Birthday Wishes are Almost Done

...today is GrandBob's birthday and the boys are working on something for the blog. We ran out of time tonight but will post tomorrow as soon as we can. Stay tuned! Until then, Happy Birthday GrandBob, we love you!!

As Promised, here is what the boys did for GrandBob! Noah came up with the idea and I forgot until last night, not leaving enough time before bed to finish. I know that you aren't here to enjoy the goods but I figured two boys doing something they love while thinking of you is a pretty great gift. They had a blast and there was only one argument the entire time. I assured both of them that GrandBob would love ALL the cupcakes equally, much like he loves them equally. I got the look and even an eye roll for that one, quickly followed by Noah whispering, "definitely mine," quiet enough so little brother couldn't hear. Again, Happy Birthday GrandBob!

The lemon cupcakes with vanilla frosting canvases.

The goofy, but lovable, artists, ready to work.

Noah hard at work.

Oliver hard at work - it's all about the sprinkles.

Very proud of their work.

A closer look but it's still hard to see that it says,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDBOB
in chocolate letters.

Noah's favorite.

Oliver's favorite, but I promised to tell you that half of the sprinkles fell off when I picked it up to take a picture. My sincerest apologies that only half of the full pound of sprinkles got photographed.

En Garde!

This is what happens when a 3 year old has an 8 year old brother. Since big brother wasn't around to sword fight with said 3 year old, Oliver picked up his weapon and proceeded to conquer his evil shadow. That shadow was quick and had some incredible moves, he was not going to go down easy. Oh, don't you worry, that shadow won't be trouble for anyone anymore, Sir Oliver was victorious!

House Guest

We are dog sitting Jake for about week while his family is on vacation. He is a cute, hyper little thing that loves attention. So far he and Oliver have hit if off quite well. Look at those eyes...that looks like trouble. Yeah, he and Oliver will get along just fine.

Meet Spike

Spike is a bearded dragon and he lives at my sister's house...

Horses Horses Everywhere...

and none of them to ride. Since I am technically still on light duty from my surgery and will be until at least April 27, I did not get to ride this weekend. I still had fun watching Ron drive Rubi, Trevor take his lesson, Beni throw a fit because his momma, Shana, was fixing Rubi's blanket and not paying attention to him, bringing in Rubi from the paddock so she could eat, feeding a couple of snacks to Beni then sneaking him a few more (shh, don't tell) and just generally being around them. I also took lots of pictures because that's just what I do and because I have a niece that loves horses.

Ron driving Rubi and getting a lesson too.

Trevor, on a borrowed horse, taking his lesson.
He did really well!

When we got up to the barn, Shana let Beni run around in the arena and burn off some energy. He was very happy to be running around.

Rubi, on the other hand was ANGRY that she, the princess, was being ignored and threw a fit herself to let us all know.

The beautiful, Miss Rubi.

Beni is full of personality and a sweetheart. I, however, had a hard time getting a picture of him with both ears forward. One forward, one back, that was the look of the day.

Here are a couple of silly short videos of Beni running around in the arena. In this first video, you can hear Shana yell, "I can do it too!" We were laughing because Rubi was trotting pretty and busting around her little pen trying to get our attention away from Beni. Shana was speaking for Rubi.

In this video, you can see Beni come over to us then Shana quickly dips down and hides behind the wall. Shana jumps up to scare him and he gets mad, kicks at her and runs off. Apparently, this is a common fun game that they play!

Lake Stevens

Even though it was still a bit chilly, the sun was out and we wanted to take advantage of the warmth. After a quick stop at the store we headed to a small park, ate outside and let the kids play. The play structures were fun but not at much fun as the freezing cold water of the lake...

This is Lake Stevens.
My sister lives just up the hill and has a peek-a-boo view.

Noah, Oliver and Trevor trying to find treasure at the waters edge.

Sweet Ollie boy.

Trevor is considering joining the Polar Bear Club!

What did you find Noah?

The boys were also very silly today.
These two decided to try and belly crawl to the ducks while luring them in with a sour cream and onion Pringle.

Noah came running back up to us at one point and said, "I've named my boot Carl and he has to pee." After a slight pause, I laughed.

This one shall henceforth be known as Sandboogie.

Joel caught my sister and I out on the little dock. We don't look happy because we were angry at the parents that were allowing their little girls to throw sand at the ducks!

The tulip fields up here in Skagit Valley will be absolutely beautiful in about a week or two. All of the daffodils are beautiful right now but most of the tulips are still waiting to open. I still got quite a few fun shots though and, as usual, had a hard time deciding which pictures to post. So I posted a bunch!

I loved the silver roofed barn off in the distance. This daffodil field was huge!

Playing with the color features. Just a few starting a open.

Pretty in pink.

If I were to have tulips in my yard this one would make the cut.

Warmest looking thing out in the cool windy fields today.
At least it didn't rain on us.

Beauty and the Beast

Open up and say ahh.

I was sitting on the ground and snapped this shot of my boots.
I sat like this to get shots like...

...this shot.

I loved the leaves on this tulip almost as much as the flower.

Sunny Patch

These two could have easily been overlooked in the patch of yellow daffodils so I helped them out a little bit.

Just a hint of color.

One more week!

I loved this fence!

Although not a tulip, this one was adorable.

So Excited!

No pictures for this post...not yet anyway. We are headed up north to my sister's tomorrow and Shana and I are headed out to the massive tulip fields in Skagit Valley. Think good, flowers open and pretty, begging for me to take their pictures, thoughts for us.

I am also excited because we started to plant in the garden tonight, check it out at the garden blog.

Happy Easter!

I hope that all of you are having a great Easter! We are taking it easy and keeping it simple today. They boys woke up to a few chocolate eggs scattered and hidden throughout the living room and a pile of goodies from us and Grandma Ricki. My mom (Gammy) left for Texas on April 5, for another stint with FEMA. She sent the boys' Easter stuff over before leaving so they got to open those goodies early.

This bunny lives in our backyard.

Stuff from Gammy.

Thanks for the movie Gammy!
By the way, Bolt is a GREAT movie.

Bakugan!
(Yeah, I don't know much about them either.)

Easter morning loot from the Easter Bunny and Grandma Ricki.
The "Easter Bunny" hid a few eggs in spots that were a bit more difficult for an 8 year old to find. I had fun watching the "Easter Bunny" hide them last night and fun watching the boys find them this morning.
Oliver's been asking for this one for quite a while now!
Noah got a ton of Bakugan stuff this morning. He is shocked and happy!
This boy can't seem to get enough cars and trucks.