Cornell Visit and Jonathan's Birthday

Last weekend we went to Cornell to celebrate Leila's third birthday with Grandma Jane, and to visit Grandpa Bud at the nursing home.

I feel kind of bad for my blog of a few weeks ago, when I suggested that Grandpa Bud was getting better. That seems like wishful thinking on my part, now. After a few of weeks in the hospital he's come home for hospice... and we don't expect him to get better.

Leila enjoyed her birthday cake and presents... she doesn't know what's going on with Grandpa, of course, so just enjoyed the day.

My mother-in-law is doing well. She showed us her new curtains and had Easter decorations set out around the house. But she's also got lots on her mind, and took out some photos from years ago, when a much younger Bud was with a large group of friends. He's the last surviving member of that group. There were also pictures of her and Bud as a "young" middle-aged couple with married friends of theirs. It really got us thinking about the passage of time, and how quickly things can change.

After our visit to the nursing home, we drove to Pizza del Re in Eau Claire. Jonathan, Lindsay and Jack met us there for supper.

It was so nice that weekend (over 80 degrees, at one point), that we made plans for everyone (including Lindsay's parents) to come over to our house the following weekend for an outdoor cookout.

Of course, it's a little early to plan for cookouts. The weather did not cooperate-- this past weekend we were back to freezing temps and a dusting of snow. So the cookout morphed into an indoor meal of sauerbraten beside a warm fire.

The big reason for the get-together, of course, was Jonathan's 27th birthday, which fell on Saturday.

We had fun visiting with the Walters and taking turns holding Jack. He's very smiley and responsive now, and we were surprised at how good he is about being held by different people.

I'll close with a few early-spring pics from around here. Most of my perennials are starting to come up...

The cows have begun calving...

And we even found three forgotten carrots (still perfectly edible!) in last year's garden. I didn't realize they could survive the winter outdoors like that. We also found onions (those didn't look as tasty). A red cabbage I planted two years ago is also coming up again, as is a basil plant (both surprises; we thought they were annuals).

So... getting excited about this year's garden! Come on, Spring!