It's spring! At least here in Arizona. My palo verde trees have started blooming with little yellow flowers and more open every day. This is why I planted them! Spring also means Dash's birthday and the weather is always perfect. I have a six year old! It's bittersweet when they leave an age behind but six feels like an awesome age already. On his sixth birthday Dash announced that he would wash his own breakfast dishes since being older means more responsibility. (!) The habit hasn't stuck but overall there has been more cooperation in routines and chores which is a welcome change.

We signed Dash up for another soccer league (he LOVES soccer) so we're also enjoying some spring weather from the sidelines. We're still new to the sports scene so I'm always scoping out the equipment and comforts other people have. Last season I saw a family with a shady sport-brella and told Chris I had to have one. And indeed I am shaded and happy underneath it. We might need one of those collapsible wagons next.

Perhaps also prompted by the weather and talking with a friend about camping I've been scouring Craigslist and Ebay for camping gear. I also made camping reservations for May and for September. I love having those already set and now we can look forward to them.

April is already half way over so I'd better get on with this goal list!

Big things happening in April:

+ Celebrate nine years of being married! Chris planned a date night for us to see Wicked. We had never seen the production before and both LOVED it.

+ Dash turns six! We had a family party, a friend party, plus celebrated with our little family on the actual day (April 9).

+ Crazy busy end of the semester for Chris. Every April!

+ Chris is gone for a weekend to hangout with friends. This happened last weekend and I had a fantastic time with the boys on my own – they were fantastic! I'm thankful that solo parent weekends are not only easier now but can be truly fun.

+ Chris and I have a staycation in Phoenix.

April goals:

+ Track my food every day. This is my April daily health challenge. Originally I thought I would track in My Fitness Pal because I've used that before and am familiar with it. Then I decided that since I don't have a calorie goal for my tracking it would be much easier just to write down what I eat. Inspired by Tracy's Food Journals (but not sure if I'd use a whole journal) I created a simple template for myself in Word and am happily using that. Just knowing that I will record what I eat is making me more intentional about eating and wanting to make healthy choices.

+ Monday and Thursday writing sessions. I've reworked my schedule a bit so that I can also have a writing session on Thursdays instead of just Mondays. I need to keep making steady progress on my book proposal since I want a draft done before school in out in May.

+ Try a few yoga classes. Chris bought me a class pass to a local yoga studio for Christmas and I am overdue to use it.

+ Weekly budget check-ins with Chris. We've gotten away from this and we both feel so much better about finances (plus are more likely to stick to budgets) when we check in.

+ Rotate clothes. It's time for summer clothes to come out from under my bed and for my winter clothes to rest. I also want to take my winter jacket to the cleaners so that it'll be ready for next season.

Happy (belated) April!