Snow, snow go away...

After mostly recovering from the Blizzard of 2011, I was looking forward to a warmer and mostly snow-free weekend.  This Saturday was the St. Louis toy show.  Last year was the first year since 2004 that I didn't go to the show, because I took N to Monster Jam that day.  Monster Jam fell on the same day again this year, but since N wasn't as interested in it, I went to the toy show instead.  While I didn't enter the contest this year, I did make a tractor to take to the show.  It was a follow-up to a series of tractors I did in 2007 that incorporated the brands from AGCO's past onto a modern tractor.  At that time, I did Oliver, Minneapolis-Moline and Massey Harris since my Grandpa T was fond of those brands, and threw an Allis-Chalmers and White in for good measure.  The guy that bought the set from me had requested a Cockshutt to go with them, and two years after I started the tractor, I finally finished it up. As I was reviewing my records, I was surprised to find that those tractors were the last tractors I had made to sell until this one.

So, I awoke early on Saturday to head down to the show.  I hadn't bothered to check the forecast for St. Louis, but knew that we weren't expecting any more snow until Sunday afternoon, so I expected an easy trip.  It was an easy trip for the first half, but just south of Springfield it started snowing.  A little snow wouldn't hurt anything I though, but the snow continued to get heavier the farther I drove.  By the time I got south of Litchfield, we were down to driving in single lane.  Going was slow, and a there were a couple moments that raised my heart rate a little bit, but I made it just fine about a half hour later than I expected. 

The show was pretty good, and mostly like I remembered it. There were a few vendors I remembered that were not there, apparently victims of the economic downturn. I got to talk to a bunch of my "toy tractor friends", and catch up with what they have been up to since I talked to them last.  I have to admit I missed entering the contest a little bit, but the competition would have been tough.  The custom tractors and displays had both advanced since the last time I was there.  Several of the custom tractor guys are now casting their own parts, and my favorite display had smoke, water and LED lights for special effects.  I can see a display like that somewhere in N and I's future.  I made a few purchases, but after selling the Cockshutt came home with a little more money than I left home with, minus food and gas expenses of course.  The drive home, thankfully, was much less eventful.

While yesterday was a nice "Daddy Day", today was an equally nice family day.  We made it to early church, and we all enjoyed donuts and running around the multi-purpose room afterwards.  After church, L took a nap, and N was good helper cleaning up around the house.  As a reward, we set up the train I bought at Menards a couple weeks ago.  It was half price, and N has really been into trains lately so I couldn't resist.  I just had to wait for the right occasion to give it to him.  For the price, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it is just about perfect for him.  It is battery powered with lights and sounds, and has a radio control for the forward/reverse, the whistle, and the bell.  As an added bonus, we got out grandpa's old train terminal and it fits just right with the train.  It has been a big hit, and I think N has already made a few hundred laps around the track.