Saturday

A late waking, a lazy breakfast, the beginning of a Rube Goldberg machine made with Legos. A walk with a rambunctious dog.

A stop in at the annual train show, of course (not as exciting as last year—there were fewer exhibits, more sellers).

Lunch at Bagger Daves because it has a model train set running around the room.

Another walk with our dancing spotty dog, and her cohorts as well this time.

A long piano lesson with dad, and a long afternoon spent with Snap Circuits (love that set).

More Legacy with BBC and Michael Wood during dinner, and quiet reading before bed.

Wrapping up and getting started

With the first of many holiday weekends drawing to a close Calvin is conked out early in bed while Jon and I sit here on the couch relaxing amidst a hazard of decorations that are half up and half still in boxes or strewn around the floor. We had a whirlwind of a weekend that started with the traditional events of Thursday and Friday, and continued right into the weekend with a crazy football game, another great family dinner, more shopping, more decorating, and a local model train show.

The game was great fun. It was the last game, and thus the last tailgate, of the season, so we had a great time with good friends we won't see as often until next fall. And, after many seasons of questionable football, it was fun to finally win the big one, and even more fun to be at the game with family when we did so. I'm still hoarse today from all the yelling.

Calvin's love for trains is still going strong. We haven't been to a show in several months, but the train spread out all over the floor in our front room was evidence enough. At the show this weekend he enjoyed the HO displays, but he was also seriously intrigued by the Lego train display. We spent a lot of time there, and some more time on our own when we got home.

Tomorrow we get started on gift making and preparing the house for Sinterklaas Avond, which we'll celebrate a day early next Sunday. Plus there's swimming, there's the homeschool group gathering, there's a Christmas party at the old school house...it promises to be a great week. Busy, but great.

Spring green

When I realized that Easter was due to come very, very late this year my first thoughts were of beautiful green grass and warm sunshine, and how wonderful those things would be for photos and egg hunts and general spring enjoyment. The snow that we got just a few days ago made me skeptical, but both yesterday and today dawned warm and bright. The smell of spring is finally in the air, and that beautiful bright green really did add to photos after all.

Actually we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful spring weekend, and late is better than never. We spent yesterday in downtown Ann Arbor at a used book store closing sale (sad), and then in the yard and gardens doing a little clean up. Jon even mowed, and Calvin and I enjoyed the warm afternoon with books on the deck. We dyed eggs the natural way.

And today, the generally accepted day of spring celebration, was a little cooler, but just as pretty. We spent they morning with family, brunching at the old train station and walking around the new afterwards.

We'd made a spring basket for Calvin, filling it with a few of his favorite things, like Legos and books, and we spent the afternoon resting and enjoying those things. I took portraits with the new camera, something that didn't go as well as I might have liked, but it is a learning process. I have to edit the rest of them, but I'll post them tomorrow.

With rain, but relative warmth, on the docket for this week we soaked up as much of this weekend's weather gift as we could. And we are hoping that this week's wet and warmer weather will bring with it an explosion of leaves and flowers. We're ready.

Sunday in pictures

Too windy to play outside...

Train station

We took a trip to the train station platform, because no matter how many times my brother has visited us by train he always travels too late at night for Calvin to take in the pleasure of welcoming or seeing off a friend or loved one on this, his favorite mode of transportation (which he has never actually experienced). There is something neat and old fashioned about listening for the horn to signal it's coming, and then it's going, about watching for a first glimpse of the headlight coming around the bend, and then a last glimpse of the caboose around a different one. It was somehow a more meaninful parting, a more organic way to send off travelers, who were actually going to Spain and not, obviously, ultimately by rail. Then, because we were on the topic, on our way home we stopped by the AAA office to pick up a map of Spain (and used our membership for something other than the assurance it provides against being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire). I see us spending some time in Spain next, don't you?