Happy Bunny Day!

The boys were very excited this morning waking up to find they each had an Easter basket!  They came running into our room saying the Easter bunny came...and that he was being very silly because an alligator was eating their chocolate bunny!  I think the Easter bunny sure does know what boys like!

We had some friends over for egg dying, egg hiding and finding, and brunch.

The boys couldn't believe that the eggs were actually cooked inside the shell.

I am relieved that the boys didn't ask many questions about Easter...how, in a non-religious way, do you explain a holiday where a bunny hides colored chicken eggs and you eat chocolate bunnies?  Hmmmm?

Silly boys getting ready to search for eggs!

Where are the eggs?

Checking out the loot.  Cole was excited about the gummy treat.  And yes those are rain coats they are wearing...the sun is gone and the rain is back.  The boys are not affected much by the rain.

Little Elise, sister of Anders, fell in love with Grandma June today.  She asked to be held by June and sat on her lap most of the day...she even called her 'grandma'! 

Springtime fun!

This Thursday we all took off school and work and went to the Portland Children's Museum for some serious fun.  We even got to meet up with our friends Anders his sister Elise and parents Brett and Helen.  Serious fun.
The boys really enjoyed this plumbing wall.  You could hook together all this pvc pipe and then push a button on the water heater looking device on the far right and it would blow air into the pipes so you could feel it at the end of the connection. 

 And of course you must wear a safety vest for this kind of work!

There was a pet hospital where Cole liked giving the dogs a bath.

We seriously couldn't get them to leave the water room.  Totally cool and totally wet!

One of their favorite places and where we probably spent the most time was the clay room.

Cole was very proud of his square and circle (with a roof) that he built!

Dylan even got to make a bowl at a potting wheel.

We went out to dinner before heading back to Corvallis.  Here are the boys...I was trying to take a picture of all three of them but I guess I was asking them to look at me AND the bright sun!  That and they just like making silly faces!  It was a very full day and the boys were asleep before we were even out of Portland!

Yesterday we were invited to visit some brand new baby lambs at one of my co-workers house.  The boys were excited to see the lambs but the highlight was really throwing balls for their two dogs.  The boys were so amazed that the dogs would bring the balls back and drop them at their feet if they just said "drop it". Wouldn't it be so nice if children listened so intently!

It was actually sunny and warmish today!  The first of the season.  I don't know if it was quite a 'shirtless' day in my opinion...but Dylan will take it any time he can!  We are doing a little crafting and moon sand playing after a busy day of yard work.  Forecast for tomorrow and most of the week...rainy.  It was nice while it lasted!

All species parade

This weekend we participated in an All Species Parade in celebration of Earth Day.  We were dressed up as a bat and a dragon and were with friends that were a panda bear and lady bug.

Dad got to borrow a cool dragon hat!!

Waiting for the parade to start!

The boys thought the best part of the parade was getting to walk in the streets behind the safety blockades!

Later, after hitting the farmers market and having lunch Dad got tired so the boys pulled him around for a while!

Our little hikers

 Our guys are true Oregonians...they don't mind being out in the rain (actually they love it) and they love hiking.

Oh aren't they sweet...sometimes!

This is a park just in north Corvallis...we sure live in a great place!

They are looking out over Corvallis.

Cole is a happy guy.

And a silly guy!

They are boys...and it's not too hard to find mud around here.  This is the clean version.

Friends, projects and jello

We had a busy and fun filled week this past week.  We did some rainy day activities...yes it is still raining.  A fun afternoon was filled with a couple of our guy friends at the bowling alley. We sure know how to have fun!!

Mom also finished a Maple Room class project (Dylan's class) that will be auctioned off at the boys school's annual auction fundraiser.

The children in the class sewed around the tree and leaf and sewed on buttons.  They did such a great job!!

 

I sewed the children's pieces together into a tablecloth and  put together two table settings.

 

The students were so excited to see the finished product!

Dylan was very excited to show it off to the classroom.

Such cuties!

What is that bright fire ball in the sky?!  Oh right the sun...we almost forgot what that was.  This sure has been a cold wet spring!  We met up with our friends Anders, his sister Elise and their parents Brett and Helen for a little tennis lesson.

Cole didn't want to play by anyone else rules...as usual.  So he ended up just hitting balls himself.  But Dylan really got into it and did whatever Brett suggested.

Well the sun only lasted about a day...so we were back to finding new and exciting raining day activities.  So Mom got out some gelatin and fruit juice of course!  I made some homemade jello and placed some small toys inside.  I blind folded the boys and they had to feel for the objects and guess what it was.

That lasted about 30 seconds...the real fun came once the toys were out of the jello!  Then the true squishing fun began!

Not to mentioned the delight of eating what they were playing with!

Let me just say that I didn't get any pictures of the end of the adventure...but there was jello EVERYWHERE.  I'm talking hair, feet, table, floor, walls (in other parts of the house?), chairs, bathroom...and who knew that jello was so hard to clean up?!

Big Adventures and Sad Goodbye's

The past week or so was filled with fun adventures and sad goodbyes with our dearest friends Nicole, Matthew and Jonah. They have just moved to Yosemite National Park for Matthews new job. Yosemite is where we first really got to know Nicole and Matthew when we all (pre-boys) worked there in 1998.

Here we are on one of our last strolls through downtown Corvallis together in the rain...classic.

 

The boys made Jonah a few memento's to take to CA with him including painting some fabric that Mom turned into a blanket for Jonah to cuddle with.

They had to get rid of their fabulous sand box...so we decided to take it and reassemble it in our yard.

Got to use the old truck to transport all that very wet and very heavy sand! (An after picture with the sand box set up at our house to come...if it ever stops raining maybe the boys could actually play in it!)

Since it was spring break we also had a treat of visiting with our cousins Miles and Brooke while they visited Grandma and Grandpa Fiegener. The boys LOVE their big cousins! They always tell Rob and I that Miles is funnier than we are!

The boys like to be the tallest ones in the room...and with Dad and Grandpa in the room they don't have to take turns!

Nicole and Matthew's going away party at their house.

Rob is truly the muffin man. He baked a mountain of muffins for Jonah's birthday party!!

What 4 year old wouldn't have fun at a birthday party at Wacky Bounce?

After the birthday party a few of us headed over to a favorite lunch spot for some Vietnamese sandwiches. After lunch Dylan, Cole and Jonah hung out in the waiting area reading the books the restaurant left out for customers...including 'The birth of Vietnam', and other philosophical/spiritual works. They were entranced.

We lucked out when we found out Nicole and Jonah would be staying in our guest room for a good part of the week before leaving town. All the boys had a blast with the extended sleepover!

We will miss our friends terribly...but are getting by with the hope that they will return one day.

It takes a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye.