We began April with an April Fool's Day joke on the kids.....we figure we'll trick them as long as we can before they begin to trick us!
Nathan chewed on a Tootsie Roll, and then stuck it to the back of the rim on the toilet. He then called Lincoln in, asking Lincoln about it (making Lincoln think he didn't "clean up" good enough after going to the washroom....)
Lincoln walked in, took one look and said, "Eek!!". He then said "eek" two more times, just standing there. He instantly felt bad but you could see the confusion on his face as he was trying to figure out how that got there as he was pretty sure he hadn't used that bathroom, yet he was ready to take the full responsibility of that "mess".
He then watched in horror as Nathan picked it up and brought it to his mouth...
Needless to say, once we told him what it was, he thought that was pretty hilarious! Keziah was gone to a birthday party when Nathan did this to Lincoln. Lincoln thought it would be so funny to do the same trick on Keziah, so we did. Just look at the disgust look on her face :D
She even thought it smelled!! hahaha!! Oh, girl. Never short on the dramatics!!
We all had a good chuckle that morning! Even now as I type this up, I am howling with tears in my eyes. Their reactions were just so priceless!! Sorry if that all grossed you out.....but if you are ever looking for an April Fool's joke, try it! You'll be sure to be left in stitches!
Anyway, onto more serious stuff :) Nathan and I also started Whole30 again - no joke. We did this last May for 30 days (see
here as to what we did last May). This time, we committed to 15 days as opposed to 30 days. With teaching and all, I just couldn't commit to the 30 days - that thought overwhelmed me. But in the end, we actually did almost 30 days! This has helped us to get back on track with our eating - enjoying whole foods rather than "convenient" foods.....to grab for that banana rather than that granola bar. We always feel so much better.
We enjoyed some very yummy recipes, quiche, BBQ chicken with a very tasty sauce, sausage and shrimp...just to name a few.
We did take one day off for Easter.....we just couldn't say no to this caramel skor chocolate cake I baked. Good thing we shared it with friends!!
Speaking of Easter, we spent Good Friday with Jenn and Jay, where the 4 of us went mountain biking. It has been years, and I mean,
years!! since we've gone the 4 of us - it was so much fun!! I got to try out my new mountain bike....only for it to completely snap on the trail, so I had to walk back. It was fun nonetheless!!
We did get some white stuff in April.....(I've even heard we may get some again this Sunday.....no!!!)
Thankfully it didn't stick around much and before we knew it we were enjoying some mighty fine and sunny weather
We started renovating our basement at the beginning of April. All it's been the last 10 years is cement blocks and concrete. The offices for the business used to be down there, but that all moved out once they built new offices. Then water moved in and so everything was ripped out and then fixed so water couldn't come in again. And then, the basement just sat there.....so much space yet not really usable. I can't wait for it to be done!!
Of course, with renos comes findings that need to be fixed that you weren't counting on. One of those things was a pipe going to our sewage tank. The kids were very excited that daddy needed help to dig to the pipe. I love this - seeing their eager hard-working spirits, and then later seeing their digger and shovels. Seeing stuff like that makes me all sentimental....
We went through a week where we thought we could open up a petting zoo! First, I woke up on a Monday morning to do my early morning workout routine, only to find a RABBIT in my hallway!!! I called Nathan (who was already working in the office) and we spent a good 15 minutes looking for it again. It was getting to the point where Nathan was seriously doubting my sanity....and then we found it under the bookshelf. We were able to catch it and bring it back outside - just in time before Keziah, the rabbit-lover, woke up. Phew!!
Then the next day, we discovered a few nests around our home....not so unusual is this one, a mourning dove nest
......but a mallard duck nest?! 10 feet from our back door?! With 13 eggs in it??!! Not something we see everyday, that's for sure!
Then later on in the week, Lincoln and Keziah were playing outside, and just beside our deck, Lincoln found this itty-bitty creature....
A teeny-tiny painted turtle!! So cute!!!
We placed it on a rock by our pond. A few hours later, it was gone. We are just going to assume that it found its way into the pond and is living happily ever after......
Quite the adventurous week of animals!
One other interesting thing we found was this - 4 dandelions all in one. Never saw that before either, but Keziah found that also in our backyard.
Keziah had Open House at school, on a day when I wasn't teaching. That meant I could just go as a mom, not a teacher.
Just before the month was over, Nathan, Jay, and Jenn ran a 4 km race at Dundas Valley. It was a good introduction to the running season. No, I didn't run.......who would have taken pictures then?!
Keziah decided to set her own challenge - building ramps and biking over them without falling.
The last day of April, this man celebrated his 65th birthday.
He is one of the most unique-beat-to-his-own-drum man, yet one I am so proud to call "dad".
Another month completed. I actually am really enjoying these monthly updates....makes me reflect on the past month and see God's goodness in our lives. Sometimes we can get caught up with whatever that isn't fruitful, day to day, yet when we take the overview of the month, we can't help see that God has blessed us yet again, and is with us each and every day, through the tough days and through the good days.
See you later, and enjoy the month of May and what it all has to offer....so far it's been rain, rain, rain, but in all honesty, it hasn't rained for 40 days and 40 nights yet, so we are good :)
