is hard to tell if it is happening. The sun comes out, the air feels warm, the flowers start to bloom, and then the gray returns and everything reverts back to it's gloomy state. I have been encouraged by more than one person to just grab an umbrella and go out into the rain.What I learned, was that I don't like being wet or the mess that comes with muddy boots and mold. When it's gray and drizzly, we have been holed up in warmth inside, indulging in books, crafts, games, and movies. And lots of baking! When the sun makes an appearance, we charge outside and soak up every ounce possible. In the last few weeks, here are a few things we did when the sun came out...

The girls' school had a multicultural fair that was so well done! It's in its second year and they must have learned so many lessons from last year. This was a great event. (I have no context, last year it was rainy and we did not attend...shocker.) 

There was a ton of food shared by local restaurants. Really good food. Folks from the Nisqually tribe even shared smoked salmon with us. There were dances, mostly performed by kids from the school with their families. There was a poster session where the kids displayed artwork and other mediums they had been working on as they learned about other cultures over the past couple of months.  This pic is of our friends Bassie and Drusirra. Dru lives on our street with her family. We chat at the bus stop most mornings, and this was a fun time to just relax.

Easter at St Benedicts was joyful! Savvy did trip and skin her knees on her way to the egg hunt in the garden, but she eventually rallied. 

Cass really wanted to dress like daddy. SO CUTE! And so hard finding a suit for her. The only time we ever see kid sized suits is around Easter and only in the boys section. So that's where we found this adorable blue set. If someone wanted to build a business selling custom kids' pantsuits in an array of colors and designs for ALL kids, I'd be in to partner! 

My campus was "gifted" a small mansion downtown from the state/historical society. That's a long story for a different time. Our staff toured it at our last retreat to get ideas for how we could use it. Immediately people were dreaming of a murder mystery event. And here it is! The planning committee did a bang-up job of hosting this event. I didn't think the kids would be into it, but they loved it! They went with me to help set up, we ended up staying till a little after 8pm. We left before they found out who did it. Luckily, our friend Nikki recorded it. You can see their shocked responses to the reveal in the video below.

PBS has a food special on pie. It is totally worth an hour of your time to check it out. There is a bakery in the town of Poulsbo featured and we have been wanting to check it out ever since watching the episode! This past weekend presented an opportunity to drive 2 hours north and check it out. I now see why they were featured. My tastebuds are still humming.  We found a park to run off the sugar, hit up an independent bookstore because, why not, and met up with friends in Bainbridge Island. Funny, it's more like an isthmus or peninsula, but whatever. It's beautiful. I love when we have no real plans and can let the day take us to farmers markets, live music, or tree climbing. 

 

The forecast this week is all sun and smiles, the forecast next week is not. I'm hopeful spring will either settle itself out or let summer in early. Summers here are kind of breathtaking. It's what makes you think, sure, we can get through another fall/winter/spring if summer is the end result!  NVs 300+ days of sun completely spoiled me! I have never been so grateful for sunny days and promise to never take them for granted again. #lessonlearned