Happy Sibling Day!

I was checking out social media today and I seemed to discover through random posts that it is in fact National Sibling Day!  Out west, I didn't seem to care too much about this particular holiday--probably because I saw them more than I do now--but now that I am far away from all of my siblings, I take this particular holiday to heart.  I miss them all terribly!

Michael is my oldest brother.  He is always full of wit and wisdom (and he has a beautiful wife, Cambri, and an adorable baby, Lucy Grey).  I always looked up to him as a big brother and will always be grateful to him for introducing me to laughing gas and ignoring the fact that I turn into a rambling/shouting maniac when under it.

Daniel is my other older brother.  He is one of the funniest people I have ever met!  We sometimes butted heads growing up, but I know that, no matter the circumstance, he always has my back.  He and his lovely wife, Cassie, always know how to have a good time and I'm grateful for his protection and acceptance towards me, even when I was a sensitive brat towards him.

Emily is the only sister I have (not counting in-laws of course).  As I mentioned in previous posts, we are total opposites in every sense of the word.  That would sometimes cause contention between us but at the end of the day, I always saw her as my best friend.  She is so smart, talented, kind, and always had a good hand in fashion!  Her husband, Mike, is one lucky guy and their little one is going to be one lucky kid to have her as a mom!

And then there's my youngest brother, Thomas.  He is the very definition of patience.  He brings a calm presence into our family and we all have missed him too much since he's left on his mission to California.  We loved messing with him when he was just a baby (which is probably where his patience came from) and then he stretched into a however-tall-he-is man that could easily take his older sister when challenged to a bit of rough-housing.  Whenever we were all together, I loved having him randomly come and put his arm around me (he probably just needed an arm rest) just because!

A little over a year ago, I heard this song on the radio.  It became pretty popular and when I heard it, I instantly thought of my brothers and sister.  I'm pretty simple minded, so I don't know if this song is actually about siblings, but to me it is.  And the lyrics explain exactly how I feel about Michael, Daniel, Emily, and Thomas.  No matter where we are in the world, and despite all our differences, For you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do.

I'm glad I was reminded about National Sibling Day!  It helped me reminisce about the good ol' days with some of my favorite people in the world!

Spring!

I can now say with strong confidence that spring has finally sprung!  

The sun is making more appearances and the temperatures are increasing each day and that makes for a happier attitude amongst both me, Peter, and the dog.  You would think that I would be out taking more pictures than I have.  But alas, I never plan ahead and when I head out to enjoy the scenery-I seem to always forget my camera.  

Fortunately, I have my phone handy most of the time and have been able to capture the latest happenings in the Barnes household.

I have run into a lot of furry creatures this past month.  A lot of them being from the dog park that I take Murphy to frequently.  Murphy loves being around humans-he "tolerates" dogs and cats.  There have been few dogs he actually enjoys playing with and when he does see a dog, he gets really antsy and wants to check him/her out.  But once he does, he walks away and wants nothing to do with them.  Some dogs are okay with that, some are not.  There have been a few growls and snaps because of this, but, thankfully, nothing too serious.

Murphy meeting the largest dog we've ever come across.  I owned a dog just like him in Montana.  Made me feel nostalgic when I saw him.

Another time I made some furry friends was when I got a text from a new friend I made in my ward.  It was then I discovered that there was a zoo that was opening up nearby and offering free admission to the public the first week it was opening.  A lot of people in the ward were getting together and going and she wanted to see if I wanted to join along.  I said yes and drove a half an hour to meet them.  Once I got there, I found out that the ward members that met up to go there were all parents.  At first I was a bit embarrassed.  How immature must I look to want to go to a zoo without a kid to pull along with me?  But some of the kids did recognize me (I do a bit of babysitting for the ward sometimes) and wanted to walk with me.  After that, I didn't feel so dumb.

I had my phone and decided that while I was there, I might as well take some photos and send them to Peter while he was busy working.

And then there were the creatures I found around our place!  

The warmer it gets, the more birds I hear in the morning.  I love hearing them communicate through their chirps and their whistles.  It's very relaxing to me.  Peter and I are very grateful that there are more trees around here than there were in Rexburg.  Peter loves it because it reminds him of where he grew up.  I love it because I hear more life that happens in them.

Next to the dog park in our apartment complex, I've discovered a little friend for Murphy.  Lately there has been a groundhog making itself feel quite at home just outside the fence where the dogs play.  Murphy has never been close enough to it to introduce himself, but I have seen it's chubby head pop up every once in a while to spy on me, only to burrow back in it's hole quickly after I see it noticing me. (One of these days I'll get a good photo of him/her.)

And then, of course, you have the random little critter that just wants to rest on your knee for a moment to say hello :)

Easter was a particularly beautiful day.  We are lucky to have made some friends with some people in the ward that happen to live in the building next to us.  They invited us over for conference and Easter dinner.  I don't have any pictures of the actual dinner (Though I will say, it was delicious), but I do have some of us putting some suet up for our chirping pals, Peter playing with his best friend, and "listening" to conference.  I'm glad that we were able to celebrate such a spiritual weekend with some good people.

To be fair, he lasted up until the last hour of the last session. 

 Spring has been good to us so far this year.  I can't wait to see what else this lovely season has in store for us.