Five on Friday: Joys of Spring

It's finally, finally, really, truly, undeniably spring. The windows are open, the clothes are line-dried, the children are filthy . . . yes, all is right in the world.

Here are some very springy ways we've been spending our days:

1. Bike riding! I scored this totally sweet vintage bike at the thrift shop and my oldest daughter has been working with Chic Cycles and learning how to refurbish vintage bikes on her own. I gladly had her practice on Lucky (yes I named my bike, of course I did) and now I can't stop riding, both on quick rides before work and on jaunts with the kids.  I'm looking forward to dolling her up and riding her next weekend at the Red Mill Retro Ride!

2. Stopping to smell the flowers . . . it's true I may not have found too much time to sit and enjoy the Safe Arbor* but would you get a load of that wisteria? Last year it didn't bloom and I was worried my soil had the wrong acidity or something. It's so beautiful and so fragrant!

 3.  After school play and adventure. Frogs, lizards and mud, oh my! So far only one "accidental" push into the pond followed by one revenge shove back.

4.  Dining al fresco. Have I mentioned that my brother-in-law crafted a gorgeous new dining room table for us? We're finally getting rid of the ancient, sagging. too-small table we'd been using. However, it's spring time now, baby, so we eat outside almost every night!

5. My favorite part about eating outside? It could be that we're enjoying the fresh air, waving to walking neighbors and don't have to worry about the crumbs that drop off the table . . . but really the best part is the spontaneous whole-family play that inevitably starts up as soon as the meal is over. I truly treasure this time.

* I guess we name a lot of inanimate objects around here. We had dubbed our front patio the Equali-Tea Garden (that reminds me, I didn't put the rainbow flags back out yet!) Then my husband built the arbor and put it there. This handy, resourceful and creative guy not only built the arbor from branches in our yard, he also came up with the perfect name for it.