Birthday Bash!

We went down to Grandma Brenda's this last weekend to celebrate both Spencer's and Aiden's birthdays. Spencer turns 10 years old on April 6th and Aiden will be 3 years old on April 13th. We used a little creativity and with the help of a cupcake book I have ended up with some really cool birthday cakes/cupcakes. Aiden picked out this alligator...that turned out awesome (if I do say so myself). It was a team effort by Marla and me. Janet made a spaghetti cupcake/cake that i didn't take a picture of, but turned out super cool as well. There was no shortage of presents..lots of fun toys and cool new clothes!

The big boys got in some Wii time...of course!

Doing some posing for the camera......

Ummm....yea...this would be their "silly" pose! Really?! Where did Tyson come up with that one?!

Grandma and Mason were playing and needed to take a little break.....

It didn't last long, though, as you can see. That would be Aiden under Grandma. It was a bit of a dog pile!

Tyson and Drew decided to be silly as well.

After an early supper it was outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Yep...the sunshine went right to Aiden's head again...silly boy!

Cooper and Great Grandma watched the action from inside since it was a bit breezy outside for little guy.

After a lot of playing everyone was ready to have some cupcakes to finish off the fun day.

Since it was too windy outside for candles, Aiden got his shot to blow out a candle when we came back inside. It was one of those trick candles that keeps re-lighting, but he kept going like a champ until it finally stayed out...for good!

We had a great day on Saturday and all of the boys had a blast playing together. I'm sure Grandma took a well deserved nap after we all left for home on Sunday morning. Oh, who am I kidding...Grandma doesn't need naps...she's a rock star!

Sledding

What a difference a week makes! Just last weekend we were basking in the sun and beautiful spring weather, and today we got to enjoy a little winter fun! Tyson loves sledding, and the little "gully" across from our house makes the perfect sledding hill. Aiden isn't so sure about the sledding part yet, but he loves to be outside all the same. Him and I watched the "big boys" sled down the hill. Samson even got to be a part of the party. We braved it and took him off his leash so he could run and play with the "boys"! Just look at the smile on his face.... if he only knew what he was in for.... Scott thought of the wonderful idea to have Samson go down on the sled with him. They made it down fairly smoothly, but Tyson wanted to get to sled down the hill with Samson as well.. I think you can kinda get the picture at how the second run went. Samson knew all too well by the second time and wasn't quite as cooperative. Persistence paid off, however, and they finally made it down the hill. Little guy just enjoying the action. Dad and Tyson had a few races down the hill. Aiden then became Dad's little helper to give him a push start! Dad tried and tried to talk Aiden into sledding down the hill with him....to no avail, but I think it is safe to say that fun was had by all!

"Puppy Park"...and the "Kid Park"

This past weekend was the first really nice weekend we were able to spend outside and really enjoy the beautiful weather. It has been quite a while since Samson has gotten to go to the "puppy park", so we thought we'd treat him to some fun as well as the boys.


He loves sniffing absolutely everything....especially all of the dog butts! :) He also, amazingly enough, stays pretty close to us and usually comes back to us pretty good when we call him.


The boys did a good job being patient and letting Samson enjoy his time at the park.

It apparently was just warm enough to take a quick walk through the creek.

OOOOHHH, that feels good! After about 30 minutes of checking out many different dog butts, Samson was ready to go take his turn at watching his brothers play at their park. We have never actually taken Sam to a regular park, because I've always been afraid he wouldn't behave. He tends to get VERRRRY excited around other people and dogs. He's never aggressive....just whiny and obnoxious...usually. Boy, did he prove us wrong. He did a great job for the most part. There was a small goose incident, as well as a bit of excitement when 2 other dogs showed up, but overall I was impressed. He did squiggle out of his leash a couple of times, but never ran off. Overall, a success!

It's hard to tell in this picture, but Aiden's absolute favorite thing to do at the park is "sing"! :)

One of Tyson's classmates was also at the park, so they got in a little see-saw action in between running up and down the play set.

As you can see, a broken arm didn't scare him away from the monkey bars...no, he takes them on like a champ all the time!

We took a picnic lunch and ate at the park in between playing, and I swear we didn't spike their drinks! :) It's amazing what fresh air and sunshine can do to a guy....

Silly boy!

Yep...fresh air/sunshine high apparently wore off. I wanted to get one last picture of the two boys together, and this is what I got!!

Mason's Birthday Party!

Mason turned 3 years old on march 13th, and he had a big dinosaur party to celebrate on Saturday the 12th. Marla tried her skills at making and decorating the cake herself.......


she did an awesome job, if I do say so myself!

As usual, there was no shortage of presents, but they definitely saved the best for last.....

to say that Mason was completely shocked when he opened up the box would be an understatement. Once the initial shock wore off, he was carting him all over the house and outside. He even helped the little guy go down the slide...too bad I didn't get a picture of that. Mason decided to name his new puppy "Mater" from the movie CARS.

Aiden wasn't quite up to standing by himself with all of the cousins so I got to be part of the picture....score!

Cooper apparently was wore out from all of the festivities...and no he's not sitting up by himself...Grandma Peg was holding him up for the pictures! All of the kids had a ton of fun getting to play together, and the adults enjoyed grazing over all of the yummy food. It was a great party all around! Happy Birthday, Mason!