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!

Teacher's Lounge & Another School

These two really didn't thrill them. Perhaps because I am counting them going to one another's schools...or because the Teacher's Lounge was empty...either way...

Bay thinks that the list should include more 'fun stuff' like boat rides, train rides, and construction sites. I'll keep that in mind...

Easter Dinner

We wound up this busy day at Grandma and Grandpa's, multi-tasking by towing along Uncle Dan and Aunt Christina. Due to rain, the egg hunt was moved inside, and the boys had fun searching for the candy and money filled eggs (the Easter Bunny is in a higher tax bracket there), they were most impressed with the Thomas the Tank Engine filled baskets!


After setting up the tracks and testing the engines to make sure the big rabbit got the good stuff, we gorged ourselves on a salmon dinner, topped off with Hayden's rendition of Happy Birthday to Grandpa Bill and a mountain of chocolate ice cream for Bayley.


Think they'll sleep tonight? Or did all the sugar counteract all the activity?