Spring Break and Spring Cleaning

For the longest time I've wanted to get our house sprayed down to give the siding a facelift. I even know someone with a pressure washer! ;) Stephen was finally able to get some outside cleaning done last week while Taron and Keaton were with us over the last half of thier spring break. They really enjoyed operating the nozzle and kept asking to do it some more! Now our house looks much better! Bring on the sun to let it shine :)

Clearing debris from our driveway and stripping this bench so I can re-purpose it for our front porch in the process.

Cooper spent the time shoveling rocks into a bucket (he loves shovelling!). And Ryder was happily bundled up in the stroller. Crazy we picked a cold, windy afternoon to do this, but Stephen had told me he would make it happen and didn't want to break his word- you rock, babe!

Thanks Stephen for making this happen, and thanks Taron and Keaton for making the work enjoyable! Don't worry, we really didn't make them work the whole time they were here...

Trip to the Canyon

With the weather warmed up some again, we ventured into the Canyon for some fishing. Cooper finally got to try out his Christmas fishing pole. (After Dad fixed the damage incurred from it having been played with like a sword around the house, that is :) He actually fished for maybe a total of ten minutes, and then got distracted...

Dad kept catching little tiny fish and when he got this one that was about six inches or so, he told Cooper, "He's a Monster!" Cooper wanted so bad to touch it and played with it for most of the time we were at this spot! I know, I know, that's gross, but, it's a boys life around here, remember? ;)

I love this shot of Taron and Keaton :)

Ryder mostly hung out, tucked in his stroller- he really enjoys being outside. Glad I had him to keep me from being too awfully bored!

Awesome Dad and husband :) He's mine.

Taron and Stephen fly fishing side by side- these are proud moments for Stephen! Taron got frustrated at only catching moss, but he really was doing great and gets the hang of it better each time he tries. More to come through the summer no doubt :)

Keaton took over Coop's fishing pole and proceeded to catch moss as well. :) He eventually joined Cooper in playing with the little fish. More than anything we were just happy to be outside and down in the Canyon. There's just something we love about the Snake River Canyon.

Boys Rule Baby Shower

My friend Monica and I recently hosted a baby shower for a friend of ours who is expecting a little boy. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun- we had a good time putting together all the "frosting" that made it a special event for her!

These fun taffy kabobs were the prizes for a relay game we did to start the shower- carry a baby doll in the carseat to the end of the room, put on a new diaper, strap it back into the carseat and come back for the next person on the team to go. It was interesting to have everyone go through all the motions and see the kids help thier moms!

We had fun finding goodies and putting together this diaper cake as our gift to her. It was actually simpler than we expected and turned out really cute!

Through all of our efforts, I certainly figured out that frosting cupcakes is not my forte! I'll stick to designing the tags ;) That lopsided one is surely one I did- I couldn't seem to get it right for the life of me! But Monica did 99% of them and they turned out so cute, especially on the fun cupcake tier we built out of boxes.

And everyone got a fun jelly bean favor at the end! They looked so cute in this tiny little wagon! I'm loving these little cello bags right now- will be posting another project I'm doing with them before too long also.

Thanks Monica for letting me join you in making this happen- you made it fun to do! And thanks Jessica for having a baby so we could have a party! Good luck getting your little guy into the world now!

Happy Birthday, Stephen!

Yesterday was Stephen's birthday- woohoo for still being in your thirties, babe! Several things made it so we couldn't just focus on enjoying your day, but thanks for being supportive of my other endeavors too.

We were able to enjoy birthday dinner in Pocatello with Stephen's family- thanks to my great in-laws for making it a fun night! I love you, Stephen- bring on our best year yet ;)

Green Day and More

Green french toast for St. Patricks Day breakfast. We just called it "green day" around here :)

I've been trying to get a good pic of how Ryder reacts to Cooper and this is all I've got so far. He certainly lights up for his big brother!

It's been warming up on and off around here. A few warmish afternoons lately we've been taking walks down the street- Cooper likes to puch Ryder in the umbrella stroller. Or I rig them up in the wagon and off we go! (Indeed, those walks are shorter than the stroller version ;)

Nursery Day! (aka. Sunday, of course) Doesn't he look so handsome?! Time, don't move right from this point- I could take him like this right here forever I do believe... By the way, see that little yellow puff in his hand? That is his fav toy these days- a little chick we got at Dollar Tree. He never ceases to find new hiding places for it or adventures to create around it. So fun... :)

Ry Guy in the laundry basket... laughing for Daddy if I remember right :)

Peeking out of Dad's hat. He's been liking wearing hats more these days it seems.

Yes, Coop, I know, I'm wierd. :) Doesn't stop me from trying to create things you might enjoy, though :)

Dumptruck ride! This is one of my favorite of Coops toys- this sturdy yellow dumptruck from my Mom. Don't you just love his look of terror below?! :)

Pride and Joy

I love combing Ryder's hair into a fin! He recently got his first haircut.

Each night after his bath Cooper plays around in his towel trying to hide or be in a tent- ever a teaser!

Yummy cheesecake! My parents brought this to our house for Sunday dinner with us this last weekend. Ryder wasn't the only one that was enjoying it!

Picture no.752 from the "Baby Jumper Collection." Ha ha... I just can't resist capturing how much fun he has in this thing! It is one of my favorite times to sit on the floor and play with him. :)

Broccoli loving boy... he's mine :)

Hope everyone stopping by the blog has a great rest of the week!

Lucky People Live Here

I often see ideas that I really like but don't have all the pieces for- be it time, actual supplies, etc. But when I saw the cutie wreath above at Craftaholics Anonymous I realized I did and I went to work on a version of my own!

I started building flowers like these, but then changed my mind and decided that, although St. Patricks isn't a holiday we necessarily celebrate, I would give the Law of Attraction a little nod ;)

Now, anyone who knocks on our front door will see that "Some very LUCKY people live here!"

Something about this just makes me smile- thanks for a great idea Linda! And thanks to my Mom that I had the stuff for this- she recently cleaned out her craft space and my sister and I were the lucky recipients of some great hand-me-downs! For the fun of it, I'm sharing at TGC, and of course, back to the source as part of Craftaholics Anonymous St. Patty's party...