March has about passed and left it madness in the rearview mirror. It came in like a lamb and with temperatures pushing the high fifties the last of the winter snow disappeared. Merrick and Grace would get off the bus after school and walk home in the only remaining threads of snow left, with their winter jackets slung over their shoulders. We headed to the far corner of the state for the final gymnastics meet and Sophia was able to take fifth place on the beam at the State meet. The "hoops and Ladders" was in response to the kids seeing the neighbor boys shooting buckets from their roof. I convinced them that starting from the ladder might be a better way to work up the the roof. Merrick got a bird house made but the weather cooled before we could get it painted. We also got some raised gardens built and a little yardwork done before the last big snow storm of the year came. It was enough snow to close schools the day before spring break giving everyone an extra day off. Blizzard one day and 40s the next required a swimsuit snowball fight and the kids ran around outside for about twenty minutes in the six inches of wet snow. The swimsuits were pulled out again to head to the water park after an Easter weekend complete with egg hunts and ham. With three snows on the robins tail we can finally start turning our attention to the coming of spring and tulip bulbs we planted last fall.
Another year has come and the April birthdays have started. Merrick headed off to Sir Bounce-a-Lot and Grace followed up the next day with Air Extreme. Two days straight of bouncing and boinging all over. It is little wonder that Monday has arrived with sore knees for this aging and proud dad. There were cakes and pizzas and a moon like gravity all weekend long. Merrick hit a hundred ticket game and scored another thousand on the birthday wheel....for this great fortune he cashed out with an inflatable microphone. The birthdays came at the end of the kids' spring break so it was a nice chance to see their school friends again too. Grace's party came complete with wall to wall trampolines for flips and some crazy dodgeball battles as well as a 20 foot jumping platform and rock wall. We survived without any sprains but I don't think the weekend missed any planning for next year's parties.
