Annie Kate Looking for Anne

Cherry Blossoms, Rain, Conference and yard art!

This morning we got up early to head downtown to see Anne run in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler.
The kids were still sick but after what Anne did for our family last weekend when Jeff ran the marathon we were not going to miss a chance to cheer her on.

we were so lucky and got the most perfect parking spot right next to the Washington Monument, which is where the race started and finished. It was raining a cold sideways type rain. There were so many runners so all of us had our eye out for Anne.

and then she came zooming around the corner and gave us a nice wave! Even in the freezing ran and soaking wet she looks darling in her running skirt! I am getting one of those!

I was incredibly proud of her for getting up and the freezing cold and running it - the weather would have turned most away.

Anne was pretty nice to sit and take photos with us after she was done even though I am sure she wanted to get somewhere warm and get some food. She even offered her bran muffin to my kids, but it was a little too healthy for them.
Way to go Anne! You can see how freezing I am I can't even take my hood off for the photo and you just ran 10 miles in a skirt! It was great to have a chance to cheer you on. (and i must remember to get my hands out of my jean pockets when taking photos because it stretches out my pants and makes my bottom look much bigger than it is, at least I hope it is not that big)

We then came home to watch General Conference. This is how we watched it this weekend. On the laptop with BYU TV on. It is Jeff's military computer so it locks up every few minutes and you have to put his ID in it once it locks up. Jeff's job was to keep tapping it with his foot so it would not lock up. Sally Jane sat on us with a high fever, Annie Kate coughing up a storm and Caroline jumping around (she was obviously feeling much better)

In between conference we took a walk to the lake to look for mini turtles. Annie Kate had found some on Saturday. I wondered what people think when they are church empty on this Sunday and wonder if they think we just take a day off each year.
I saw a note on the door and ran to see what it was. I thought this was kind of cool. A message inviting any of the neighbors to come and watch General Conference. There is a ward in the building who speaks Chinese so I love having every flyer written in both languages.
Caroline brought her purse for the walk to pick flowers for a current potion she is making.
she was willing to do anything to get the perfect flower, even take down our neighbors tree.
the color of Spring Green is ever where here and i love it!

Spring is definitely trying to push out Winter who at this point in our neighborhood is an uninvited guest.
i love these trees in our neighborhood all getting ready to bloom with their velvet wrapped bud.

Annie Kate found a pulled tulip in someones yard that had been tossed aside. she was obviously pretty upset about it.
The lake was fun and any chance the kids can get to just explore is always a good thing.


we forgot bread for geese so Caroline just chased them instead.

Sally Jane and Dad looking for turtles. We didn't find any.

Caroline took the risk on the tire swing. Even though the ground below was filled with muddy water she was not missing a chance to swing at the park by the lake.
i had never noticed that the trees around the lake are all dedicated to different people. I thought this was touching and quite a piece of history.


Caroline pulled this out of the lake and i am not sure what it is, some kind of acorn ball.
I had told the girls that we were going to take photos in their Easter dresses today in the daffodil field. But with being Sick and rainy it didn't happen. Annie Kate said, "here mom take a photo. Good now we can say we did it and we don't have to come back" oh wishful thinking my daughter, wishful thinking.

As we walked in our neighborhood I became more intrigued with yard art and statues. There seems to be a lot of that here with little doo dads on people's door step. It is a mystery to me really. When I lived in North Dakota everyone had yard art. The most common was a wooden woman bent over gardening and you could see her bottom - it was weird.

here it is more of garden statues and such.

There are a few in the neighborhood that get changed for each season. This penguin gets a new tie for each holiday. there are a set of frogs down the road who also get holiday decor.
these next two pictures are from a ladies yard which is actually quite cool - not really my taste but she has a whole theme going on. It is a English garden feel. But she has lots of statues.
these one gets really pretty when the ivy grows up in the summer. But still I wonder what makes someone pick these items to put on their front doorstep - Pigs welcoming your friends... hmmm. Interesting.

Do you have yard art?
Are you going to do a 10 miler this year, so you can be as cool as Anne?
Are things blooming where you are?
Do you have congregations at your church building who speak a different language?
Have you ever found a mini turtle?