Grand Central Station

I've mentioned to a few people that our house has felt like Grand Central Station lately, what with all the coming and going. I'm not complaining at all- it has been very nice. It's just made things a little crazy, but you know, the good kind of crazy that you kind of feel fortunate to have.
Will and Mom were here over the weekend. Will and Pete played Mr.'s Fix-It. They installed a new ceiling fan, which has lights- so we don't have to use that horrid and unsightly light fixture you see on the beam in this photo. They also fixed the stove so that it doesn't stick way out into the kitchen anymore. Will got some cookies for his efforts.
While Will and Mom were here we all went up to Deerfield to celebrate Peter Sr.'s birthday. Mary fixed a yummy German meal, capped off with German Chocolate cake. Will almost ate a Brussels sprout, but transferred it to my plate at the last minute. Henry, of course, captivated all present with his delightful antics. Thanks to Mary and Peter for including my side of the family in the celebration. It's nice when we can all get together.
We spent Sunday's pleasant weather outside. Henry and I wanted to show everyone else the nature center that we first discovered in the fall.
We spent lots of time looking at the birds and trying to get the sleepy fox to look up.
We also did lots of stomping in puddles and around through the woods. We saw some deer, a few woodpeckers and lots of squirrels. That night we went out for dinner to celebrate Mom's birthday. It was a yummy dinner, but about the longest wait I've had in a restaurant ever. They did give us a couple of free desserts, which was nice. Happy Birthday Mom!
Monday morning Will went off to a work thing and Mom went back home. In the afternoon Pete left for a week-long class in Madison. Will came back for one more night (we ate cookies for dinner) and then he left on Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon Dad came into town for a couple of days. He had a consulting thing at Northwestern, but we had a good time enjoying the nice weather. Henry and I also showed Dad around the children's museum- which he thought was pretty cool. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of Dad's time here, but I do have this picture of Henry enjoying the last bits of snow in our yard. The snow is all gone now, and I hope it stays away until next winter. We're very much looking forward to spending time in our yard. I'm starting to make some big plans for improving the look of the front of the house...stay tuned! I'm sure there will be many stories of hijinx and disaster to come. Dad left on Thursday and Pete came home on Friday. Things seem to be settling down for a while. On our agenda for later today, though, is to look at calendars and start to make plans for the spring and summer...oh where does the time go?