“It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” ~Mark Twain For me, spring brings promises – a of promise of re-growth and renewal. I get re-energized and re-organized. I love the first time I notice new buds on the trees and bushes and hearing the songs of the birds announcing their spring arrival! I love seeing tulips and daffodils starting to poke their way up throught the frozen dirt.
I daydream of getting my kayak wet and breaking in my new climbing harness. It needs to get warm early so I can do these things before my belly is too big! I dust off my hiking boots and make sure the camping box is stocked and ready for a spur of the moment camp trip. I daydream about BBQing and backyard fires, long days on the river and early mornings spent on the porch soaking up the sun.
Dylan on the other hand has one thought this time of year – spring fishing. When will the ice melt off the river and when is the soonest possible date he will be able to put his raft in! Addi is looking forward to the day when the grass comes back. We told her she gets to choose a big-girl, 2-wheel bike when the grass comes back! Addi also cannot wait to go shopping for new flip flops. Daily, she is asking for them! She was a little upset yesterday when daddy got to wear his Chacos and she didn’t have flip flops to wear!
I think about my yearly trip to a greenhouse to pick out my flower bed flowers and tomato plants. Addi loves it too. In Salt Lake, we grew a huge pumpkin patch, strawberries, carrots, squash and two huge tomato plants. She was really into watching our garden grow. She loved walking outside and choosing tomatos for dinner.
Spring gets us talking about spring and summer trips we want to take. We are planning a road trip in May to Colorado to see our Sara and Ellie and then into Kansas to visit our dear friends, Julie, Kenton, Carley and new baby Claire. We are hoping to make a trip to the Puget Sound area to kayak with the orcas! Addi is dying to go to the beach. She talks about finding seashells and really wants to see the whales! I was hoping to go on a family vacation to Hawaii this year, but I don’t think we can pull it off financially before I get too far along in my pregnancy. Next year!
Moving to a new town at the beginning of fall has left this winter feeling endless. We spent most of our time cooped up inside. Helena received a lot of snow and really cold temperatures and a lot of miserable wind. Usually, Missoula is pretty mild in the winter. With little snow accumulation in the valley and below freezing temps that only last at most a couple weeks at a time, winter doesn’t seem to last as long. We didn’t snowshoe or ski this year. We barely got the dogs out hiking much.
This time of year I find myself reminising and shuffling through pictures from previous springs and summers, looking forward to warmer days filled with laughter, adventure and sunshine.
Here a -few- of my favorite pictures from springs past.
Arches NP – Spring Break 09
Wagon Rides – May 09
Spring 2006
Zion NP – “the Subway” 2005
Glacier NP – Addi’s first camp trip – Summer 08
Addi’s first float trip – Summer 08
Utah Lake – May 08
Camping American Fork, UT May 09
On a side note it is SNOWING in Helena right now, with 100% chance of snow for today. Spring did not promise me that!
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