Weston is 8!

I can hardly believe we have an 8 year-old! Soon I will post a few "progression" photos from Weston's 8 years on earth, but for now I'll just post a few birthday photos.

I can't believe I pulled this one off. It was fun to make, but I'm not ready to take the cake-making reigns from Memaw Mary. Sorry Mom, you're not off the hook ;)

No more babyish birthdays for this boy! We're talkin' weapons and camo!

It was only after I frosted hundreds of tiny grass blades ONE AT A TIME that my mom happened to mention there was a special grass decorating tip. Gee....thanks mom.

Noah kept poking his finger into the frosting while I was trying to pose. He is very focused on sugar.

Mother's Day Cards

I had to post my Mother's Day cards from the kids. So cute and creative. Mike said Weston was totally peeved that Grace was copying his idea. She sat and copied with a little smile on her face while he loudly protested.
These cards were delivered to me in bed in bed on Sunday morning along with a yummy breakfast of eggs, toast, OJ and coffee. I think Joy got to me first and woke me up with a wet snout in my face. :) Pretty fun way to start Mother's Day (the cards and breakfast, not the snout)!

This is Mr. Noah's card. I'm sure it took him about 2 minutes, but he was very proud of it.

Grace's card. I guess I should have put Weston's first since she copied him. If you can't tell, it's a coffee mug with a flower growing in it.

Elsie's card is me in a tutu with roses all around. I was particularly impressed with her roses. Her picture is a little hard to see because she had folded it into a teeny-tiny little square and stuffed it into an envelope. It's a little wrinkled.

This is the original coffee mug with a flower. I love how coffee is splashing in the mug. Weston pays attention to detail in his drawings.

Mini-Vacation to Long Beach, WA

Our family took a 3 night getaway to Long Beach, WA this past weekend. Mike and I decided we would take the kids away on a fun trip after all the stress of house-hunting and our house purchase falling through. We had a great time exploring the peninsula in the sunshine! Although the beach was fun, the highlights of the trip were the two hikes we took to the Cape Disappointment and North Head lighthouses. The photo above was taken in Dead Man's Cove on the way to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. It was this beautiful little cove with rocks to climb on and driftwood to explore. It was definitely a highlight of the trip.

This is the North Head Lighthouse. We couldn't go inside, but the views were pretty.

This boy loves to be outdoors. Sometimes I'm amazed at how he can entertain himself for hours with sticks and dirt (or sand).

Noah loved the sand too. Oregon is perfect for winter hats and bare feet!

It was fun to drive on Long Beach! We even passed other vehicles and horses on our way into town.

On Sunday we played at Fort Columbia. We explored the bunkers and hiked around the beautiful park. The bunkers are pretty creepy, but I'm sure the men stationed here during WWII were thankful for them.

Sunday was also the Loyalty Day Parade for the Long Beach Peninsula. We sat for a few hours and watched the parade. The kids were more excited about the candy than any of the marching bands or clowns. My favorite club that marched was a group of people from Portland called the "Get a Life Marching Band". They appeared to all be in their late 50's to 70's. I found their webpage and this is how they describe themselves, "We were all in high school or college marching bands. We still haven't gotten over it. We'd rather miss a note than a meal!" Their 2011 slogan is, "We don't need good taste to know what tastes good." I'm still not sure what the eating has to do with marching bands and drill teams, but they were having tons of fun so I guess it doesn't matter. In fact, they seemed to be having way more fun than the junior high and high school marching bands and drill teams. Noah waved at everyone marching by. We're talking hours of waving. He's quite the friendly guy!

A break from hiking to enjoy the daisies.

Mike and I agreed we could have stayed on the peninsula for a week and kept busy. What a beautiful part of Washington! We look forward to visiting again someday!