Strange British Holidays.

Well, it's not actually a holiday, but if you ask Mr. Zuill it should be. Mule Day. He seriously starts a countdown around mid-March every year. And we have a group of mule-loving friends who love any reason to get together (and roast a pig).

(how do you like that crazy orange shirt? It was the most obnoxious one I could find! ha!)

I ran the Mule Kick 5K again this year- this time with my sister-in-law, Robyn. She set a goal for herself to run a 5k this year, trained really hard, and she did amazing! I beat my time from the first year I ran. I give at least some of the credit to my super fast looking socks!

A big deal around our house right now is the fact that Henry will be starting school in a few weeks! After having friends who have had such good things to say, we decided to enroll Henry in a local Montessori school. Will and I visited the school and loved it. The teaching methods are so refreshing! A couple of days later I took Henry in to visit the school. He dove right in to several of the little activity stations (after he helped himself to a snack at the snack station). Everything was new and challenging. And he did the thing that makes mothers gasp a little bit. He looked at me and said "You go away now, Mommy.". Sniff.



I found several great Montessori apps for the iPad and he was smitten. Of course "YaYa" wasn't far from his side.



The other excitement in our house right now has something to do with this.



My Brit is getting himself a sweet new ride! And I think that after years of driving a Purple PT Cruiser he has every right to be excited! Henry and I are excited too (see above photo). I'm hoping that even though my car and the garage door have been way to likely to collide over the last two months, I'll sweet talk him into letting me drive. {Are you reading this honey?}

The long awaited warm weather has allured us outside as often as we can get there. This year Henry is big enough to really play with the neighborhood kids and he would stay out there all the live long day. Also, anything involving water makes for one happy little ginger.




I don't think there's a kid on earth who doesn't love a good spray with the garden hose. It's a good day when you have to get stripped down to your undies before you can go it.




You may remember when last year I told Henry to "take a drink" while playing with the water hose? Well, he fell for it again this year. (For the record he loved it!)





We've really been making an effort lately to let Henry do more things for himself. He surprises us more often than not. Although the results are sometimes a little inconsistent.




The last couple of weeks have brought wonderfully refreshing days. It has brought us summertime knees and a little bit of naughtiness. It has also brought the potential for big change. Whoa!




Thanks for catching up with us! I'm going to sign out with this sweet image of my favorite boy.

Good day sunshine!

Well, we wanted Spring and we finally got it! Sunshine and 70 degrees. It makes my heart sing! We've spent hours and hours outside (even had to pull out the sunblock!). The downside is that all the amazing weather makes me want to be anywhere but inside on the computer. So I need to do a little catching up-

Even though we've had the feeling that warmer days were drawing near, we still had a few days of unseasonably cold weather to contend with. I think we contended quite well.

{that sweet stool that Henry loves was mine when I was his age}

A couple of weekends ago our family came over for a dinner to celebrate the March babies in our family. As usual it was a wonderful whirlwind of activity. Some got more attention than others from the self-proclaimed doctors of the house.





Our house has been part of a major business development lately. Henry's Farm Store. Where everything costs $30.




But that's not the only food he's peddling these days.




Henry had his very first trip to the dentist a couple of weeks ago. I felt like he had finally reached the point where I could explain to him what was going to happen and he wouldn't freak out. He was a champ. Jumped up in the chair and before Sandy (his sweet hygienist) could even get her gloves all the way on that mouth was wide open.






The Super Henry cape has made a worthy reappearance on Henry's favorites list. Can't say that I hate that this is happening.




Since the weather has gotten itself straightened out, the park has definitely become a prime destination for certain redheads. He runs and runs and then usually finds a friendly girl and has a little visit. Or tries to steal her apple.




We've also been spending a little time outside playing with Henry's "city ball" (and taking pretend naps on it).





Last Sunday we decided to go to downtown Franklin for lunch. The streets were filled with people who have had more than their fill of being cooped up inside. We were right there with them.





Lest you think our adorable Henry gets all the attention around here, this equally adorable guy has gotten some attention as well.



A couple of weekends ago I took my Brit out on a surprise date. He had no idea where we were going, just that he needed to be ready at 5:30 p.m. First I drove him to Printer's Alley where we had some strangely familiar foods.



After that came the highlight of Will's night. His 40th birthday (and our first anniversary) aren't until June, but he got his gift very early (because I really wanted his input in planning it). Of course, being the cheeky type, I couldn't just tell him about his birthday/anniversary surprise. I made him a book (complete with cheesy illustrations that even Henry wouldn't claim).

"The Story of Will and His Trip Over the Hill" by Angela Zuill

Poor Will. Poor Will.
His time had come to go over the hill.

He wasn't sure about getting old.
I'm pretty sure he wasn't sold.

But Will has a most awesome wife,
who really thought it might be nice,

To take him somewhere on a trip
to bring a smile to both his lips.

She tried to decide where they should go,
to keep her love from feeling old.

And because she has so much love for you
she's decided to take you to Peru!




Machu Picchu has been one of the most talked about things on Will's bucket list ever since I've know him. I can't wait for us to have this adventure together. He was so excited!

His night, however, quickly went downhill at the bowling alley.



There now, all caught up! Well, except for the past weekend. Will's favorite holiday- Mule Day. I have to save of the good stuff for next time, don't I?