This is Spring?

Hi - I'm back! After almost six months I am finally posting a new blog. Sorry for the delay! Maybe I've been too busy, or too lazy, or frustrated with dial-up internet......... whatever my excuse, I'll try to get into a routine and post more regularly. Have a look at what Maeve and I did today. We were playing in the snow and had a ride in the sled.

I know you are thinking this must be a photo from the middle of winter, but I took it today, the 7th of April. That shows you what kind of a winter we have had. There have been more storms with more accumulation than Kevin and I can remember since we were kids ourselves, and that's a long time ago! This was taken after one of the storms - our house is almost buried! We still have huge snowbanks, but the sun is doing a good job of melting them, and we do see a difference every day. Hopefully it will all disappear soon and winter will just be a fond memory. The robins are back from the south, but they are having trouble finding bare spots of ground where they can dig for worms. It is so nice to hear their cheerful tunes! As for the bulbs we planted last fall, there is no sign of them yet, it will be some time before they get brave enough to poke their heads out!

It was a very nice break from wintry weather when we went to Florida in early March. Here is a picture of Maeve and I on the beach, in contrast to the above photos.

It really was a wonderful vacation, the only missing ingredients were Jonathan and Miranda - next year maybe? We had a day at Redington Beach, another at Epcot Center, one at Sea World, and then Magic Kingdom. There was something for everyone, and it was a whirlwind week. We have a ton of happy memories and pictures of it all. Maeve thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by people to play with, and she was a great little traveller. Here's a picture of us all (except Kevin, the photographer) at Sea World.

I mentioned Jonathan and Miranda and they are now counting down the time till Baby Phillips' arrival around the end of May. We are so excited about the arrival of a new grandbaby, and of course we will be going out to be with them for the event. They were home for Christmas and it was trulay a wonderful holiday. The house was full of people and food and fun - it was great. We went to Alberta in January for the Breakforth Conference that was a wonderful time, then we spent a week or so in Grande Prairie with J & M.

That's a quick update - I'll keep watching for signs that spring has really arrived!