In the past month since I last wrote the weather has finally taken the turn toward a warmer climate. We actually had snow in April this year! Thankfully, it didn't stick and was followed shortly thereafter by a 70-degree day. Regardless, the past month has been full of activity. Here are just a few highlights:

Easter brought with it a new Easter Bunny. Kaysia took a belated turn in the rotation for the Merritt Family Easter Bunny. Despite the cold, rainy Easter Sunday this year, she stayed in character and kept a good spirit about the ordeal, including a special Easter Bunny dance (though you'll have to consult Facebook for the video on that one).

Jeannie is wrapping up a semester of grad school and just under 7 weeks until the end of the LHS school year. She has had her hands full lately with a twice-weekly reading assessment / tutoring session as part of her grad school, plus an insanely busy year at Lawrence High School. She is anxiously awaiting summer when she can relax in the knowledge that she is only responsible for the health and welfare of 5 children, plus the grad school hours she'll take on for 6 weeks during the summer break. - What can I say? The girl knows how to relax!

I would love to say the photo above is an accurate picture of how I've spent my time in the last month or two. I did manage to find a few days with a couple of hours I could devote to paddling over the last couple of months. But the majority of my time since January has been spent working toward the software we launched in early April at the Academy. Long nights working from home lately brought to an end a 3-year project to replace our internal software at AAFP. Overall, I'd consider the project a success. Though time will tell if I'm accurate in that judgment. Regardless, I have no interesting photos from that project so instead I added one of me in one of my favorite activities that distract me from the stresses at work.

Andrew, Jessica and Martin, while not pictured here, are busy with school and are equally anxious to reach the end of the school year. Summer will be a welcome rescue from the busy schedules that have become our reality this year.

Hopefully, the next write-up will contain more up-to-date photos. ...Hopefully, the next write-up will follow a period in time where things are not quite so hurried.