In the sun

 This past week was so so beautiful and warm and summery.  We were all at home fighting off sickness, and decided to make the best of it and spend every possible moment outside warming up in the sun.  We are huge proponents of the benefits of Vitamin D on health.  And besides, we've been waiting for spring for weeks!

We had a little circuit going: baby pool to sprinkler to picnic blanket.  We spent mornings in the sun and afternoons sleeping.   There is something so refreshing about the feel of warm air on the skin.  Stepping outside without a jacket feels like ahh, this world is my home.  Our spirits are renewed.

Choo choo!

(our lovely farewell committee: Aunt Kristi, and cousins Ian and Sophie)

There's our train arriving!  And here are some views from along the way:

 

Hugo spent the trip doing this:

Ever since I lived 50 feet from a train track my freshman year of college, I have loved trains.  The sound of a train arriving, the excitement of watching it go by.  I once hatched a plan to jump trains and even managed to convince a few friends to come along with me (Young Adele: What were you thinking?  That was a crazy plan.  Thanks goodness that one didn't work out.)  I love using the train in Europe and have never had the chance to take one here in the states.  When we found out that a train runs directly from DC to Hartford, where Ben's brother and his family live, we started planning a trip.

Riding the train was such a fun adventure!  I would even venture to say it is the ideal way to travel with kids.  You can move around, watch the scenery, and neither parent is burdened by driving.  On the way up, we had lunch on the meal car (thank you stranger who offered us your table!), read many books about trains, and played "I went on a train ride and I saw."

Hugo was so excited when he found out we were going back on the train to return home.  He just walked around expectantly saying "Choo choo!  Choo choo!"

We came back a day later than planned because we all got sick.  Even a bit tired and sluggish, we loved the trip.  As all of you on the east coast know, the weather has been warm and beautiful, and we got to enjoy the sight of many people out fishing, riding on boats, and sunning on their porches as we quickly made our way back home.  We left Union Station in what felt like winter and arrived to summer.  Cherry blossoms are in bloom, the baby pool is out, and the sprinkler is on.  I can imagine no better welcome home.

Easter Love

::the Easter grass in its full glory

::having a "stage" in place for our Easter play meant a lot of acting

::and of course I couldn't resist using our sheet as a backdrop for pictures.

::Dying Easter eggs is a favorite activity: notice there is no shot of the state of our kitchen after this activity.  This year we discovered the idea of blending colors, which blew our minds.

My Aunt Basia makes the most beautiful mazurki.  She is one of the many artists in the family.

 ::Reading with Aunt Irene.  There's Hugo!  Hugo was sort of sick and grumpy last weekend (and this week, come to think of it... hrmph), which is why he is uncharacteristically absent from the Easter play, but he managed to have plenty of fun nevertheless.

::The men of the family chatting outside.

::Lily is starting to write a few words.  So far, the only words she feels are important enough to learn are "Lily," "Zosia," and "Baba" (what she calls my mom).  She is entirely content just writing these three words over and over and over again (come to think of it, I should have had her write the caption for this picture).  What a lucky girl to have so much love around her.

Easter Sunday

Dressed in our Sunday best, we embarked upon our annual Easter egg hunt right after church.  Two years ago, there was a big group of young families gathering for brunch at this park: we had come with a picnic, and I remember being quite pregnant with Hugo at the time.  Anyway, the real easter bunny was coming to visit the park (Who, by the way, is just the size of a fully grown man, and furry all over, and wearing a purple suit), and was kind enough to say hello to our family too.  We even snapped a picture with him, just to prove for all of time and eternity that this really happened.  Needless to say, this incident has lived on in family legend since, and we have gone back to this park, because, I mean, this is the park that the Easter bunny comes to.

This year it was chilly, and rain was in the forecast, but the skies held back just long enough.  I do believe those children of ours found every last egg in the park.  Even Hugo picked up on the gist of things by the end, although I must admit I was the first one to break into my chocolate bunny.  And with lunch waiting at home and our full family celebration in the afternoon, the best was yet to come!

(top picture the mandatory backyard easter picture)