Saturday:The First Day of Spring (I'll take a Chocolate Malt, please?)

(Aly, the Steak-N-Shake Chef~Mar. 2010)

"Hark, I hear a robin calling!
List, the wind is from the south!
And the orchard-bloom is falling
Sweet as kisses on the mouth.
In the dreamy vale of beeches
Fair and faint is woven mist,
And the river's orient reaches
Are the palest amethyst.
Every limpid brook is singing
Of the lure of April days;
Every piney glen is ringing
With the maddest roundelays.
Come and let us seek together
Springtime lore of daffodils,
Giving to the golden weather
Greeting on the sun-warm hills."
~ Lucy Maud Montgomery, Spring Song

We are thrilled that the first day of Spring is only hours away, now! We love this time of year... everything coming to "life", once again! Nice weather means many fun things to do outdoors and Aly is certainly having trouble trying to contain her excitement! City Parks to visit, all sorts of animals to see at the Indianapolis Zoo, awesome art exhibits for 'hands on fun' are waiting at the Children's Museum and SO much more! This is sure to be a fantastic Spring/Summer!

Trust all of our friends and family, in Blogger-Land, have enjoyed a very GrEeN and hApPy sT. pAtRiCk'S dAy today! A green world is so much more beautiful than a dark, dried up one! Our prayer is, that YOU will each have an even better "First Day of Spring" this year, than you ever have before. (Saturday's only 2+ days away, you know!)

Síochán leat! (Peace be with YOU!)

A Breath of 'Southern Sunshine' on A Cool Fall Weekend

Here are a handful of pictures of Aly's Play-Day today...
http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/AlySPlayDayNov102008# Last week was pretty uneventful, except that we were busy getting ready for the upcoming weekend.
It was an AWESOME weekend, too... Some of our Louisiana family were able to come up for a visit and as ALWAYS we had a BALL!!!
We began on Friday evening with an all-Italian homemade meal at Mamaw S's. Spicy Chicken Spaghetti, an assortment of yummy Herb Breads and Breadsticks, Salads and the whole nine yards! YUUMMM... Following the meal, everyone came over to "Penn Place" for a Fall-Themed 'Dessert Bar'. Pecan Pie, Sugar Cream Pie & Apple Fritter Bread. With a choice of French Vanilla, Caramel Praline or Butter Pecan, (and Bunny-Tracks for the kids) Ice Cream. We had an assortment of iced drinks (including Vernors, of course!) and Coffee, too. My personal favorite items of the evening were the Coffee Creamers: Vanilla Chai Spice and Cinnamon Vanilla Cre'me!
On Saturday, we had lunch together at Steak-N-Shake... an Indiana favorite for our Southern family, before the ladies and gents split up for an afternoon of fun! The ladies found ourselves at 'Old Time Pottery' and for 3 entire HOURS, too! The men made their way to Gander Mountain and Dick's Sporting Goods for a couple of hours. Later that evening, we all headed back to Mamaw S's. for a COLD Cook-Out of Pork Steaks and all the trimmings! Thanks, to the guys who cooked out in that weather! It was well worth it, that's for sure!!!
We had a great Sunday, not only at Church, but a relaxing day with family, as well! Another delicious meal only made the day better! Roast, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Sugared Green Beans with Bacon, Cornbread, etc., etc. (I'll not even go into all the desserts we had available!!!) Why is it when humans have a 'get-together', we think food is one of the necessary items, in order to have more fun? In reality, though fun, food really only adds more and more pounds to one's body and what is fun about THAT? LOL
Today~ Aly and I were having a 'Play-Day', a kind of a normal day for us, of "School" and playing together, so we decided to take 4 or 5 pictures while we were at it! (I posted a link above.) This due much to the fact, that we didn't get ONE picture taken during the busy weekend... funny thing is no one had a camera all weekend! (Not even Ronda or Aunt Diane!!!)
Oh well! As you can tell, we had an excellent weekend, with our without a camera and only wished they could've stayed for a month or two!!! The time flew by, but they may make another trip North during the Holidays?!?!? (We certainly hope so!) Hey, ya'll... it really was a "Breath of Southern Sunshine" to have you with us! We are sorry it was so cold while you were here, though! That's all just a part of being in the 'Northland', I guess! We look forward to your next visit and PRAY that we'll be able to make a trip South again, SOON!!!