6 Reasons to Smile in April

I’ll admit this was a tough month for me and I had to really struggle to find 6 reasons to smile, but when I sat down and thought about the whole month, it definitely wasn’t as bad as I made it out to be in my mind.

Starting at the upper left-hand side, I admit that now that my backyard is brand-new, I sit outside every single day and enjoy my burbling urn.  The water attracts so many finches on a daily basis who stop for a quick drink, and now that some of the plants are flowering, the butterflies are coming in, too.  I recently found the ‘before’ photos of my yard, and it’s absolutely stunning what a difference has been made.  I would include one of them here for comparison but it’s beyond embarrassing that we let our yard get that bad.  Let’s just say that it was bad.  Very, very bad.  No other words necessary.

The melted plastic on the right upper side of the pictures was funny because it was Easter Sunday and my husband had forgotten that he had placed a plastic egg in the toaster and he decided to make toast about an hour later.  Cue the laughter.  The funny part is he thinks he has an amazing memory and doesn’t forget a thing!  Here’s photographic proof that his memory is not as good as he thinks.

The bottom left photo shows two of my girls in Italy looking up at a sight I’ve never seen before: the Sistine Chapel ceiling.  They look positively enthralled looking at what Michelangelo painted so long ago.  That picture alone warms my heart to no end.

And speaking of warm, I have my own picture from Spring Break–Nick and I stayed at a hotel in Carlsbad while our house was being tented for termites.  The whole situation was not fun but the one thing we looked forward to every night was watching the sun set over the ocean on “Fire Row,” a location in the Twenty/20 Restaurant along the path of a fire and water feature.  And, boy, it was warm on those cool nights.

The girls, as I mentioned, went to Italy for Spring Break.  They traveled with a bunch of kids from their high school along with two of their teachers and two other chaperones.  I love this picture taken of them before they headed to Customs to board the first of three flights to Venice.  They look so excited to go.

And, finally, how could I not include my daughter’s dog, Brody, in the 6 Reasons to Smile in April?  We had the opportunity to baby-sit Brody while my daughter went to Las Vegas for a work trip.  He becomes my little buddy when he’s staying with us, and in the picture on the bottom right, he is making sure I don’t get up from my writing.  Or maybe he’s guarding me to make sure I don’t give out any treats without his knowledge!

Starting today, May 1st, I’ll be looking for 6 Reasons to Smile in May.  Until then, here’s hoping you find many reasons to smile this month.

 

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