A Super Fun and Sticky Saturday

All week long I've had the intention to blog.  But papers needed to be graded, or clothes folded, or some other mundane thing (or I just went to bed).  But at last, while dinner is in the oven, I'm blogging.  

We last left you after May Day, a glorious day of showcasing musical talent and honoring the traditions of our school.  Did I mention it was a half day?!?!  Seriously, that was the best part for our entire family!

Being Mother's Day weekend, it was pretty much guaranteed that we would not see Daddy until Sunday evening.  Or rather, don't plan on it, for it is the Village Grill's biggest weekend of the year.   So we did our own thing with Grandma.  I had seen in the newspaper that Saturday was National Train Day, and our local train station was holding an event.  The train station has just been redone (well, actually a few years ago) and it pays homage to the Company Shops of the railroad that used to be in the same location.  You know trains and the O'Days....we were there bright and early, in hopes to see the 9:33 Carolinian pull in on it's way north. 

The sun was too bright to look at the camera, Brant said

Inside the station, the front of the Norfolk Southern engines they use today

Looking downtown from the platform

Zoomed out

It's coming, it's coming!!!

Closer and closer!

Brant, in Grandma's arms, blowing his new Amtrak train whistle.

The conductor waved good-bye to all the kiddos.  You forget how BIG those trains are until you see them up close...

Back inside Brant was thrilled with the train layout of the Company Shops, and I read him the history of it, all four sides of it.  In addition to the fun and freebies, there was cotton candy AND popcorn, and best of all...train story time!  A few books and songs later.....

 .....I gave Brant the choice of what to do next.  Our town was holding it's annual Spring Fling and Gospel Fest, and we usually walk down to check it out (and eat festival food...).  But faced with the choice of the festival or picking strawberries, Brant chose strawberries.  So we headed home to get our old clothes on.

Making sure there was no green!

Brant saved his basket from last year to fill it again

Getting set to go down the row

This was before the tell-tale strawberry stains on the mouth

Sometimes I just have to stop and look at the beauty of the state we live in.  

And feel blessed at all the things that grow here

Multiply this times 2

yummmmmy

Mother's Day was pretty low key here. Brant worked in the morning, which stretched into early evening.  They served over 1000 (normal Sunday lunch in 200).  But he still came home and made me salmon florentine, before passing out on the couch.  And that's all that matters, my family was home, we were relaxing and our bellies were full.  All in all, a great weekend!