Spring is a funny thing

I am beginning to wonder if there is really such a thing as "Spring" in Utah or if it just skips from Winter to Summer. One day, the girls will be running wild in the yard in t-shirts and shorts and the next, it snows! What happened to a season of blissfully perfect weather...sunny skies, moderate temperatures, flowers blooming, song birds singing...(oh, how I miss the sunshine!)? We seem to only be able to get "teaser days" where the weather goes from bad to great and right back to bad again. We try and soak in all the sun whenever we can grasp some. As wonderful as having a yard has been (on the few fair weather days we've had), there is a drawback; my girls seem to think that if they come in for a potty break, it might start to snow again before they get back out to play, and so instead, they don't. Inevitably, accidents occur; about half a dozen times in the past few weeks (Alexis excluded)! We take a lot of baths, and do a lot of laundry, and ruin a lot of clothes. In spite of all that, we have really tried to make the best of what fair weather days come our way and here is what we've been up to this past week:

A walk in the woods...

Our "backyard", or rather, a view of our frontyard taken from our backyard.

There is a trailhead for some great hikes just a short walk away from our house. We decided to do some exploring one night after grilling some burgers for dinner. We found a lot of animal tracks, a river, a bridge and a waterfall.

Race day...

Our family participated in a 5K race sponsored by local law firms. Luckily, the weather was perfect that morning (and by afternoon it was raining again!). Adam and Alexis ran the race and finished in great time. Alexis was one of the first in her age group to cross the finish line. I helped bring in the latter half of the race with our other three little racers. Aubrey and Allie were wiped out about 1/3 of the way through and both hopped on the stroller with Bria, so I pushed the three of them as I jogged along (would have been easier without the hills!). I couldn't decide which part of me got the better workout, my legs or my arms! 

They were all so proud of themselves and we had a really good time doing it. As a treat, we got to stop by the zoo on the way home and say hello to Zuri (Allie's favorite elephant). We had been missing her during the winter months and were happy to see her back outside. Alexis had quite a full schedule that day. After the early morning race, she had a choir concert at the University that included a two-hour rehearsal prior to the two-hour concert. She and I were exhausted that night!

The very definition of cute:

Really, could she be any cuter? She is sitting up on her own now and is quite proud. It is becoming very evident that she wants mobility though I am strongly opposed. She loves the grass, the outdoors, and splashing in the tub. I think tonight we really wore her out. I was reading stories with the girls before bed and she was sitting on the floor in front of me when we started to notice her head bobbing around. She had fallen asleep sitting up! I didn't know babies could do the head-bob thing. I thought that was reserved for parents at church and toddlers in car seats! Guess that's what happens to a fourth child who doesn't get the type of nap schedule a first child is blessed with; they have to be able to sleep anytime, anywhere.

Sweet dreams, my little ones; I'll be dreaming of sunny weather for you!