The spring brings with it so many wonderful things to do! Though I'm still convinced that we will have at least one more snow fall before the month is out (and maybe even after), that didn't stop us from enjoying the beautiful weather this past week by spending much of it out of doors.

Already this season we have found emerging tulips and buds on tree limbs. On our walks we have enjoyed a lot of bird sightings, including cardinals, purple finches, yellow finches, sparrows, jays, blue birds, ducks, geese, and, just a few days ago, we were lucky enough to spot the beautiful Sandhill Cranes returning to their nesting ground, which just happens to be right next door.

Also on walks we've splashed in puddles, played in the final remaining mounds of snow, and studied the melt water run-off patterns (he got a real kick out of that).

We've even pulled out some of the summer toys for their first uses in the new year. He was particularly eager about the sand box and the sidewalk chalk.

When I was little I loved the theater. Not just the shows themselves, but the dressing up for the evening out, the drive to the big city, the buzz of anticipation that floated over the audience until the dimming lights shushed it into silence. We saw several wonderful shows when I was growing up, and today just the idea of going to a show gives me an invigorating sense of excitement.

Two months ago I ordered tickets to take Calvin to Wild Swan Theater's production of Frog and Toad, and ever since I've been filled with that joyous eagerness for the day to finally be here. No, it wasn't one of the Detroit venues, yes it was a show geared toward the attention spans of little ones, but this was going to be Calvin's first play, his first chance to experience that thrill, and my first chance to enjoy it with him.

The show itself was this past Friday, and I didn't tell him about it until a couple of weeks ago. We, as a family, are big fans of Frog and Toad, and ever since I told him about the upcoming show we've been reading and rereading the books and acting out the stories in preparation for the day. We also talked about stage plays and what to expect, like dimmed lights, people in costumes, and being quiet to listen to the actors. He was very excited, most likely simply because I was, but hey, that counts for something doesn't it?

The event itself didn't disappoint. Wild Swan does a wonderful job of making theater, as they say, "accessible" to families, while maintaining a high level of quality in performance and stage presence. Even more importantly, Calvin loved it. He recognized the stories and I could see the delight on his face. Our talks beforehand had prepared him for the dimmed lights, although not for the funny folding seat, which kept swallowing him up because he wasn't heavy enough to keep it open (after the second time he climbed into my lap and refused to sit in that alien chair again, which made sense to me).

Perhaps the best evidence of his feelings about the show came in the car on the way home, when he said emphatically that as soon as he got home he was going to set up a stage and act out a Frog and Toad play of his own. He was very excited about this, and that is exactly what he did both then, and again this morning, with an encore performance for his dad while I looked online for Wild Swan's next performance.

I'm always looking for fun winter activities, especially the kind that make the holidays merry and bright, but it was my mom who thought to grab up this adorable gingerbread train and give it to Calvin for Sinterklaasavond. He'd been asking to put it together ever since, but with a long list of other chores and away-from-home activities, like going to the store and finishing our Christmas shopping, we just finally got to our train building a few days ago. The wait was worth it, though!

He kept calling the frosting "glue"

Mmmm....almost good enough to eat, but we'll just stick to sniffing.

We had to retire the pumpkin and turkey tail feather counting rhymes/games, but this is our new winter felt fun.

Five little snowmen sitting on a hill
Five little snowmen sitting verry still
The sun came out and melted one away
Now there's four little snowmen sitting there today

etc., etc.

Last weekend we took Calvin to a train show in Saline and I had every intention of writing about the trip, but post-Thanksgiving-pre-Sinterklaasavon exhaustion had me going to bed too early to get any writing in, and by the time I had any energy the second train show of the week had rolled around, and then there was twice as much to write.

Last Christmas, so nearly a year ago now, Jon and I got Calvin his first train set. We weren't sure at the time whether he'd have any interest in it or not so we went the cheap route and brought home Ikea's version. Now, a year later, even two train shows in a week have done nothing to temper the kid's love for this hobby. In fact, far from sending him over to the side of boredom, I think the extra exposure actually stoked the flame. We bought the train set on a whim last season; this season trains and train accessories make up over three quarters of the kid's personal Christmas list. I think hobbies are important, and for a homeschooler a strong interest in a hobby can be a real teaching aid. So, either we've started a monster, or we hit the hobby jackpot, you can be the judge.

Last Sunday our first show stop was at the Saline Fair Grounds. When I say first stop, I mean first in an inaugural sense, and we had no idea what to expect. Who knew there were so many different kinds (scales) of trains besides "wood"? And they had that, too, by the way—a small Thomas set-up on a table in the corner. Calvin is unfamiliar with Thomas. Although I harbor a brand-loyalty infection planted deep within my brain, it's something we feel vaguely strange about fostering in our child, so we've avoided character adoration right down the line, Thomas included (not to mention that there's something a little psycho about a train with a face, isn't there?), so even though he's clealry attached to his wood train setup at home, he was not particularly interested in that part of the show. The Lego electric train table was also a failure, although Jon and I found it rather interesting ourselves.

HO, G, and really, really tiny (possibly T?) were some the scales we saw in exhibitors' layouts. Calvin was most drawn to any train that was moving. In particular he liked any layout that included a road crossing with active lights and signals. And whistles. He loves train whistles.

The final winner on the interest scale was the steam locomotive exhibit. We spent the majority of our time walking around their track, watching them light flames in the engines, and refill their boilers with water and tanks with butane. They were larger pieces so they were easier to get a really good look at, and since they were actually steaming there was something of the old world about the entire set.

And, thanks to the one wood train vendor there, Calvin came home the proud new owner of a pair of semaphores. And we are now the proud parents of a three year old who can tell you all about the use of semaphores on a train line.

The second show of the week was not a vendor show, but actually an evening spent at the monthly open house of the Ann Arbor Train Club's exhibit located in the Dexter Train Depot. If I tell you that we drove down to the Depot in a cold rain, long after the winter night had arrived, and got lucky enough to find a spot right in front of the depot just as the signal lights started flashing to announce the upcoming passing of the real Amtrak passanger train from Ann Arbor, you'll either think we live a charmed life or that I made it all up, but that's exactly what happened. Talk about excitement.

I think the show inside might have been a bit of a let down after the eral encounter right outside, but it was packed with people and trains alike, and with a very festive atmosphere to boot. One train even carried a Santa, waving from the caboose, and box cars filled with presents wrapped in seasonal spledor. The electricity in the air didin't come only from the trains.

This was only our second visit to the A2 Club's open house night, but I love it already. The room is small enugh not to be overwhelming, and I have yet to meet a train hobbyist who has not been so in love with their chosen pastime as to want to share and share and share. Calvin's young enough that he sometimes meets with watchful, even suspicious, stares from train owners and protectors, but they warm up immediately when he starts asking questions using words like "semaphore," "steam locomotive" or "derailment."

It's a fun hobby.