Spring has Sprung!

Finally. I LOVE spring. It is by far my favorite time of the year. I love the symbolism of the earth coming to a re-birth each year. It's no wonder that Christ was resurrected in the spring. Dean and I have been enjoying going on walks and looking at all of the beautiful flowers. I love watching his little brain learn. It's so fun.

We had a wonderful Easter with John's family here. We did a hunt on Saturday at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I got to help some of the 231 eggs (yes, there were that many and we only didn't find about 7). Easter is my favorite holiday. We had a great church block. John was asked to speak and did a wonderful job. I was asked to play the organ and I'm pleased to report that I didn't blast anyone's ears out. I tend to like to play loudly. We then had a wonderful Easter feast. I always, always, always volunteer to bring deviled eggs to every holiday dinner. They are always a huge hit. I usually boil 12 eggs, making 24 deviled eggs. That's just not enough any more. So I boiled, peeled, sliced, and smashed 18 eggs to make 36 halves. They were so good. I've been debating making more for myself. I did the math and it's only 47 calories per half. I didn't look (purposefully) at what the fat and cholesterol content are. I don't want to know.

John's family also has a wonderful, delicious, decadent, perfect, intense "Killer Chocolate Raspberry" cake that my mother-in-law created and won the Grand Champion at the Fair in 1982 when they lived in Virginia. I haven't ever seen it made, although I had devoured it countless times. This time around my sister-in-law Marja gave me a little tutoring session and I can officially say that I am fully trained in the art of making chocolate raspberry cake. It's a 4-layer cake with different fillings and frosting. I'm excited to make one on my own and see if I really know what I'm doing. It's one of those family traditions that I would be so sad if I never learned how to make while John and I are in Utah, which may in fact, be forever.

For those of you who are curious, I'm down somewhere between 10-12 pounds, depending on the day. I feel a huge sense of accomplishment, but yet, there is still more weight to lose than I have lost. I am also running out of pants that fit and can't quite fit into the giant pile of pants that would be great. But I'll get there eventually.

John is in the middle of the end of the semester. He had a 10-page paper due today for his Modern Art class that has just about killed him. He did a FABULOUS job. I loved reading it and seeing his passion for Saul Bass and graphic design. He "just" has to plow through his art history essay test (needs to prepare 5 of the 6 essays so he has at least 1 option when it comes to the test time), and finish two HUGE design projects for his graphic design class. He is doing a fantastic job. We are so proud of him.

John did the math and he will be done with school (barring any unforeseen complications with schedules) by December 2013!! WOO HOO! He works so hard and truly deserves to be done and graduated more than anyone I have ever met. Dean loves spending time with his daddy and gets so excited when I tell him that daddy's coming home. It will be fun when John just goes to work and then comes home.

Dean was cutting 2 teeth. They are almost all the way in and his behavior is much improved. He is starting to give me glimpses of sleeping better, but I don't want to get my hopes up. This has happened in the past and then just when I think things are better, they go completely in the opposite direction. He is also so close to crawling. He scooches all over the place and even pushes himself up onto his arms and toes. I know he'll be so much happier once he can crawl. And now for some pictures:

Dean was sucking on John's nose. I didn't get to it fast enough, but this is still cute.