Thankful Doesn't Even Come Close... TToT Week 91

I would like to scream from the rooftop, but our roof is really steep and really tall. I'd like to not die more than I'd like to scream from the roof, but I am THRILLED with the weather this week!!

SPRING IS MOSTLY HERE!! I know we'll still have some cold days. Perhaps even a bit more snow. BUT it won't be as frigid as it was a few short weeks ago. And the cold that does come won't last for long.

Thankful doesn't even come close to what I'm feeling about the two days of sun and 58 degree temps we had this week.

More signs of spring!!

Bryan and I have been talking about plans for the near to not-too-distant future, including moving to a new house. In less than 6 years, we will be down to only 2 kids living in our house year-round. We won't need all of this property, and it would be nice to live near school.

But then the two days of beautiful weather came. The little boys were outside every single available minute during those two days, even when I was inside making dinner. They found "a pretty place" in a dead, fallen down tree. They explored the fields and climbed on trees and jumped in puddles. They got filthy and had a blast.

Thankful doesn't even come close to what I'm feeling about the opportunity our kids have to grow up in such a safe, fresh-aired environment.

Turken's schoolwork from last week. He had to write some sentences and underline the verbs, then draw pictures to go with them. He wouldn't know anything about the speed of a pig if we lived in a neighborhood. And  I think we all know where he got his mad illustration skills.

With the warm weather came the melting of all the snow. And rain. Lots of rain. And with that rain and melting snow came mud. Lots of mud.

Thankful doesn't even come close to what I'm feeling about the two truckloads of gravel that were dumped all along (most of) our driveway, ending the reign of muddy terror ruling over the floors of my house and van.

This was at 10:00 in the am, after most of the fog had burned off.  It's amazing how fog can make anything look like a horror movie.

Because of the trees growing over the drive, the truck couldn't dump the gravel all the way around the circle or on the turnaround section.

Thankful doesn't even come close to what I'm feeling about the kids and husband I have who can help with the spreading of the gravel.

The chickens have been cooped up (in the coop) for weeks, seeing as how a foot of snow and below zero temperatures aren't the best for bare little chicken feet. The warm weather meant the girls and their one suitor could get out into the fresh air.

Thankful doesn't even come close to what I'm feeling about the dogs not knowing that the gravel dump broke their line, seeing as how one chicken was practically begging to be eaten. (Remember our last flock was wiped out in a matter of hours when Roy figured out the line had broken while we were on vacation.)

That's a chicken. On the pig fence. One hour after I had caught it on the other side of the pig fence and put it back in the chicken pen. She had to run past the dogs to get to that pig fence.  Dogs who were watching every move she made.

There have been a couple of rainy days this week, too. As in moisture falling from the sky all day long. While 50 degrees is wonderful when the sun is out, 50 degrees and rain is not. No playing outside in that mess.

Thankful doesn't even come close to what I'm feeling about my kids' ability to amuse themselves when trapped in the house.

He made that entire thing by himself, following the 60 steps in the instruction book. It took him the entire day.

Spring break is coming! Remember last year, when the kids, my mom, and I got in the van and left for vacation with absolutely no plans? We are kind of doing it again. We were just going to rent a house in Gatlinburg for the week, but the temperatures are supposed to drop. We need to go farther south for warm temps, and we won't stop until we find them. I found one place in the Blue Ridge Mountains where we can ride horses and stay in a yurt, so I'll be making reservations to stay there one night. I'll have each of the kids do a bit of research and pick one thing he would like to do.

Thankful doesn't even come close to what I'm feeling about our ability to take these trips with my mom and write the stories we'll be retelling for decades to come.

During our trip, I'll post on Instagram regularly. Bryan and my dad will want to see proof that we aren't living in the van down by the river, so you might as well follow along, too.

If you remember last year's trip (Can you even believe it's been an entire year?!?!?), you won't be shocked to learn that the kids have added a new rule about the trip. There will be no out of the way stops to simply see a river even if it is the biggest river in the US meeting up with one of the next biggest rivers in the US.

Whatever.

It seems the loosey goosey TToT co-hosts are rubbing off on me. I don't know where my numbers went, but surely I have 10 thankfuls in here.

It's your turn! Numbered or not, what makes you want to scream "THANK YOU!!" from the rooftop?

Have a lovely day!

<div align="center"> <a href=" https://summat2thinkon.wordpress.com/ten-things-of-thankful/" rel=”nofollow” title="Ten Things of Thankful" target="_blank"><img src="http://summat2thinkon.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/d8fc4-tenthingsbanner.jpg?w=700" alt="Ten Things of Thankful" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 Your hosts

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, The Meaning of Me, Thankful Me, Uncharted, The Wakefield Doctrine

Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group

An InLinkz Link-up