DST

Yesterday was a great day. The weather was nice and the clocks had just flipped an hour ahead so that the evening was brighter than it was on the weekend. Sally and I rushed out of work (on time for once) to pick up the boys and get home so that we could spend some time in the great outdoors. It had been warm enough for a large majority of the ground cover snow to melt which provided a nice landscape for the boys to explore, and explore they did. Adam immediately started wandering toward the back yard to rediscover the swing set that had been dormant since the fall. He made solid progress until he got stuck in the snow at the bottom of the hill.

With a little help from Mom, Dad, and GiGi, he and his brother made it to the swings and got to play. They swung, they slid down the slide, they even climbed up the climbing wall and played in the fort before going down the slide again. Sally left half way through to go get dinner ready while the rest of us hiked back up the hill to play in the back yard. After a few more minutes it started to cool down so we headed inside to eat. Dinner was quite a success as well. First of all, we got to eat as a family. Second of all, the boys actually ate their food. Zach ate steak for the first time ever and actually liked it. Adam at his baby carrots and nine fish sticks (three of which he bartered away from Zach). They did so well that they each got to have a cookie for dessert.

After dinner was over Adam helped me unload the clean dishes from the dish washer, pointing out that mugs were “Daddy” and tall plastic cups were “Mama” as he took them out. He likes to associate us with the objects that we use. I’m usually a computer and Sally is a TV if that tells you anything. Once the dish washer was reloaded I cut up the honeydew melon that we bought last week. I’ve never cut a honeydew before and I was actually quite surprised at what was inside. I guess it’s a lot like a watermelon but ours was a bit over ripe which made it really really wet. The boys enjoyed it though.

I gave the boys a bath for the first time in a while and it was a lot of fun. The boys do really well in the tub together. Zach played in the bubbles and put them in his hair. Adam filled a boat with water to make it sink. They both chatted about all kinds of stuff, pointing at things and explaining what they were, saying “I want that”. There were lots of giggles and smiles… until the end. Rinse time was a bit dramatic, but we all made it out OK.

Once bath was over it was time to get ready for bed and that’s where the craziness started. Both of them were running full speed from one end of the living room to the other, stopping in the middle to dive onto their Elmo couch. After some chasing and wrestling they finally calmed down and climbed up the stairs to go to bed. Zach said goodnight to each of the pets individually on the way up. After a bit of time rocking and reading, the boys were in bed and we had the rest of the night to ourselves.

It was really a great night and made me look forward to the spring and summer time. Our evenings are so much better when we can play outside and blow off some steam before eating dinner and getting ready for bed. I’m looking forward to playing in the yard, walking the neighborhood, and visiting the neighbors. I’m looking forward to sitting in the living room with the windows open and enjoying the breeze. Yesterday was a preview of that.

Thanks DST!