Peace and a little bit of Russia.

I love those first days of spring when it finally stops being bone-chilling and everything gets warm and kind of quiet. A car or two passes by with music blasting and then it's back to people talking, dogs barking and all that in this calm and peaceful quiet that disappears around the first day of school in the fall. Today was perfect for exploration, so we headed to the Shawnee Mission park that has a huge lake that attracts families, cyclists, crazy old people, you name it. Beautiful place to bring make barbecue while enjoying the weather, water and friends. I guess today was a great day for fishing and there was a little community of old Russian men fishing. The guy in the picture caught a huge one and the look on his face was clearly out of the "I rock!" category. It was fun for me in seeing these old guys and hearing the language I heard growing up (you don't hear that much Russian here in Missouri). Their old voices reminded me of the times when I was a little kid hanging out with family and the older folks telling stories in their distinct old-man voices. Funny how a few old Russian guys fishing can remind you of things that used to and will never be.