March is gone.....

....so  here's a little re-cap of the month in no particular order.  To me, this is spring.....and my Pine Valley daffodils showed up about a month later than St. George but always happy to see them. 

However, this too is spring....and these icicles are hanging on for dear life on this day out my bedroom window bent by the warming rays of the sun and extended each minute with each drip of water that just won't seem to let go. I love it though and this transformation  has been so fun to watch as I have spent the winter here.

We  had a dusting of snow on the 22nd........and then this blizzard showed up on Monday night. Tuesday we woke up to a foot of snow and more came Wednesday night.

It's gone now but the icicles are still hanging on as I am typing this entry. So we will say goodbye to March and hello to April as Randy and I hit the road for Cali tomorrow leaving behind the memories of March which included some birthday celebrations....Traci and Emily share March 12 and Mae celebrated her first in style....so sorry I couldn't be there but loved seeing pics and hearing about it.

I've always spotlighted my birthday peeps but haven't been doing it this time around but I must shed some of the spotlight to day on this sweetie. A  more loved little child you will never find as she joins this family with four older brothers. She turned one year old on March 24.

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Mae....you are so adorable, jelly shoes, pigtails and all.  And speaking of birthdays....I think I'll put this right here as we celebrated my mom's 89th yesterday.

We are actually all gathered in her room at the Meadows and I think we all fit in there quite well. She has adjusted and the staff assures me that she is happy there. I see her taking on  her usual compassionate service role as she visits her many friends both old and new. There are a lot of people she has known and loved that share this residence and she seems to enjoy the activities, socializing and wonderful food. She definitely is thriving and it was fun to see her interact with staff and to be with her as family. We love you Mom.....we'll do it up real big next year for your 90th. Spring is also when we look forward to the season at Tuacahn.  I got a jump-start this year as Spencer and Shana gave me tickets to "Vocal Point" and "Noteworthy", the BYU Acapella groups.

I got into this stuff on my mission and we have all enjoyed "Acapellastock" every year in Ogden. Loved being there with the fam and loved the music. Thanks for a very thoughtful gift and the good memories.....(lower right; James and Lauri rockin' out in another section.) Spring also brings the beginning of "my boys of summer".....and I do love watching my little ones play baseball. I wasn't able to attend this tournament in Vegas but McKay came from Salt Lake to play on Seth's team. Jack was also there and it made for a funfilled week-end of baseball but I do enjoy getting to any of the games that I can....

I especially have loved watching these two gain a love and appreciation of the game and a lot of skill as well. Great coaches, their dads and Aaron McArthur have carried on the traditions of their fathers. Kyle is doing it as well as he coaches Evan's team this year. Can't wait for those games to start. Soccer,Cross Country and swimming are also sports my kiddies participate in.....but they know it and I admit that there's nothing like baseball.  I do try to get to whatever events I can and love watching them participate in these various sports.....and speaking of sports.....

...I have to give a shout out to the best sport of all, my dear husband who works his butt of all month to make a living then comes here and works just as hard to get this yard into working order. He created and built this new sprinkler system and box in one day, Monday and then it snowed a foot on Tuesday. What a guy.  We are ready for spring.....

...as he sets up and tries out this new fire pit. Can't wait to roast a few over this on the beautiful spring and summer evenings up here and hopefully, we won't have to worry about the fire marshal hunting us down. Easter weekend brings the Art Fair to our fair city.

We stopped by for a little while on Saturday and met James and Lauri there. Lucy and Molly are picking me out a water feature while Louis is just enjoying the ride. Meanwhile, back at the cabin....

...I continue to unpack and re-arrange furniture and make small changes to make this house our home....and love it, we do. Never have I felt such peace and contentment as I do in this tree house set in the midst of this beautiful mountain, Pine Valley. Every night I retire with the moon shining through my window and awake with the sun smiling at me in the morning. It's like resort living.....every single day.  I enjoy visitors but I also enjoy the solitude. I've enjoyed having family join me for snow days and Easter dinners. Looking forward to the blossoming of this beautiful yard. I do consider myself blessed.......and I close with this Irish Blessing:

Always remember to forget

The things that made you sad.

But never forget to remember

The things that made you glad.

Always remember to forget

The friends that proved untrue.

But never forget to remember

Those that have stuck by you.

Always remember to forget

The troubles that passed away.

But never forget to remember

The blessings that come each day.

They said it might rain....

....but I woke up to this beautiful sight and it was gone by noon. This was looking out my bedroom window at 7:00 this morning.

It has been a winter with lots of snow but I've really enjoyed it. It will also be fun to watch the transformation in a few weeks.

This is a view from the "cajuzzi"......as I love to go out there in mid-day when the sun is shining straight down.

I've also enjoyed feeding and watching my winter birds. They come by all day for snacks. I've yet to capture the big blue ones but I'm still trying.  Randy and I feel very blessed to have this beautiful place and we were able to spend our first Christmas together here.

Here's our Christmas card and before we leave the snow and enter the spring....I'm going to get caught up with all the holiday fun we had.

Our first Christmas together at our new home. A relaxing, wonderful day exchanging gifts and enjoying our new fire place. Hopefully this will be our new tradition. Sure was fun. Another fun tradition is our Annual Gingerbread House Competition sponsored by JoEllen.

Never a dull moment and her hard work is really appreciated.

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This is the first year that we didn't do Christmas Eve at great grandma's....she was at the Meadows but we arranged to have a room there and we all shared our usual games, talents, and cookies with her. She wasn't really very happy about it but it really wasn't a very happy situation. She has since adjusted well and seems to be a bit more settled and is a contributing resident there. It's always hard to end traditions but it's also exciting to begin new ones. A new one that I really enjoy and this is the second year we've done it so maybe it's not a true tradition yet but it sure was fun and I'll keep it going if I possibly can. I rent the Veyo Skating Rink sometime between Christmas and New Years and invite everyone to come along. It's not the safest activity but truly lots of unorganized fun and chaos.

 Like I said, not the safest activity but lots of family togetherness. No rules.....

 ....and it's always good to get done with the 2 hours with no mishaps....there's always a few tears but mostly just chaotic fun.

 Bring your own skates, strollers, wagons, scooters, hockey sticks.....just come have fun.

......and I've enjoyed having anyone and everyone that has wanted to come, up to the cabin to sit by the fire or play in the snow. These desert rats of mine don't like to join me much but I have been able to get them up here a few times.

 Randy and I have enjoyed our Arctic Cat...and it's been good to haul the sledders up and down as well like we used to do with the snowmobile. We've been enjoying Pine Valley snow for lots of years.

I never did like it much because I don't like to be cold but now that I have a home with a couple of roaring fires and a hot chocolate maker....it's lots more enjoyable.

Here we are enjoying a new game LCR (Left, Center, Right)......easy enough for everyone to join in. I think we did get in a game of Candy Bar Bingo with no tears this year. As I've mentioned many times, I'm very happy here in my mountain home and love it when Randy can join me. I especially like to share it so come join me any time. Pull up a chair by the fire and stay a while.  Looking forward to a new season here in a few weeks.

These daffodils have already come and gone at the Stewart home. I've kept track every year when the first flower bloomed. The last couple of years it's been February 5....this year it was a few weeks later than that.  I wanna say the 25th but they were beautiful.  Spring is certainly in the air.