A BIG Hiking Adventure!

 Brilyn has been asking to go hiking

almost every day!

 So - when I got a day off that's

what we did.

 We hiked to a secret waterfall

in the mountains.

 Brilyn and her little friend Madison

went all the way to the falls

with Uncle Billy and Austin.

(Austin is Alyssa's little brother. Billy and 

Austin sort of served as our guides)

 Madison surprised her Momma

by acting like a BIG girl!

 Billy had an opportunity or two

to show off!

(his specialty)

 And this is our group - minus me!

And it all started with Brilyn wanting

to go hiking!

 We found a crawdad - which Billy

explained to Brilyn was GOOD EATIN'.

 And learned that it might be best to kill

your prey before eating it.

Live prey bites back!

 Brilyn wanted no part of that ugly thing.

 Actually - it was kind of cute!

 But - not as cute as this little guy!

Weston enjoyed his first hiking trip,

and seemed very content when

he wasn't hungry.

 We saw Canadian Geese.

 Brilyn & Madison

  Brilyn & Madison

 We saw turtles!

And we saw deer!

It was a perfect day for hiking and

we had a great time!

And Brilyn wants to go again!

My Handsome Boy!

Babies grow up way too fast!

Just look at these boys!

 

 Weston is now 3 Months Old!

And sweeter than anything else you

see in this picture!

And Asher is 7 Months Old

and big enough to begin

getting into things!

He's awfully sweet, too!

Babies are just not babies long enough!

Precious Siblings

Just look at these two!

Aren't they precious?

I have been busy,

and I have not had much computer

time, so I have gotten behind

on blogging.

Did you miss me?

 

A Hiking Trip

 Our playgroup went on a hiking trip.

And this was pretty much my view.

The backside of Brilyn!

 The kids led the way and were

free to discover and explore.

 Kayli, Kodi & Brilyn

We hiked deep into the refuge,

had a picnic,

and hiked out again.

It was a great day of fun 

and good exercise!

Olivia's Cowgirl Birthday Party!

Olivia wanted a cowgirl

birthday party!

She may live in a city, but she

is a country girl at heart.

The girls spent some time in the barn

helping to get the horses ready....

and then....

 Olivia rode into the arena on a

white horse!

(aka Popcorn)

 She was followed by Brilyn and

Grace, who rode in on horses, too.

Then all of the party guest

got to ride horses.

 They also got to hit a pinata

with a stick.

 And eat cake!

 And watch Olivia open presents.

 Almost all of Olivia's best friends

were able to make it.

(however, we missed Tyler Grace)

 I think it was fun for everyone!

 And these last two pictures are Grace

and Brilyn helping get the horses

ready. I just didn't want to put them

in order because I wanted to

lead with Olivia riding in on the horse.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Today is my husband, Greg's Birthday!

(I call him Speedy)

Happy Birthday, Speedy!

Or Greg, or Grandpa!

I hope you have a wonderful day

and a wonderful year ahead.

You deserve it.

For all you do, and for all you are.

 

DIGGING FOR GOLD!!!!!

 Not too long ago as I was cleaning up

the backyard I saw space under the deck and

had a thought.... I called my husband out to

see what he thought....

AND YES! There was room enough down

there for a sand box.

He actually went to Lowe's and bought

materials and built it that very day.

 

Here it is... hidden under the deck.

Sheltered from wind, and sun!

 And here it is being enjoyed by grandchildren!

I had planned to introduce it at the February

Birthday party, but it was too cold.

So - we hunted for gold indoors.

 But while Grace and Olivia were here,

I decided to try the Gold Rush again.

 It's much more fun in the sandbox!

 Just look at that gold.

 Brilyn and Grace were very

good gold diggers.

Olivia preferred to stay inside

with Momma and help 

run the Gold Exchange aka

prize box/store.

But, the gold diggers shared

their gold with Olivia and Asher

and they all got prizes and had

a good time.

I think Grandpa's sand box is

a big hit!

A VERY Special Tea Party

Since the girls love Tea Parties

so much, and they now behave

so well, I thought it might be fun to have

a SPECIAL Tea Party!

 We went to Olive Garden!

 The girls brought their dolls and

each doll received a baby doll as a gift.

 And each girl received a Barbie!

 

We celebrated Lillian's Birthday!

Lillian is my Heart 4 Hearts Girl

doll and she sat by Brilyn at the party.

(see her head sticking up out of that high chair at the end of the table?)

 Lillian got her own special desert.

 The rest of us, got a taste of each

of the Cheesecakes, Cakes, and Italian

Doughnuts that Olive Garden serves.

 It was DELICIOUS!

And it was Grace's favorite thing that

we did on this particular

visit! Olivia liked milking the cow.

I liked BOTH! 

(and this is Brilyn's plate. A sampler of delicious

Olive Garden deserts.)

What's for Breakfast?

Grace and Olivia

are as different as night and day!

When you ask Grace what she wants

for breakfast, it's almost

always Bacon, Eggs

and Pancakes!

(here, I've added a cream cheese filled crepe with raspberry topping)

Olivia on the other hand

wants something sweet!

She would prefer doughnut holes

but she will eat muffins, or buscuits

with honey or pancakes or waffles

or just about anything sweet!

So, when I offered them biscuits and chocolate

gravy she loved it!

Grace, however, was not a fan!

Don't you just love how God maked

each child unique and special?

Some things are enjoyed more by one child

than they are another.

I think this may be God's way of ensuring

that we create special memories of each.

And if you want the recipe for that

Chocolate Gravy

I got it from Nana Diana  

Over at Nana Diana Takes a Break!