Spring has Sprung in the Fall

April arrived bringing fall weather to our part of the world, but still it feels like spring. However, some adages like "April showers" are the same whether (no pun intended) it's fall or spring. Our yard is loving the rain, and we've had a few more craft days while the parks are too wet. I got Julia an art smock (craft day is more fun when you know it doesn't mean extra laundry!), and she loved our new painting project -- clip a cotton ball with a clothespin and you've got a great toddler paintbrush! Sidewalk chalk on our covered patio is fun too! Our best addition to our craft box though has been the enormous roll of butcher paper that Matt brought home from work last week. Some big machine is no longer in use so the extra rolls of paper went to the daddies in the office. Hours and hours of drawing and painting ahead of us now, and I've hung a clothesline on one of the walls in our hallway so Julia now has a place to showcase her current artwork.

Despite having adapted in many ways to life Down Under, I cannot adjust to the switched seasons here. For me, April is spring, July is summer, and it's completely weird to be in shorts and t-shirts in the middle of December! No matter how much I try to shift, apparently some habits can't be broken, so last week found me in spring cleaning mode. Of course, with two kids in the house, spring cleaning is neither as efficient nor as thorough as it's meant to be, but I did get into a flurry of activity, clearing out under the beds and in the tops of the closets, airing out pillows and blankets and rugs. Julia thought it was great fun when I took all her toys and play furniture outside for a deeper clean than the wipe down it usually gets. The novelty of having her whole play area set up outside provided so much entertainment that I left it out there for our two rain-free days. Too bad the results of the cleaning didn't last long...

The cooler weather is such a treat, and it hasn't been raining the whole time so we have also gotten to enjoy many sunny hours at the local parks running and climbing and wearing ourselves out. By "we" I mean Julia and me. Liam, on the other hand, is the epitome of relaxation and spends most of his park time in the pram or on a blanket, sticking his nose into the wind like a puppy dog and smiling a lot and then falling asleep. This week we discovered the fantastic Queen's Park in Ipswich that has (literally) acres of green space, picnic areas, and play structures of all sorts, including a zipline that even adults were playing on! They also have a free wildlife enclosure and gardens, but we had already worn ourselves out before we even made it to that part. Next time.