Signs of Spring? Please?

It happens at around the same time every year... I get Spring Fever!  I want and need sun and warmth on a consistent basis.  That's the key word... CONSISTENCY!  We've had a few sunny days this spring, but unfortunately, spring in the Pacific Northwest usually brings with it mostly rain and gloomy days.  In fact, this past Monday we had quite the hail storm!  It hailed for so long and so hard that Hayley's track meet was cancelled and before we could pull out of the parking lot the field had turned white!  Crazy weather!  I've decided to really focus on the beautiful details to help me get through this final push of winter!  Here are few things in my yard that have put a smile on my face recently...

I had to include this photo... Spring was definitely in the air if Luke and Wes could play a game outside!

A Beautiful Thing...

Life has been sort of difficult for me lately... the 17th of March was the one year anniversary of my mom's death.  It was a tough year.  I really miss her and her company.  There was just something about that one year milestone that I needed to mentally get through.  I feel like things will be better from here on out...  One of the sweet things that happened a few days before the anniversary was Luke making a bird feeder in Nana's memory (she loved her birds!).  He thought of it all on his own and with Wes' help finished it the same afternoon!  He was so proud of his work!

Luke wanted me to take a photo of him removing the top of the feeder.  He wanted everyone to know how you could fill it!

Results...

There are few pieces of equipment that I love more than my pressure washer.  My blower does run a very close second with my riding lawn mower close behind that.  I think my husband is forever grateful that he's married to a gal that loves the gratification of seeing immediate results!  I love, love, love a clean driveway (free of pine needles and branches) and freshly mowed lawn, but I do think that I get the most joy out of seeing the results of pressure washing!!  Wes rarely has to operate these pieces of equipment because I take care of all of it!  I should give him some credit though... I can never get the darn blower or pressure washer started myself... he's always got to set me up.  I do not know what I would do without my pressure washer!  I have to use it at least two times a year because of all of the moss build-up.

I'm almost embarrassed to show this next picture.  This is a photo of the back porch just as I was getting started.  Keep in mind that all this nasty moss is a years worth of build-up because I don't think that I got around to pressure washing last fall.  

Here's the 'After' photo... isn't it pretty?!

Here's a close-up of the difference between a clean porch and a year's worth of moss build-up!  Gross, huh?

I can't believe I'm showing you this one... I know what you all must be thinking... "If her porch looks like this, I wonder what the inside of her house looks like!"  Do you see why I LOVE my pressure washer!!?!

Service...

I am especially proud of my children today... Hayley, along with a dozen other kids from her youth group started off her morning at Storehouse.  It's an organization that collects perishable food (fruits and vegetables, dairy and bread products) that local grocery stores donate.  It's food that is close to expiring.  Hayley happily volunteered a few hours this morning sorting through the food and getting rid of moldy, heavily bruised, and oddly colored fruits and veggies.  This food is then boxed up and and immediately delivered to local needy families.

While Hayley was at Storehouse, Luke and I picked up trash in our neighborhood.  This was part of his environment and recycling requirement for Cub Scouts. I am always amazed at the amount of trash that is thrown out of cars in our community.  The hill leading up to our neighborhood is horrible!  I just hope that we made an impact on all the people that drove by in cars watching an eight year old picking up their trash.  We almost filled up a 30 gallon bag!