April

There are two months I deem magical during the year - October and April. October for the changing of temperature, the color of leaves, and the settling into winter. April for the hope of warmth and beautiful blossoms erasing the memory of colder days. I think I spent nearly every day just walking around admiring the blossoms. Here are some other things we did.

Spent a day at a California beach before heading home from our cruise. 

Had our first backyard fire.

Quinton started a new referee job.

We walked Lagoon trail.

The boys got a little crazy with some balls on the tramp one day.

We commissioned my friend Anna Wood to paint my childhood home which completely filled my heart in ways I didn't know I needed.

Post I wrote on Facebook about the painting:

I grew up in an old house. A house that seemed magical to me as a 3-year-old when we moved from Iona to Rigby. A house where it always felt cold and there were strange noises in the walls and you couldn't plug in too many things at once or the whole place would lose power. A house with a big yard and wide fields around it, a ditch to get wet in, old sheds to explore, and a faithful dog who would drag home the weirdest things. A house where I would wait excitedly by the window for my older brothers and sisters to come home for holidays. A house that has survived fire, grief, and a slightly crazy family. A house I was sad to leave when I set off for college but always knew I could return to because it was my home. 

The house looks different now, with new siding and bigger trees and a town that has grown exponentially around it. My sister lives there with her own family and it's miraculously still standing, but the way it looks in my memory will always hold a special place in my heart. 

For Christmas Barry gave me the gift of a commissioned painting from my beautiful friend @annaleewoodpaintingsprints and I knew that of course I wanted her to paint my childhood home. She did an incredible job and I am so grateful to have this sweet memory hanging where I can see it every day and remember that once I lived in a cool, old house.