Happy Birthday Weekend!

Well, this past weekend we were fortunate enough to have Nana and Papa

come out for a visit.

We celebrated my oldests' birthday with Nana and Papa and

got to celebrate Nana's as well.

Well, after giving his bow and arrow a test shot ,

the second shot hit the target.

(He must take after his mom:)

Although Nana and Papa hit the road in the morning,

we still managed alittle birthday celebration.

Did I mention that my big girl couldn't get enough of her Papa this trip?

My big girl was proud to hand over her birthday card for Nana.

Her whole weekend was comprised of doing an activity for 5 minutes

and running to Papa for hugs and repeating that, all weekend long.

My oldest told Nana that he is growing up...

meaning not as many kisses and hugs.

Well, it was Nana's birthday after all.

Oooops, it's been more than five minutes!

Three of the grandkids with Nana.

This picture captures the mad dash that was my girl heading straight for...

Papa!

And last, but cerrtainly not least,

my little princess showing Nana the picture  she drew of the each one of the kids

with Nana and Papa,

"so you don't forget us, Nana"

Like that would even be possible!

Happy Brithday Mom,

We Love You!

He Couldn't Be...

turning 6!

He loved having his birthday at school...

so many people there to celebrate.

His request for vanilla cupcakes and yellow frosting was met.

We waited for him to get back to place the sugar toppers on.

Everyone was excited about the birthday treats.

Those smiles don't get much bigger than that. 

All my big girl kept saying all through dinner was,

 "presents, presents, presents!"

A card with Yoda on it playing the intro to Star Wars...

doesn't get better than that. 

Unless...

he opens his new Harry Potter Lego castle! 

One happy birthday boy!

For our gift, Zach passed on all of his farm machinery on down the line.

I don't know who was more excited,

the birthday boy or Zach watching his son enjoying the same toys he did.

My little man.  Setting up his Forbidden Forest set

because he wanted to save his castle for the next day.

Patience.

He knew he had school in the morning

and it was already getting dark.

He's such a responsible and caring soul!



Switch the crown around...

and we are celebrating Papa's birthday!

Happy Belated Birthday Papa!

We Love You and can't wait to see you!

We are so happy you are who you are.

A Visit and a Surprise

Well, we were happy to host my husband's grandmother

for a couple of days last week.

She is an expert knitter and crocheter.

While we visited during the day,

I knit and she crocheted.

Of course, we did that between games of go fish, puzzles, and books.

I managed to complete my big girls sweater.

I was very happy with how it turned out despite the more difficult directions

for a beginner like myself.

When I told her I had a surprise for her on the table in the morning...

her response was, "pizza?"

Although, it wasn't edible, it was the next best thing.

She wore it to mass on Sunday and loves playing with the big buttons.

Trying to get a two year old to stand in certain positions to take a picture

isn't always the easiest so excuse the pictures. 

  

I made the sweater jacket a tad big so she can wear it for at least a year or more.

The visit was a hit and so was the sweater.

What a great week!

All Grown Up

Maybe it's just me, maybe it's because I wasn't there,

maybe I'm in denial, maybe because I'm so proud,

but my oldest seems to be all grown up.

He got an idea.

He asked Zach if there was any chance they could go fishing this past weekend.

Of course, my husband was just as excited to go,

but they decided to leave the boat at home and fish from shore.

Patience of a almost six year old yielded the one and only fish.

We are all so proud, he casted and reeled it all by himself.

His first question out of his mouth was, "Can I eat it?"

So my men came back from the fishing trip with one fish

and Zach filleted it and fried it for him to eat.

I did snatch a small bite and told him how wonderful it tasted.

I was told, "Don't worry mom, next time I'll catch even more so you can have some."

My little man made me smile.

What a wonderful person he is growing into to

and what a fisherman he is becoming.

Carmel Apples Anyone?

Some of my fondest fall memories as a kid

was making carmel apples, jumping into leaf piles,

and carving pumpkins.

Naturally, things don't always go exactly how you plan them with children,

which can sometimes be harder than it seems to 'let go'. 

I do recall saying out loud when I was at my wits end,

"I'm trying to create happy memories!"

After feeling bad for having a 'mommy dearest' moment(no wire hangers invovled),

I sliced apples and let the kids dip into the left over carmel.

Carmel did get all over...clothes, arms, faces, and hair.

But the loss of control and the sticky counters was the worth the smiles...

and hopefully, some happy memories.

(This picture doesn't do her face justice...it was covered in carmel!)

View from the hammock

Here's the beautiful views from the hammock.

 

This is the most beautiful time of year to take a few minutes each day and enjoy it.



A Perfect Night

We had a wonderful night with dad on Wednesday night.

We cooked our supper over the fire and had a great night.

My little princess and my little girl enjoying the fall leaves.

Our dinner cooking over the fire.

We had the best orange teriaki turkey ever, paired up with some buttery potatoes.

A little game of beach ball soccer occurred on our dead end road.

My oldest showing off his skills learned on the playground.

This face was all smiles, until....

Dad kicked it a bit too hard.  Ooops.

Don't be fooled, it was really up there.

I tried to get it down with baseballs, but to no avail.

We decided to let the wind take it down.

All in all, a wonderful night with the whole family.