Spring makes my fever right

Three tulips bloomed in this barrel six springs ago, when I needed them most, and I found four extras last week - I hope they survive and bring some spring to us soon....


The birds were everywhere in our yard yesterday; you could feel this major shift from the quiet blanket of snow to the melting and activity of getting ready for spring

Harry and I made his first (bigger) snowman - Jack opted for the warmth of the house

And Harry has been talking about snow angels for the last 4 days - he finally did it!

Just under three weeks, yippee!

And, oops, I missed my little bloggy anniversary - Monday 3/2 marked one year and 447 (yikes!) posts

Spring Fever

I'm as daffy as a daffodil

I'm not sure about this picture, but it shows my favorite tree, which is about to bloom, and my favorite boys saying goodbye to Joe after a fun playdate

We'll have daffodils soon!
And here's Jack's latest favorite game - being Ms Ivana (the story hour lady)
he actually requests that we call him Mr. Jack while he's reading :rolleyes: :wub:

Petunia The Gardener's Daughter

Roustabouts are roustabout'n

Any excuse to use Elvis, here you see one of my favorite roustabouts helping to get the party started - Harry taking gifts into Griffin's bouncing party

Sam's big brother Zachary and his posse during the party
Somehow I didn't get many pix that weren't complete blurs, a sure sign that
It was a lot of fun!
Thanx for the great goodies :-)
Happy Birthday, Griffin! Welcome to the 4's!

And it was another two-a-day for our guys, not a bad problem to have, eh? Their girl, Caroline (of the naming HarryJack fame!), celebrated her 6th birthday with a Carnival-themed party. Her mom knocked herself out coming up with fun games and deco - here are some highlights:
Jack pins-the-nose-on-the-clown
Harry and Jack walking the 'tight rope'

There were three stages: simply walking, walking while balancing a beanbag on their head, and then doing it after 'the spin'

Caroline and her cheering squad playing the penny toss game

(basically an excuse for lots and lots of candy!)

Jack, Tim, and Harry waiting their turns

Dean and Harry cheering on the festivities

Harry loves him some popcorn, and watching this old-fashioned machine work its magic was a great science-y time!

Fireman Jack taking a break with his 'firebird' after a big rescue

And if you remember the cookie cutter gender post, here's an 'official' shield...you were all right!

And the roustabout'n continues as Jack helps round up all the bags and paper and bows after the big unwrapping fest - great job, helpful boy!

It was such a joy for me to watch them picking special gifts for Caroline -

they spent quite a while picking out just the perfect bear, puzzle, heart globe, game and craft for her, and it was fun to see how excited they were (tho Harry got shy at the actual giving). Thanx so much for letting us celebrate with you, Caroline!

Welcome to the 6's!

Elvis Presley's It's Carnival Time

Why Can't Every Day Be Like Christmas

Miracles do happen, as evidenced by the green numbers you see - woohoo! After 7am is unheard of these days, especially when they are so excited, but rest was needed....4 hours is plenty, right??

Here is the damage from the camera incident...ouch!
Waiting for Daddy to go see if there were any visitors

One of the two things Jack asked Santa to bring was this Lightning computer

Harry starts the big dig thru his Santa bag

They got a lot of retro toys this year, and stockings full of all sorts of treasures

....including their version of Sid's microphone

with which Harry interviewed Daddy

and answered questions and sang songs

There were a few boxing matches

One of the two things Harry asked Santa for was an astonaut with a helmet

(the flag was a bonus!)

They are investigating the evidence of the reindeer enjoying the snacks they left

Opening some of their gifts to each other

One of the best things about the day for me was the joy they took in giving gifts - Jack was thrilled to give us our gifts (including self-written labels)

and he got a few hugs in return

I loved this picture of Harry opening his Lincoln Logs (thanx cousin Emily!)

And this one seemed fairly magical to me

Jack scored big time...

as did Harry

They got cameras, so the lens is on the other face....rutroh! payback?

Jack and Daddy taking a moment to read some directions and snuggle

Harry spent Christmas dinner sacked out in Daddy's chair :-(

Dean's brother Les joined us for the day, and it was really wonderful to relax, cook a nice meal and enjoy it with all the boys!

Jack ordering up his day-after breakfast on the awesome griddle from Grandma and Papa S -thanx, it will be put to great use!

Thanx to everyone who helped make this 'the best Christmas EVER!' We enjoyed all the gifts and all the phone calls.

Hope your holidays were merry and bright!

I'd catch that train tomorrow - Boys' tree

The tree in their room went up this morning, with a whole lotta boy glee

Jack and Daddy setting the stage
Harry giving Santa some reminders about the tree he'll be responsible for holding

Jack directing the action while Dean sets the tree

Jack gets a little dramatic about the train set-up

Harry finds a Santa car and makes sure it works

Jack loads up on the train track

Daddy gets jiggy as the train is comin' 'round the bend

Harry showing off his own bling-flingin' style

Ta-DA!

And oooh, look at all that tacky, er beautiful, lite!

Can you spell Christmas magic without a boy and his train?

And for anyone who's wondering about the cool train in the tree, my Mom found it at Lowe's many years ago - I look for it most every year for friends and have yet to find another :-(

It is truly awesome - great sounds, and it even smokes, the train-y kind not the stinky kind!

Elvis's I'll Be Home For Christmas