Celebrating Finn and a spring family visit

Well, hello! It has been a long time, phew. It feels good to be back to writing and sharing about our life, beginning with a visit from my family in mid-April!

My brother, Matt, and my parents drove down, arriving on a Saturday evening. We had chicken tacos, prepared in the crockpot, a favorite (easy!) meal of mine that is great for when you want a flexible meal time. After the boys went to bed, we stayed up talking and catching up.

On Sunday, we went to church, and then came home to prepare for lunch, which was grilled hamburgers with sourdough buns. The buns didn't rise at all, which was the beginning of me realizing my starter needed some help.* At the very least, they still tasted okay! My father-in-law joined us for lunch and the weather was beautiful. The boys played outside and my family walked around the yard, since they hadn't yet seen some of the property leafed out for spring.

I made sourdough cinnamon rolls for an afternoon treat, my mom read books to Cooper, and my dad played trains and read with the boys. That evening, my brother and I went on a long walk and talked, just the two of us, and it was really nice to have a longer format conversation, uninterrupted.

On Monday, Nicholas had to work, but my family, the boys, and I visited the farm store for our raw milk, and then headed to a local arboretum. They have a large miniature train display that some of the volunteers were just beginning to set up, which was exciting to see. And then we looked at a few other gardens (and Finn perused the daffodils) before I took the boys home for lunch and Finn's nap and my family stayed to do a hike.

Some of my favorite memories from the visit:

• talking about birdsong and recording calls on the Merlin app. So many new-to-us birds this spring!
• my brother finding frogs and showing a very enthusiastic Cooper said frogs
• flipping through a crochet book and a book about native northern plants and grasses with my mom
• talking about spiritual realities in our world
• my parents reading to the boys
• my brother and Cooper spending a lot of time taking apart and fixing a wind up pull toy (of course Cooper loved this project, and the two of them were committed to figuring it out)
• working on a Christmas tree puzzle
• my mom doing a few crafts with Cooper (another favorite activity of his!)
• my brother teaching Cooper how to "whistle" with grass, like we did when were kids
• Finn making everyone laugh, with the way he lights up a room

Later on Monday, when Nicholas was done working, my family gave Finn his birthday gifts. He received a bunny (now a beloved and necessary bedtime companion), some sweet clothes, including a "dinto" (dinosaur) shirt, a bunny book, and a big set of wooden puzzles, which the boys subsequently played with for a long time.

Tuesday morning, we all had breakfast, and then my family and the boys and I went for one last neighborhood walk together before they began the drive back to Minnesota.

It was such a sweet visit! So special to spend time together in person, and get the chance to celebrate our littlest guy, Finn, again. We love our Minnesota family!

*I'll share more about my starter TLC and what I did to "get back to (sourdough) baking" in a post, soon!