Spring Fest 2009

We started the week unusually exhausted (even for us)... like, in bed by 8:30pm kind of exhausted.  Howeever, as the week wore on, even though it was mostly rainy and cold, we still got happier.  

Saturday morning we met Jon and Christine up at Purdue for the Cancer Challenge 5K, and thankfully it was beautiful weather, warm and sunny.  We toured campus, did lots of activities (sponsored by the various schools at Purdue) and enjoyed being outside and with good friends.  

Sunday was rainy again, but we managed to stay cheery, and as Sunday comes to a close, we think we had a pretty good week.  Next weekend?  Sunny and uppers 70s.  Garden, look out.  You're next.

We were thrilled to have ducks in our yard, since Lumpee (the next door neighbor dog) usually barks at them and chases them away before they get close
Mrs. Mallard has a whole lot of mud on her beak
It's been so cloudy and gloomy for the past week (and will be for several more days if NOAA is right) but occasionally we get some glimpses of the sun through the clouds
You might not think so from the expression on his face, but we've been having tremendous success with potty training this past week.  This is so coming out on Prom Night in 15 years
Landscaping Transportation FAIL.  Apparently this is what people use their jet skis for in the off-season.  Real classy
Look towards the upper right-hand corner, and you'll spot the bunny who was scouting out seats in Ross-Ade Stadium at Purdue on Saturday morning
See us?  Way up there?  There we are, eating pancakes and sausage and coffee...a lovely post-race breakfast
It's nothing compared to UT's stadium, but it was fun to run around
Training on stairs
The nice young men at the Aerospace Engineering booth helped us make a rocket ship to launch
Surprisingly, his rocket actually flew
This is how David spent most of the day
The sheep was not terribly thrilled with being used for a shearing demonstration
It was almost 80 degrees on Saturday, so the sheep must have felt better (although a little naked) after getting shorn
We asked him what color tractor he wanted to have painted on his face, and (gasp!) he said red.  Something was very, very wrong here
He was pretty pleased with himself after she was done painting his face
We met an albino corn snake in the Forestry Resources tent
He had originally asked for an "airplane balloon", but they didn't know how to make one.  So he got this contraption instead
This was the coolest tub ever...full of 100 pounds of cornstarch and 10 gallons of water.  It makes the most delightful goo that is neither solid nor liquid
David and Mommy with handfuls of goo
The donut machine was temporarily broken, so we had to come back.  In the meantime, David was absolutely fascinated with watching them try to fix it
The dog's handler didn't quite look the aprt of an elite athlete, but the dogs themselves were excellent with a frisbee
I cannot quite express the feelings of betrayal I'm having by seeing him atop a red tractor
Sarah Martin, Queen of Accessibility, this one's for you.  Back in familiar territory (ie, on a green tractor), David rode on an accessible tractor
Does it get any better?  On a tractor (which is really more of a ride), just finished a donut, and seeing a plane overhead
Bless this nice man's heart, he was doing this all day long for the kids
He said he "was really tired because he wanted to lay down in the grass".  Chris said he needed to work on better understanding cause and effect.  Regardless, David went ahead and laid down on the grass anyway
Mommy was tired because she wanted to lay down on the grass, too
Decor on the Engineering Administration, inside which Emily and David had an extended conversation...in the ladies room.  Who knew going to the bathroom with a three-year-old could take so much time and require such dialogue?
I can just see the holes being ripped in the knees of his jeans now...
Daddy threatening to prove that the fountain is, in fact, wet
The bee-yoo-ti-ful "mask" that David made in the School of Liberal Arts tent.  I'm afraid of what this might say about a liberal arts education at an engineering school
He got into his "bathing suit/dress-up costume" drawer (ie, the bottom drawer of his dresser) and decided to spend the afternoon as a tiger.  I doubt it'll make it to Halloween before he outgrows it, but no reason why he can't go ahead and wear it now.  And look how well it matches his backpack!
And this would be why we say it's a bad idea to a) not put away the Silly Putty before dinner and b) allow the Silly Putty-covered truck to get wedged next to him in his chair at the table