Sunday, May 29, 2011

Party Boy

We had Brandon's birthday the following week due to Daddy being scheduled out of town. Surprise for us, he made it home! But oh well! We took advantage of the time to see Grandma Anne. So it was all good. For the birthday boy, we really didn't have a true theme. He had picked out a cake that had motorcycles racing. I figured that it would be really easy to go to the party place and find something with motorcycles. Not really. Instead we went with general race idea and checkered flag. The most of the usual family crew were here along with a family down the street. Their son is the same age as Brandon and rides the same bus. And have spent lots of time together playing. Our birthday boy received lots of cool stuff like pajama's (he's gotten so tall!), books, RC helicopter, nerf water gun, lego guys, and a gift certificate for mini golf. We bought him a new bike. He so badly needed one! Again, he has gotten so tall!
Opening gifts, when reading our card, I had signed it "Mommy and Daddy," but he read it as "Mom and Dad." Someone had asked what the card said; as in the words/verse inside not necessarily who it was from. Brandon said, "It says from Mommy and Daddy, but I didn't want to say that. That would be embarrassing!" This boy just cracks me up!
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Saturday, May 28, 2011

From Tiger to Wolf Cub

So the soggy baseball game was an unofficial promotion (to me, anyway). Last week, Brandon's pack had their Promotion ceremony. Each boy was recognized for the belt loops and pins that they had earned. Next a ceremony for the boys that are going from a Cub Scout to a Boy Scout. Then the other boys, den by den, were promoted up. It was pretty darn cute to see the older boys tie on the younger boys new scarf. Next year, Brandon will be a "big kid" helping to promote a Tiger up to a Wolf.
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Friday, May 27, 2011

Baseball and Cub Scouts

We had a baseball weekend, the 14th and 15th. Well, sort of. A friend had given us tickets for Saturday nights game. There had been chance of wet weather on and off all day. We figured that we would go ahead and head to the ball field and take our chances. So, of course, it started as we got to the gate. It drizzled on and off. Enough to keep most of the crowd at home. We did put our umbrella up, but it wasn't too bad. Just a few pictures due to the wet weather.
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We had purchased tickets for Sunday's game as a Circuit of Fun with Boy Scouts. This can pretty much be considered the game that wasn't. It wasn't just drizzily and wet. It was raining and cold. The Boyscouts were going to be "crossing over." A sort of graduation type event. We saw our den leader with his son, so we sent Brandon to wait with him. Collin's dad did the same. It was nice that the boys could be there together. The boys were going to be able to go on the field, high five some players and meet the mascot. The boys were led onto the field and immediately into the dug out. Even the players didn't want to be in the rain. So we didn't even get to see them high five anyone. Out of the dug out and cross over a bridge at homeplate and exit the field on the other side. Rowdy was on the stairs as they exited. It was pretty much over by the time we figured out where they going. Maybe we should have been at the end of the line to find out the gameplan. But I guess now we know for next time! 
Daddy had to leave to go out of town. He had come to the game just for Brandon's crossover and had to leave. It was going to be a long drive for him. The kiddos insisted on sitting in our seats. It was still raining, but wait in the rain we did. When it started to really come down and change direction, right at us, we all decided to go for cover! That lasted about 5 minutes. We were all ready to just go home. And that's just what we did. A change into warm, dry clothes and popped in a movie. Complete with popcorn.

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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Cowgirl Jess

Jess got it in her head the other day that she was going to be a cowgirl. For the day at least. Here are a couple... ok, three fun pictures that her daddy took.

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Recorder Concert

The fourth grade recently had a recorder concert. They have been practicing really hard to learn all their songs. Jess and her friend Meg had also practiced many mornings before school while waiting for the bus. On the same evening, the school held an Art Fair. Each grade learned about another country and displayed their artwork outside the classrooms. Oh, and the library was open for the book fair.
I have a picture of each of their artwork and postcard. The rest are from the actual program. Jess was almost directly in front of her music teacher. Almost impossible to get her picture, but Daddy got a few. And the priceless shot of Brandon's enthusiasm.
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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I've been trying to play catch-up and get pictures posted. But I also wanted to try and keep entries in order.



Mini Birthday Celebration

(Because this is just how far behind I am, I will backdate from 6/24 to keep things orderly.)
This was Brandon's actual birthday.
This was a mini celebration that consisted of me and his big sister. Daddy was out of town. He had the option of cupcakes or ice cream for our little shindig. We HAD to mark the occasion with a treat and singing "Happy Birthday." In top right picture in the collage, my cell phone is open and on speaker. Daddy was also able to participate. :) The best part, though, was that Daddy DID make it home for Brandon's birthday!!
(We thought it would be Saturday, maybe even Sunday.)
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Monday, May 23, 2011

Grandma's house

Last month, since we postponed Brandon's birthday party, we decided to go see my mom. It had been quite a while since we visited. The pool had not opened yet, but we had new rackets and balls to go to the tennis courts instead. The kids also spent lots of time (and energy) at the playground. It was a short visit. Just an overnight stay, but enjoyed by all of us!

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Friday, May 20, 2011

Sweet Brandon

Today my sweet boy has turned seven years old.
He is just too much for words.
He is a friend to everyone.
The big kids next door
Little kids.
 He LOVES his cousins.
He adores babies.
 He waves to any baby he sees and would probably stop to talk and play if you let him.
 He is polite and uses his manners.
 He often will stop to hold the door for others.
He is headstrong.
He is handsome.
He is smart.
His teachers adore him.
He has a great imagination.
He is loving.
He loves his sister.
And he knows just the right buttons to push to aggravate her.
He gives me a kiss and hug everyday before getting on the bus.
Without me having to ask.
And before bed too.
He just makes my heart happy.

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Mama Duck

On the Saturday before Easter, we found a nest with one lonely little egg in it. We never saw hide nor feather of the mama; although we had a few ducks in the yard on occasion. This is not really all that unusual as we have a retention pond and greenspace across the street from us. Too big to be a bird and too small for a goose (thank goodness!!), we were guessing duck egg. I had hoped that it would be eggS. Nearly a week had passed before another egg was added. Finally, we had two! Keep in mind that we still had no actual siting. That Friday afternoon, the kids were showing off our little nest to their friends. Before I knew it, the little neighbor girl had picked up one of the eggs. I felt really bad. I wasn't sure what the mama would do since her nest was disturbed. Each day since, one more egg was added. When were up to seven, it looked as though one of them had been broken. I'm guessing that this was the one that had been handled, but really I have no way to know for sure. And still one last egg was added. Finally, the nest was full. It was still a couple of days later before we finally started seeing the mama duck sitting in her nest. At first she would scurry away right away, but I think that she has gotten used to us coming and going.  The kids check in on her every morning on their way down to the bus stop. Now we are anxiously awaiting the hatching of fuzzy little ducklings!

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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

at the park

I had taken the kiddos to the park the other day (Saturday). Daddy had to work, so it was just the three of us. It was such a nice day out! I thought this would be a great opportunity to get some fun pictures of the kids; it was still pretty early in the afternoon and not very busy. We went to a park that we only visit occasionally. A change of scenery is nice sometimes, don't ya think? While the kids had a lot of fun running, climbing, sliding and such, I have little photographic proof of it. I kept getting some sort of CF error.
So this is what I was able to get...
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once we were back at home, I reformatted the disk and life was good again.