Is it really Wednesday already?

I'm having some trouble keeping up. We had the book sale on Saturday, and a spring party for fourteen at our house on Sunday. Monday I have no excuses, but Tuesday we played with friends all morning and took the dogs to the vet in the afternoon. So I haven't been typing, but we have been busy. Very busy.

Calvin passed his beginner swimming class a couple of weeks ago and moved up to the gliders class, which means that he is now swimming multiple laps of the entire width of pool during every class. He's doing great, and he now comes home very tired.

Calvin is reading The Cricket in Times Square. He's about half way through and really enjoying it. So far we've made a cricket, assembled a cricket cage, and gone out for a Chinese lunch.

Our mummy project is moving forward steadily, one step at a time. We're making mummy cases with mummies to go inside, and we should be done by the end of the week, depending on how many coats of decorative paint we add.

And as of today we're caught up on laundry, the birds are fed, and the Legos have once again taken over the front room.

Iris would like her floor back.

Celebrating spring

A wreath on the door...

Some decorations outside...

Dog torture

obligatory egg decorating

And a family party.

Spring was meant to be rainy

I woke up this morning and stretched lazily under warm blankets, enjoying the bright morning light streaming in through the south facing window in our bedroom. Seconds later, the morning still bright, and a heavy rain was pouring down. As much as I enjoyed 80 degree sunny days, this is the spring I know and have missed. Tulips dripping in a cold but nourishing rain, tree buds breaking out, clouds floating overhead, only lightly masking the brightness of the sky.

Lots of reading today, and meandering through ancient Egypt. A little math, a little map play. Shelving books at the library. Walking the dogs, creating the Book of the Dead.

Calvin is fascinated by this piece of history. He has made a Book of the Dead before, the last time we explored Ancient Egypt, but he wanted to do it again now that he has "more drawing experience."

So how about another blast from the past? From March 2011:

The Titanic Artifacts Exhibit, Henry Ford Museum

We went to the Henry Ford Museum today to take in the Titanic Artifacts Exhibit. It's a traveling exhibit, I assume one of many, and Calvin has been looking forward to it for weeks. It was very well done, the artifacts nicely spaced out and visitors admitted in small groups every fifteen minutes so that we never felt crowded or rushed. The had artifacts recovered from the wreck as well as photographs, quotes, videos, and even life size models of parts of the ship. Photography was not allowed in the exhibit, so we just snapped a few shots outside.

And of course while we were there we stopped by the Driving America exhibit, the Allegheny Locomotive, and had lunch in Michigan's Cafe.

As a side note, some recommendations from Calvin for books about the Titanic: Tonight on the Titanic, Mary Pope Osborne, and the Magic Tree House non-fiction companion, and Finding the Titanic, by Robert D. Ballard.

Then we came home and enjoyed a warming sunshine (although not quite warm), and played with newspaper and glue. There may be a couple of mummies in our future, assuming our experiment works.

Ollie just wouldn't pose