Egg Hunts

For the past 2 years of living in our current house, we've had a ball searching for eggs in our back yard, and each time we do it we think, "we should have invited other kids to hunt for eggs too!" So this year we brunched and egg hunted with some of our friends a few days before easter. These kids were tough to trick- all the eggs were discovered in a matter of minutes. In the future, I'm looking for camouflage eggs and more serious hiding spots. Easter itself was lovely- church in the morning, and home to another egg hunt. The big surprise from the bunny was a Creature Power Suit from Finn's favorite show, Wild Kratts and tickets to meet the Kratt Brothers themselves. The afternoon included our traditional Barwick Family Easter hike, but this year everyone hiked/hopped with their own two feet- no more hiking backpack for Finn! We hope your holiday was just as nice!

And the hunt begins!

Surveying the loot, post hunt

Enjoying a little spring sunshine

Acting silly in our easter finest

So fancy

my handsomes

Creature power egg hunt

And a creature power easter hike

Annual easter hike selfie

And a few weeks later, Finn traded in his Easter bunny gift (tickets) to meet his idols- The Wild Kratts. He was completely starstruck.

with Martin Kratt

And Chris Kratt

and the rest of winter

And a few photos to show how we spent February and March.

To me, there's little more cozy than working on a big puzzle by the fire on a snowy day. 

"Playing Pirate"

A mild winter hike

Maurice Sendak is one of my favorite authors to read with Finn, so when they had an event at our library, this wild thing and I went. 

Still wild.

Fierce and wild.

Another mild winter day

Super family mask making

Finn's first sleepover with his best buddy, Emma. 

How we celebrated President's Day

And more president's day

And yes, more president's day

Even a little snow wouldn't keep this kid off his bike

a riveting game of hide and go seek- Finn's good friend Owen humored him. 

On this mild evening, we took the books outside

Emma and Finn: complete hams

snowbirds

Aah, so behind on blog posts! Little sis Katie, finally wrote a stern email asking for some updates. I drafted this one way back in early February, but was waiting to consolidate photos with Clark before posting. Now that we're finally on photo share (thanks, tech savvy hub!) I hopefully won't go so long without posts.

In Winter 2014 and 2015, I went months where my feet never got truly warm. All of us had colds constantly, and while I really do love the snow, I don't love the months of grey. During this time, I'd scroll Facebook and see families on sunny beaches. They looked warm. They looked grateful for the sun. Their kids' noses weren't stuffy. It looked like heaven, and it was the only time my toes turned from ice cold blue, to green with envy.

Somehow, miraculously, I remembered these feelings in August, and booked us a preventative trip to Florida for late January. Choosing the spot was easy- did it fly direct from Indianapolis? Walking distance to the beach? Kid friendly lodging (aka separate room for sleeping and a kitchen)? We found all this plus some on Sanibel Island. 

We were told by the locals it was "unseasonably cold" during our visit. And while we didn't venture past our knees into the ocean, we weren't wearing mittens to walk to breakfast, so I call that a win. We also had the most beautiful views of the sunset from our porch, we ate double our weight in fresh seafood, and we had so much fun searching for the perfect seashells and viewing wildlife. Sufficient to say, I'm rejuvenated.

Starfish were everywhere on the beach. Finn made it his personal vacation mission to save them all.

More starfish heading back to the ocean.

Walking to the lighthouse.

These two. I just love them.

happy vacation faces

It poured rain a bit, but Sanibel had THE BEST public library for kids.
Even better- every kid on the island was there, so we made lots of new friends. 

Our daily post dinner stroll

And we saw MANATEES!!!

And we saw WILD ALLIGATORS!

These basking gators were a little too close for my liking (and not nearly close enough for Finn).

Vacation selfie