Happy Birthday Joy!

The night was dark...the air was thick and sticky....but that didn't stop us from celebrating Nanny's birthday Saturday night! We all gathered together at Alice's house for dinner, cake, conversation, and.....wine! haha As we usually do when we all get together, we had a great time. Levi brought his guitar and gave Ian a lesson in how to play Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water". Amazingly, Ian was picking it up so quickly that I knew what he was playing with only a few notes issued! I think we have a natural on our hands folks! Nicholas was content to roam Aunt Alice's huge deck with his walker (boy does he LOVE to be mobile) and we all just settled ourselves into the patio furniture and did what we do best.....visit! It was so hot and muggy, you could see the moisture in the air and we were all sweaty messes. Uncle Brian was nice enough to haul out the big fan to help move some air around the deck since there wasn't a breeze to be found anywhere. We were doing pretty good with the fan until Levi's fly-fishing rod found it's way to the back of the fan and the line got sucked in and around the motor. Crud! After a bit of working on it (it only took 3 people to fix! haha) we finally had relief from the stuffiness again. After having cake, we all retreated to our respective homes and basked in the wonderful invention called air conditioning! lol Happy Birthday again to a wonderful Nanny, a great Mom, and a very good friend! We love you!!!
The basket of yarn cake that I made for Joy.....it turned out pretty cool I think.
Nicholas hanging out with Poppy just waiting for some cake!
Nanny gets some help from the rugrats.....
Trevor was so proud of himself for helping blow out the candles
Levi gives Ian the rundown on Deep Purple
Can you hear it?? Smoke on the Water was the flavor of the evening...Levi thought it was so cool he was trying to record it on his phone while Ian was playing!
Gotta love all that furniture sitting around on Alice's deck...we all get to kick back and be comfy like this!
The boys were having a good time playing in the yard despite the heat and humidity
Ian was trying out Levi's new flyfishing rod
Levi and Jess
Took 3 people to fix the fan....Jess is hiding on the other side!
Nanny and Bailey patiently waiting for air circulation...
I made this cake for Alice to take to the golf course Monday night for Joy and Linda's birthdays....I kind of like the purple bag!

**Two cakes in one weekend...I'm on a roll!! Anyone need cake?? :-P

Like the Spike?

Check out the hair on these two....Not only do they look a lot alike, but they both have quite the spike! I'm searching for pictures of Trevor from his "baby" days...I really want to do a comparison of the two of them on here....it's uncanny how much they look alike at the age Nicholas is right now. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Awww, Trev looks so little here...I think he was about 2 at this time...my boys are growing up on me way too fast! :-(

Wordless Wednesday

One Expensive Fish......

Father's Day 2009 has made it's way past us and it will definitely be one to remember as we spent most of the day at the ER! Luckily it wasn't one of my boys that had to make the trip....no, it was the man of the day....their Father! Saturday evening, Donovan headed to the river with his buddy, Rick, to set his "limb" lines in hopes of catching himself another big catfish. That part went off without a hitch...they set the lines and went back yesterday morning to check it out and hit the jackpot! 2 good sized Catfish were waiting for them. Still, no problems were foreseen by us. Then it came to cleaning said fish......just after laying Nicholas down for a short nap, I started to get all our stuff together to head to Alice's house for lunch, when in runs my husband....with a blood covered hand! Come to find out, that new filet knife I got him LAST year was pretty darn sharp. As he was cleaning his fish, a slip of the knife happened, and next thing you know he's trying to cut off a finger! Normally blood doesn't bother me, I mean I've done wound care on amputees before, but I was amazed at how much was running out of him. I threw on my clothes, snatched up the sleeping baby, threw the kids in the truck, and hauled their Dad off to the ER. Come to find out he had knicked an artery in that finger. After several hours, a lot of blood loss (he was kinda pale and pretty wornout last night) , a couple of stitches, a tetanus shot & antibiotics, and one bummed out husband later...we finally made it to Alice's for one heck of a good meal. The kids finally got to give him their presents and Ian even made up a Happy Father's Day song that he serenaded his Daddy with. Then we all had some chocolate cake and called it a day. What a day it was.....and to think that he calls ME clumsy!!! (I didn't get any pics of the 2 catfish that started the whole fiasco...things just happened too quickly)....

Although this wasn't the one that landed him in the ER...he wanted me to brag about it.....17lbs of catfish!! It was a big one!
These are some seriously weird fish...a Gar....this one was 50in long!!
Ian pulled out his own tooth this weekend!! He was so proud of himself!
Trevor always thinks he should lose a tooth too when Ian does....he wanted a picture of his teeth too!
Nicholas doing what he does best...getting into everything!
Dog pile on Daddy!! My boys are the best alarm clock in the world!! There is no "snooze" button on them! haha
My first BBQ grill cake that I made for Father's Day....it's all edible!

