A Break and some Spring - Week of Apr. 1st

“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"... "It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine...” ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

As spring attempts to emerge, we've still experienced some very cold nights.  Our next door neighbor's tree looked frozen in time from rain that fell the previous day.

We were so fortunate that Miss Amanda was happy to spend spring break with Cam.  Since she was house-sitting and dog-sitting, daily visits to Roxie were on the agenda.  The dog is a big fan of Cam's and loves to jump in the van and get right up close to him.
A new experience for them both was taking a walk together.  Amanda expertly attached Roxie's leash to Cam's chair and the pair strolled along the road.

We were excited to welcome Oma, Cam's cousin (Jane's niece), Steffanie and her son, James during the week.  James had an appointment in Grand Rapids and they were spending the night with us.  With the sun shining, they all ventured out for a stroll down our street as Cam led the way.
Even Cam noted how sweet his baby cousin was.
We all took a trek in the van to run some errands.  Cam kept a close eye on James for the duration.
Back at home, James, his great grandma and Cam had fun hanging out together.  And Jane found her great nephew's smile irresistible.

Amanda and Cam baked a tasty treat almost daily and the house smelled like sweet deliciousness all week long.
One might think by the time the weekend rolled around, we'd had enough chocolate, but we thought we'd sneak in one more delight.

Saturday mid-morning we began our family outing to Country Dairy, located in New Era, Michigan.  Oma and Opa met us there for lunch.  Everyone thinks the bottomless milk refills are the best, especially since they have the tastiest chocolate milk around.  The ice cream options are endless and some of us opted for the newest flavor, Peanut Udder Bliss.  It was so good, we decided to take home a half gallon.
Before heading back to Grand Rapids, we stopped at the cottage to see if there was any ice left on Lake Michigan.
The last remaining chunks appeared stranded on the sandbar.  We surprised Oma and Opa with a new refurbished laptop that Cam proudly helped set up.
Always quick to provide technology tips, he's even become an expert in troubleshooting techniques as well echoing a familiar phrase his dad uses, "Have you re-booted it yet?"

Camology Quotes:

We know Cam has a pretty good memory.  However, when he recently saw a bone specialist who talked about taking multivitamins, our son was all over it.  We spotted a bottle in the cupboard and just maybe they were a wee bit old.  Because Cam was insistent on taking them, we didn't share the date noted on the bottom of the container.  That evening, though, he took Jane off guard and asked where they were.  Without thinking things through she indicated that the bottle expired and had been thrown away.  
"I had these this morning and they were expired?!  I need to get some new ones."
Needless to say, mother and son headed to grab new multivitamins right after dinner :)