Spring Has Arrived in Wisconsin

It was a beautiful morning here. Easily the nicest day weather-wise since I arrived in my new state in December. Coffee drinking, barefoot on the deck, birds chirping, a couple walking dogs, and a dad pushing a stroller while three other small kids ride their bikes alongside. The sound of power tools emanating from a garage near by reminded me of my own projects for today. But first...coffee and fresh air. Snow blower tucked away in the garage, heavy winter jackets and snow pants packed in the back of the closet, the flowers hesitantly budding as they hope that the last late freeze has come and gone. 

Reminds me of this:

Erin has introduced me to the most amazing variation of biscuits and gravy. Ground turkey as the meat and hollandaise sauce instead of a traditional white gravy mix. A plateful of it and you are full and worthless so I had to be careful. The kids were gone for the weekend and while they are enthusiastic helpers on anything you are doing, it's best to handle projects requiring power tools when you can dedicate your focus. Reclaimed wood projects are all the rage right now so I tried my hand at one. 

Clayton turned 3 last month and we have mastered potty training. He graduated to big boy underwear and is even wearing them overnight with very minimal accidents. He is ready to move from the training potty to the real deal but of course he is still a little short for this so I had to make him a step stool. I had seen several online along the lines of this:

And he has one to use at Grandma Karen's house. I didn't have all the tools listed in this PROJECT GUIDE. But I'm gave it my best shot. I had a pallet at my disposal but it was not in the greatest of shape so I used some other wood we had here at the house. I gave mine a bit of an apple crate feel. 

Here it is pulled out in the position he would use but it tucks under almost all the way when not needed. 

After running around and this project after lunch it was time to settle down and enjoy the beautiful day on the deck. Erin soaked up the sun and a book while I found the shady corner and relaxed. 

Almost too nice to move, but we managed to find time to run to the grocery store and get a couple ingredients for dinner outside. She did all the real work while I took credit for watching the grill.

Balsamic vinegar chicken kabobs, strawberry spinach salad, grilled pineapple, and french bread.

After dinner we picked the kids up and got them tucked into bed. All in all a pretty wonderful day. Nothing to do now but wait for the rain to roll in and fall asleep listening to it pitter-patter against the roof.