Good-bye April

The month of April has come and gone. 

We are well into spring...
though it hasn't always felt like it!

Our pink magnolia bloomed on queue...

for April 4th.

It is our memorial Hannah tree...

in memory of our granddaughter who was with us for a few sweet hours on that date in 2008.

Lucy invited me along on her Kindergarten class field trip to the Rainbow Greenhouses.

There was much to see...

and the take-home marigold was a real prize!

Over the years...

I have crossed this narrow bridge over the Vedder River countless times.

It will soon be history.

On April 11th...

a new bridge was pushed into place across the river right next to the old one.

Crowds gathered to watch the event...

which took seven hours.

It was rather an historic day for our community as the new bridge is the first arch bridge in the world that has been launched across a river like this.

It will be a few more months before the approaches to the bridge are complete.

 

After a very harsh winter here in our area...

we have broken all kinds of rain records for April.

We got rather used to the dark skies...

...and really appreciated the beauty of spring on those rare occasions when the sun came out!

And there were rainbows...

a promise of a brighter tomorrow.

Lucy sent me a text...

wondering if we could make peep nests before Easter.

And so we did...in her kitchen.

She was OK with having Maggie help.

Easter Sunday turned out to be quite a lovely day (no rain)...

just perfect for an outdoor scavenger hunt.

They found clues...and eventually they found their baskets (made with beach towels).

Easter dinner 2017.

Maggie read us the Easter story this year.

The basic menu never changes.

Tradition.

Cold ham, sausage and meatballs.

Potato salad.

Fruit and veggie salads.

Paska.

It's always good to have the whole family around the table! 

After fourteen years out in the rain...

our arbour needed a little a lot of help.

It came down one morning and by the next day...

it looked like new again.

Well, not quite.

It still needs painting.

I added the photo from yesteryear to remind me of how it once looked...

with wisteria hanging from the top.

Sigh.

It will never look like that again!

Unfortunately the wisteria was stronger than the arbour...

and was partly to blame for its demise.

The wisteria is history...replaced by golden hops. 

For now.

Another highlight of the month was a luncheon with good friends at Lovella's. 

Fine china, tea pot 'place-cards', scones, croissants and pastries...

mini-sandwiches and pavlova desserts.

Delightful!

We always have such a fun time together...

and the hours just slip away. 

April is also the month for 'grandparents day' at many of the schools, it seems.

We went to a luncheon at Ryder's school...

where we took in a wonderful program and had a chance to visit his classroom.

Last week I had the privilege of being 'surrogate grandma' to these two delightful children...

just for an afternoon.

Emma and Jacob are best friends and neighbours of Maggie and Lucy...

and wondered if I could be their grandma for the grandparent's tea at their school last week.

Of course I could!

I really enjoyed the program at Highroad Academy...

it was an honour to be invited!

Ryder is playing in a spring hockey league...

and we took his great-grandpa along to watch his game last week.

How special to have a ninety-five-year-old (almost) great-grandpa cheering you on!

Ryder scored the one and only goal for their team that night.

 

Let me finish off with a few photos from our local tulip fields...

taken just a few days ago.

Some tiptoe through the tulips.

Some bike!

Loved the collection of old John Deere tractors out in the field!

Some travel to Holland to see fields like this.

I travel a few miles.

The earth smiles in flowers.

Thanks for stopping by!