Project 365, days 176-182

The big news this week was Calvin's first piano recital, which went swimmingly and was loved by all. But before that, on Friday we drove to Grand Rapids to meet a special new baby visiting from Seattle, on Saturday we drove to Ikea to spend our garage sale money on the bookshelves we've always wanted to have covering the wall in our playroom (pictured here on Tuesday with a cat in them), and through the rest of the week we too Paddington for a walk, spent a day at the zoo, and found an intriguing spider in our neighborhood.

Project 365, days 169-175

At least the original part of the butterfly garden is beginning to look lush and inviting; Singing from the top of a step stool; We almost always find bumblebees on this specific bush during our evening walks; A little piano to try at home (the keys weren't actually smaller so it wasn't any real help); Protective mother kildeer at the nursery where we went tree shopping; Does the help of little hands really help? The jury is still out, but at least it's precious (he's working the noodle dough); and the zinnias are in bloomi n our garden.

Project 365, days 162-168

The first part of the week was spent traveling in the US heartland, like walking the town that was Truman's home in Missouri, waiting out the rain at the Kansas City Zoo, traveling to the top of the St. Louis Arch, and riding the endangered species carousel at the Children's Zoo in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We returned home to happy dogs, high temperature, and a blooming garden, and immediately went to work setting up the garage sale we'd planned (along with the rest of neighborhood) for the next (this) weekend. Goodbye baby stuff!

Project 365, days 155-161

Birthday week! The lillies are blooming, I made a cape for the snow queen for Jon's performance, and then I made a strawberry cake and made it into a train (for the small birthday party, of course). A morning of oranges, a big drum in music class, a phone call from Oma on his real birthday, and the next day we were off to Kansas. More about that next week.

Project 365, days 148-154

A week with a holiday weekend is a week full of joys, and work. We spent this holiday weekend replacing our kitchen sink, faucet, plumbing, and garbage disposal, and (thanks to a lot of help from my dad) it was a very successful venture with very enjoyable results. On our day off we enjoyed a cookout with friends, and the rest of the week was relatively quiet—we are enjoying the bluebird pair and the flowers blooming in our yard, and have become driveway sitters. Every neighborhood has them.