Tulips at Sherwood Gardens 2012

Every year since the kids were babies, we've welcomed Spring with a visit to the beautiful Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore, MD.  The gardens are nestled among the stately old mansions in the Guilford section of Baltimore City and it's free to the public.  Each year, nearly 80,000 tulip bulbs are in bloom as well as gorgeous azaleas and dogwood trees.  

This year the tulips bloomed a little earlier than usual (thanks to the unseasonably warm weather we had in March), but the timing was perfect for a visit during our Spring break last week.  Because of terrible seasonal allergies, my son opted to go visit his grandparents for the day instead of dealing with an afternoon amongst all the pollen.  However, the girls and I packed a picnic lunch and had a really nice day admiring the many varieties of tulips and even climbing a few trees (the girls, of course, not me!)

If you're ever in the Baltimore area this time of year, definitely go check it out.  There are many different varieties of tulips that are planted, so the blooms last for several weeks.  Directions and more details can be found HERE.

Here's just a few of the many, many pictures I took during the couple hours we were there.

Hope you have the chance to welcome Spring in your area as well.

Paint a Shower Curtain Mural

We just started our Spring Break and the kids are already itching for something to do.  Today's activity was fun and super inexpensive (I'm talking $1!!).   While my son played downstairs, the girls and I created this fun Spring mural on a shower curtain.  We had a good time painting it and now our bathroom has been spruced up with a touch of Spring.

Check it out...

And here's how our "canvas" started out...

That's right, we used a cheap shower curtain liner from the Dollar Store.  ( I'm sure you could upgrade to a fabric one or a heavier weight one, but this worked great for us and we can afford to make new ones whenever we want!)

I just spread out an old sheet on the floor, spread out the shower curtain liner, and we got to work.  We used a bunch of acrylic paints I had on hand and painted on a whole Spring scene ~ a tree, birds, butterflies, bumblebees, flowers, caterpillars and even a hummingbird!  To personalize our mural, I painted on a "carved" heart with the kids' names on it.

Here's a few "close-ups" of the details.

Isn't it cheery?  It really brightens up our bathroom and the kids love it (and I do too!).  Every time my youngest daughter comes out of the bathroom she says, "That just makes me happy".  At just $1, I know we'll be making more for each season and for different themes.

Sharing our fun new decor at:
I heart Nap Time 
C.R.A.F.T. 
Kids Co-Op 
Craft-O-Maniac

Come Together for Spring Fun

The daffodils and crocuses are blooming in my front flower bed

and the birds are chirping.

It's time to celebrate Spring!

This will be your place to share and be inspired 
by ideas for Spring Fun.
Think April showers and May flowers as you link up

your ideas for Spring-themed crafts, projects, and recipes.
Tell us some of your fun ways to play outdoors 
now that heavy coats and gloves aren't needed.

Really, it can be anything at all ~ 

as long as it's related to Spring Fun and kids!

For posts related specifically to Easter, 

there will be a separate link party coming soon.

As with all our link parties here at Come Together Kids,

this party will be on-going and continue all year!

Every so often, I will feature some of the great ideas shared 

in one of my Five Fun Ideas... posts!

A few guidelines:

1.  Please link to your specific blog post relating to SPRING FUN.
(You can link up as many posts as you'd like, as long as they relate to the theme!)

2.  Please do not link to an Etsy shop, business, or someone else's post.

3.  Stop by a few other links while you're here.  I'm not going to say it has to be the one right before you or after you, but take a couple minutes to be inspired by the creativity of others.  (and take few more seconds to leave a comment, it can really make a blogger's day!)

4.  Finally, the more people who link up to this party, the better it will be.  Please help me spread the word by linking back either with a text link or by grabbing a button (coming soon).  Feel free to share on Facebook or Pinterest too!