Greenhouse

We needed some replacement plants for the garden, so headed off to a nursery to explore a few greenhouses and mark another item off our 102B412 list.

Bayley is enamored with fountains at the moment. They both loved all the kind of plants - Hayden found quite a few purple ones...but they had no green beans. Neither did Lowes...where have all the green beans gone?

Front And Center!

Bayley lost his front tooth! Isn't he gorgeous!

In other, less thrilling news...I shattered my wrist so am now the one handed bandit. Posts will be sporadic for a bit.

Mom's Birthday at the Wetland

Dad took Mom's birthday off, so the whole family got to take a hike together. It was a nice sunny day, so we went to Jackson Bottom Wetlands. The boys liked throwing rocks into the Tualatin River, chasing birds, and trying to find snakes.

Hayden was having a cranky day, so more often than not, Dad had to give him a ride.

BAYLEY

Mothers Day at Pix Patisserie

Our friends who are also doing the 101 things to do before you are 12 didn't have much luck with their patisserie experience, so I made sure to stack the deck. A local patisserie opens their kitchen to kids on Mother's Day and lets them create their own concoctions. Older kids build pastries that resemble the ones in the case out front. My boys have their own idea of what they want...and it involves a little bit of everything.



Hayden wanted one of everything chocolate or purple - so he had a base of three brownies to mound cookies, mousse, chocolate shavings and purple ginger crisps onto. Bayley tried a scoop of everything, filling a tart shell with a brownie and topping it with a scoop of custard from a dish of creme brule before he squeeze a healthy dolop of whipped cream over everything. He even added a strawberry..."To make it healthy."

What A Day!

Every year for Mother's Day the boys plant our vegetable garden (Daddy helps. A lot.). They started the day by heading off to the Farmer's market to pick up plants, then it was off to Lowes for other garden goodies...and what do you know, right across the street was a safety fair. They were both quite impressed they got to see a helicopter land, and that 1800GOTJUNK was giving away little cars.

Playing at the Park, Picnics, and Push-Pops

Our weather has been gorgeous, so the boys asked Eddie to come over for a bike ride and picnic in the park. It was so cute to see them making their way down the sidewalk with their training wheels!

Auntie Kim promised a very special treat, so the boys quickly ate their lunch and had their first ever...Push-Pop! As kids, Kim & I both loved these, so it was hilarious to see the boys so enthralled with them.

The boys had a great time getting messy, climbing the playground, and biking around the park. We even saw a robin nest complete with baby birds!

Swimming Lessons!!

Much to my surprise, Hayden announced he wanted swimming lessons. We'd been gently nudging for a year, so as soon as he said the words, I signed him up. And since for a few more months at least, he and Bayley can be in the same class, I used the peer pressure to talk Bay into going too.

Wouldn't you know that he was scared, now would you? As soon as he saw the pool (which is a 2 foot deep and kept at bathwater temperature) he was all about swimming! So much that they asked for lessons all summer! So...now we are officially broke :)

Natural Ant Farm

The boys found an ant colony in the backyard today. They went and got Daddy, who dug it out. They were quite excited to report how big and spread out the ants were, including ant eggs. Bayley says we have a twenty percent chance of the ants coming back because he couldn't find the queen. Good to know. How he knows that, I have no idea.

Tennis Champ

Bayley finished tennis classes this week. He loves every minute of it, and immediately decided eh had to take another tennis camp in the summer.

Great-Grandma Evie!

I asked Grandma to come up for a Romance Readers Luncheon I was signing at, and she wasn't sure...until Hayden got on the phone and asked her to come see him! So, she might claim she made the trip for my luncheon...but we all know better.

The boys we so excited to have her here. They had to show her all their toys and explain the intracacies of Thomas The Tank Engine. They discovered they like the same foods -- Krispy Kreme donuts, spaghetti and meatballs, pizza and blueberry muffins!

After the luncheon, Gramma thought she'd lay down for a bit. After not seeing her all morning, Harden couldn't leave her be. He tried to snuggle for a while, and then noticed something. Gramma had toenails! He asked if she wanted the clipper to cut them off. It was HILARIOUS! He's always after me to cut my fingernails, and now he's on her case!

I think everyone had a great weekend. I know I did!