Whew!

It's been busy around here. I mean really busy.
I can't quite tell if there is really more going on, or if it is just a by-product of this particular time of year. I think it's a combination of both. I know that I feel like we have been completely straight out and seriously ready for a vacation! The funny thing is, vacation is looming; you'd think I'd feel relief on the horizon. However, I am supposed to be traveling to Italy, chaperoning a school trip during the April break. I have mixed feelings about it. I have never been away from my family for this long, and I am not sure I am going to like that. Also, I need a vacation - read V A C A T I O N. Chaperoning a bus load of teenagers around Italy doesn't really feel like a "vacation." I am sure it will be fun, but I also am sure it will prove to be a bit exhausting.
And then there are the Icelandic ashes....hovering and clouding the future. I am unsure now if this trip will happen at all, and if it doesn't - perfect! I get to vacation with my family...Anna had already planned a trip to her mom's in NYC with the boys and this sounds terrific to me. Plus, I do admit I am a little bit apprehensive about air travel with all of these issues related to ash and soot and volcanic eruptions!

On a more peaceful note...today I took the boys and played outside for hours....the Waldorf school playground and surrounding woods are amazing. It was so perfect for all of us. We couldn't have been happier. Plus, it was only us - we had the whole place to ourselves.
First, we spent lots of time on the climbing structures, then time feeding the farm animals new leaves and shoots of green grass, digging and playing in very wet, very fun sand, and then the best of all, exploring the surrounding woods. I know for me, this is the perfect way to spend time with my boys. All of us become more alive, alert, bright, and happy in the woods. We tell so many stories to the boys about the woods and actually being there is absolutely critical for them. It is a big part of their life and their imaginations. Today we saw gnome homes, walked on downed trees, watched turtles resting on a log, searched for birds, collected sticks, and hopped over all sorts of puddles. Oh, and we even fished for things...the boys caught halibut, cows, sheep, and the whole wide world in the puddles of the woods. Even on a wet and dreary day...life is amazing in the woods.