Going Poolside...

2 weeks ago, my wonderful husband went out and bought us a "family" gift....a new pool! We have jokingly named it the "Ghetto" pool as it is one of those really easy and simple affairs of blowing up the top ring and filling it up with water. It's not huge or even that deep, but it is so nice to have something to jump into during these hots days we're having and it is absolutely perfect for the boys! They can splash and swim and play all without having to worry about not being able to touch the bottom. The first day we set it up and started filling it, they HAD to get it and wouldn't take "NO" for an answer. Despite the freezing temperature of the water, they hopped in and had a blast just walking across the bottom on their hands. By the time we were able to fish them out, their teeth were chattering but they definitely thought it was worth it. We finally got it filled after stressing out my poor well for a few days, and the boys were definitely ready to jump in for a swim....and then the rain started...and lasted for almost a solid week. Crud! Now they had to wait for the water to warm up yet again, which is so hard for a little boy to find patience for. Luckily the rain moved out and the sun started shining and my boys have turned into regular little fish. One could say we are now having a "splashingly" good time! :-)

They don't look cold, but their teeth were sure chattering!

Having a good time despite the cold water....
Uh oh...it's a shark in shallow water!! :-P

patiently waiting for the ladder to be added....they were so excited!
Ian came prepared with goggles and snorkle....Spiderman, of course!

Took Trev a minute to get all the way in..the water was still a little chilly!

Trevor likes to hang on the side and splash everyone.....
Our new pool....Ghetto style! lol

Water Baby??

My last post was about our new swimming pool...This post is about Nicholas and his first time to get in the pool. My little man was all smiles and laughs until I handed him over to Dad for his first swim. Oh boy he didn't like that water at all! As soon as his little bootie hit the water...the tears started coming! He especially didn't like getting splashed by his big brothers. Since he wasn't fond of actually sitting in the water, we put him in his little boat thinking that he would start to realize what fun the pool can be.........after a minute he settled down, but the jury is still out on whether or not he enjoyed himself! I'm guessing it's going to take a while before he's used to it and enjoys it, so it's "baby steps" to the pool for Nicky!

See, he started out very happy!

Good thing Daddy has a big strong shoulder to cry on
One mad baby...this is his "get me outta here" cry..:-(
Starting to settle down...but I had to stay within reach....
Discovered his boat has eyes and boy he wanted to take a bite outta them!

**On a little side note: Nicholas finally has both top teeth now! The 2nd stubborn one finally popped through yesterday! yay!! Now maybe I'll get some sleep........

Wordless Wednesday :-)

Another baby...another cake!

Well, my cake making business is starting to pick up!! Yay!! This past weekend I had yet another baby shower to make a cake for. Some friends of ours, Misty & Chance, are expecting a baby girl and Misty's big sister asked me to make her cake for the shower. Misty wanted it done in pink and lime green and since she has a great love for frogs...we added some cute little frogs to the top for her. It took me most of the night to finish, til' 4:30am to be exact, but it's so much easier working late when everyone is sleeping...no one to interrupt the creative process! haha It turned out better than i thought it would, I was a little anxious about the colors looking okay together but it all pulled together in the end and looked pretty good I think. She had a great shower and it was a huge success all around. Thanks Trishia and Misty for giving me the opportunity to make yet another cake!!
The proud Mommy-to-Be...she's such a sweetheart
The top..complete with fondant roses and frogs :-)
I'm soooooo glad they loved it!!
My sweet boy was content to hang out and watch the chaos around him...we had a great time!

Wordless Wednesday.....

The Sun is Shining...Time to Play!!!

Not too much has been happening around here lately. Ian has started summer school again (he won a $5 gift card to Walmart yesterday for his good behavior!!), Trevor is still loving preschool, and Nicholas is just doing what most babies do.....getting into everything! We spent the last day before summer school playing at the park. Nicholas discovered how much he likes to slide, with big brothers' help of course, and Trevor has finally conquered his fear of heights! My once very timid boy is like a little spider monkey now, if he can crawl up it...he will! That goes for Ian too since I keep finding him in trees outside! Here are a few pictures from the park that day...most of them were taken by Ian. There's a few on here but he wanted everyone to see his "skills" with a camera....
Ian thought it was cute watching Nicholas play with his hat....

My 3 little monkeys
Look at that face....his expression says just how much he loves to swing!
Trevor wanted to slide with his baby brother too...
My little shutter-bug....he finally handed the camera over to me for a bit!


Not exactly sure what he was doing here....kinda looks like ballet to me! haha
My sweet baby boy.....he sure loves to go to the park now!