The Homer shorebird festival this weekend was as fun and as cold as ever! Our first night was camping out on the spit - actually, sleeping in the van - because our usual campground was still closed for the season. Pretty windy and cold but Donna made us comfortable with the big inflatable mattress. We stayed the second night at the Eischens - Kevin's family - which was wonderful. Especially because it snowed that night! We returned with our cooler as fully stocked as we left.

We took a cruise on the Rainbow Connection and saw some king and common eiders, emperor geese and lots of other birds. Good day for predation too: we saw a sea otter eating an octopus from very close by, and Donna saw an eagle eating a kittiwake (sort of a cross between a gull and a tern). Noah got a kick out of the boat ride, and took his afternoon nap in a bunk down below. Great boat for small kids.

The Wooden Boat festival on Sunday morning was colder and windier than ever, but we stuck around to take Noah's yearly picture in the little rocking rowboat. At the kids' toy boatbuilding area, Noah also played with Mom, using a hand brace, hammering a nail in a small block of wood, painting it purple and calling it a boat!

It's been a pleasant few weeks as the weather warms up. Our yard is all raked and the driveway swept, and the plants are all starting to emerge from the ground. As usual the bleeding hearts and tulips were first to emerge. The primulas, ferns and forget-me-not followed soon after. Our new garlic patch is coming to life - the Siberians emerged first, but the other varieties started to emerge a week or two later. Donna planted a bunch of tulips and other bulbs near the house which should look really pretty. Hauled a bunch of old fenceposts left from a previous owner, and the last of the debris from the old rotted deck to the compost center using the kit trailer we built.

Noah enjoys playing in the yard with his wagon, dump truck, bulldozer and of course the dog. We walk down to the playground and around the neighborhood now and then. He's a talkative little man and is starting to speak in sentences when we read books together - he'll say most of the words, omitting the articles and conjunctions and such. All those small words are just joiners anyways - we get what he's saying most of the time. Dancing, running around like a nut and playing instruments are very popular with the boy too.

Getting ready for all the visiting and the new baby this summer.