It was in the summer that one really lived. Then all the little overcrowded houses were opened wide, and the wind blew through then with sweet, earthy smells of garden planting.

-Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark

Usually I don't worry about the patio until it's actually summer. Only, now is the time when it's not too hot and not too cold, and there aren't so many bugs. So with Dan out of town, I set to work cleaning it up so that we can enjoy it.

...and we have enjoyed it. When teen kitten came home from school the other day, I was up on a ladder. I was starting to get a little carried away and she thought that was a little crazy and pretty darn funny. Then she got to sewing new pillows for the patio. She cut up old table-clothes and did patch-work covers. Then I got this idea about a Turkish Palace Patio sort-of thing.

Day Trip

I love playing explorer girl in the desert. How come I didn't even know about Goblin Valley?! What else is in Utah that I don't know about? This place was so delightfully odd. My dad and I were saying that if we painted it, it would look pretty silly. I wish I had a video of my dad climbing onto that rock...it was funny.

The above photo is my brother Peter. Just like when we were kids we jumped, climbed and played in the dirt. I even got about into the car with a pocket full of rocks. It's strange to think that at this time last year, I was anxious and stressed, not knowing if we should move back to Utah or not.

Today, my family and I were getting ready to go on a bike ride and we saw this big ginny fowl sitting on our neighbor's porch. It was so pretty. We were mischievously trying to figure out how to let it into their house when they opened the door and scared it. Then we noticed there were three hawks circling over us...strange. Then we saw some little finch at a feeder on our other neighbor's tree. Then I listened to my favorite, the quail and the doves. As we rode out bikes around doing mini stunts and looking at all of the blossoming trees, I felt all swelled up with happy and calm. Another neighbor even gave us cookies.

It feels good to be here. I'm looking forward to lots of things and I'm also feeling happy here in the present. The sun is part of that happy too.

Me "So 9, what are you guys doing for Spring Break?"
9a "We're going to St. George, you guys should come."
Me "Okay."

It wasn't long ago that going away for a few days was a lot of work; packing up fussy babies, diapers and all of that. Now spontaneous trips without an agenda are far more fun, especially with good friends.
We joined the Cochrans for a few days full of super fun events. The great thing was that the super fun events were not really things one might find in a guide book. Who knew that going to Costco with seven kittens could be that much fun. We did stuff like Dan and T lawn bowling with a professor and a skipper while 9a and I did skate boarding stunts.
Nina took hundreds of fabulous photos as usual. One of the highlights of the trip was the two hours in D.I. (thrift store) where I ran around in a beautiful wedding gown, the oldest teen kittens tried on assorted puffy vests and the little ones took turns on crutches and with a little wheel chair which they talked us into purchasing and incidentally is keeping them entertained still. I'll post more of Nina's photos soon.