LIFE AS OF LATE

our life as of late consists of enjoying every minute of this nice weather before it gets too hot to go to the park. {and eating at least a dozen popsicles a day. they've become a staple around here}

lia, who hated the swings a few months ago, has warmed up to them and now loves them, and luc is always looking for a tree to climb or a mud pile to play in. it's very dirty fun, and some days we all need two baths.

{if it's still snowing where you live, i'm so sorry. come be my neighbor!}

SPRING TRAINING!

one of the major perks of living in arizona is spring training. we love baseball, and our favorite team- the san diego padres- trains in peoria, which is like 10 minutes from our house. orlando is in heaven. today was the first day for the players to start practice, so we went down to the practice fields to watch. i wasn't expecting much, but it was awesome. the players are practicing and walking around, and nothing really separates you from them- they're chatting and signing baseballs and taking pictures, it's super chill and really fun if you're a baseball geek like us. orlando got autographs from matt kemp, cameron maybin, james shields, and justin upton, and lia and i got our picture taken with cameron maybin, who was super nice. a couple of coaches gave luc two baseballs, and we spent the entire morning in the sunshine, running around on the grass and watching batting practice. i LOVED it. i think days like these, spent outside doing something fun with my family, are my very most favorite.

if you've been thinking about visiting us and you love baseball, march is the month to come!

GOODBYE KIRTLAND

we headed out to kirtland on sunday for one more walk around that gorgeous place. it has been one of my favorite things about living in ohio. i feel grateful that we got to visit as often as we did.

luc, of course, was thrilled to play in the dirt with his trucks and run wild and free across the open grass.

rides on grandpa's shoulders are a favorite of his, too

i have a picture of us in this spot just two weeks after moving to cleveland. and here we are, three years later! crazy how times flies.

watching a helicopter fly overhead

we walked over to the cemetery, and around the visitors center too. it was a beautiful day- one of those perfectly green east coast spring days. i feel lucky that we got one more of those before we left!

SO UMMM...

luc is napping and i really want to blog. sitting down to write a bit always helps me feel more balanced- it's a good reminder that somewhere under 'wheels on the bus' and 'popcorn popping' i have an intelligent mind. it's a good outlet for me.

my problem today is that i have nothing to blog about. we're in that limbo stage of checking off to-do lists right before the big stuff happens. orlando is busy preparing for finals. i've been packing and going through all our closets, getting ready for our yard sale and luc has been watching word world and despicable me {have i mentioned that movie is his very favorite thing of all time? he asks for it everyday and mimics the different characters. it's pretty cute.} and helping me by emptying boxes as i fill them.

i have been taking luc out everyday for our fill of sunshine, and its usually the best two hours of my day. he's so happy outside and i stop being busy and play with him and it's a little slice of heaven. if it would start being warmer than fifty degrees, we would stay out even longer. today we went on a walk and stopped to watch the loader and the dump truck working on our street. we sat on the grass for almost an hour and watched while they dug and dumped dirt, and luc was enthralled the entire time. we waved and clapped and had the most wonderful time, just hanging out, talking about big trucks and dirt. he kept grabbing my hand and gesturing excitedly, looking at me to make sure i was just as excited. i love his newfound passions and it makes me so happy when he wants to share them with me.

also, we got orlando's graduation announcements in the mail and it was kind of a shocking reality check. he is really graduating. we are really almost done with school. IT'S REAL! i'm having a hard time believing it, i keep opening the box to see if they're still there and this is really happening.

i wish i could say i'm ready for all the changes ahead, but i'm a comfortable person and it's really comfortable here in our little house on clifton blvd. so while i'm excited, i'm definitely not ready.

but it's coming, ready or not.
27 DAYS LEFT!

watching the trucks this morning. i love his face.

HAPPY EASTER!

this year we kept it small and simple, and it was wonderful. after luc took a nap, we had our own little easter egg hunt in our front yard and this kid was in HEAVEN! he loved finding the eggs so much that we re-hid them all after he found them so he could find them again. and he really loved the matchbox cars the easter bunny brought- those were a HUGE hit. he carried them around for the rest of the day, he didn't want to put them down. i love making his face light up, it's the best feeling.

this is his happy face. haha it kills me! he wanted to eat all the nay-nay {his word for candy} in the first egg he found and we had to convince him to keep looking for more eggs. he didn't realize at first that there were more! but he caught on quickly, and then didn't want to stop looking, even after they were all found.

happy face + a mouthful of chocolate

the easter bunny even brought something for papa! he deserved it after getting up early to take his first final on a saturday morning.

holding tight to his two new cars

he's trying to smile and shove chocolate into his mouth at the same time. haha cracks me up!

it doesn't get any better than this. goodness, i love love love being his mama!

i love these handsome boys!

'luc, show me your new cars!' 

we stayed outside and played with his cars for a good hour after, and then went in with a mouthful of chocolate. all in all, i'd call that a success. happy easter!