HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

Buddy's Birthday- update

Today started out really SWEET.
Donuts with Dad.

Then Michelle surprised him with a heart shaped 'peener jelly'. Buddy's fave- Michelle and the sandwich!


It wasn't a shock at all that Buddy requested Topper's Pizza for his birthday dinner. I heard his sister's bribing him this afternoon. So, pizza it was for the boy who, five years ago, opened my eyes to the unbreakable bond between mothers and sons.



Happy Birthday Budderson. We love you!

I'M BACK!

Did you miss me?

After a few day in Oregon and then a few days home, I left again. This time I went with my Aunt Karen and Cousin, Kailey, to Idaho. We spent 4 days with our fingers intertwined with wedding details. My cousin, Katie, was getting married.

Here are the 10 tips I came away with:

1. Flying stand-by is NO BUENO.

2. I NEVER want to fly on a small airplane again- EVER!

3. Renting a car in one location and returning it to another location is DOUBLE the price.

4. The drive from Spokane to Moscow, ID is probably the most peaceful drive on the planet. Plan ahead however, you will not see a public restroom along the way.

5. California might be the only state that has not given in to the idea of drive-thru coffee stops- GENIUS!

6. Picking out make-up for the bride (without her) the day before the wedding really isn't that difficult.

7. Waitresses at 11:45pm sometimes speak without filters.

8. A bride that can nap 30 minutes before her wedding is a rare, but beautiful thing.

9. If you are having a wedding, ask your guests to help with refreshments. If they each bring a cake to share you will get the credit and everyone will be REALLY happy!

10. If all you have heard for the past few days is that the Wedding Reception is all about DANCING, believe whoever is giving you this information. Then, when you decide to 'march' in the GRAND MARCH you will know what you are getting into...and yes, it will involve running, kicking, skipping, bowing...and yes, it will last for at least 20 minutes- especially if your cousin 'DJ WES' put the music together.

PICTURES!

Kailey and I thought it would be fun to take some pictures with each member of the Saunders crew at the Wedding-

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to the boy who continues to inspire us.

We love you TATER BUN.

Back Home

Our girls trip to Oregon came and went way too quickly. Here are a few highlights:

Gavin, as always, stole my heart. In fact, I think I left part of it with him.


Bailey requested a bike ride for her birthday, so we hit the road and headed to Starbucks for breakfast.


These two sweeties kept us cracking up the whole time.


AGHHH, have you ever seen anything so cute!


KINDRED...see next picture


This is our girls in 20 years :)


Did I mention my heart?

BELLA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELLA!
Wish we could be with you today to celebrate. We are so thankful for you and your friendship. We can't wait to see all of the ways the Lord is going to use you. You are a precious friend.

Birthday Gift

Bailey's 9th birthday is on Wednesday. It's hard to imagine, but every year has been. Mike and I surprised Bailey with a trip to Oregon (she also earned it by reading a TON). I think we set the bar too high last year that we knew nothing could compare. So, we are going back. It's a girls trip and I can't wait. We leave in the morning and I am sure I won't be the only one wide awake in bed tonight.

In preparation for the trip I made hair cut appointments. Everyone desperately needed SOMETHING done. Bailey decided that for her birthday she wanted to give a gift- her hair. Did you know it only takes a second to cut 10" of hair?



We hope that her hair blesses someone through LOCKS of LOVE. She was very emotional about it, but has now settled into having a 'style'. We think it is PERFECT for her!

SPOILED

It's not even Mother's Day yet and I am already feeling spoiled. Yesterday morning around 7:30am the door bell rang. The three big kids and I were snuggled on the couch in our pj's reading. I figured it must be important because NOBODY stops by that early in the morning. When we got to the door this is what we found-



My mom had stopped by and surprised us with BREAKFAST! She is flying up to my sister's house this weekend, so we will not get to celebrate with her. Happy Mother's Day, Mom, you made my day!

In the afternoon Bailey entered a contest and wrote this about me:

Mom to me is a fun, loving character with a wonderful heart. Breakfast time is fun because we snuggle with blankets. We sip Chai Tea while my mom reads to us. Our favorite thing at lunch is my favorite recipe Turkey Delight. It is more on the line of a sandwich. I thought it was so fun so my mom made up a song that goes "Turkey Delight, Turkey Delight, Oh how I love my Turkey Delight." My favorite thing at dinner is Chicken Noodle Casserole. We usually have a few side dishes such as fruit, salad, bread, or anything. Before dinner my mom does something rather interesting, we sing songs with hand motions- Open Shut them, Thank you Jesus for this food, and Creep them, Creep them. We do them for my 5 1/2year old brother, Tate. He has Down syndrome and can't communicate with words. Our family adopted him from Ukraine in 2008. Those are songs he enjoys. My mom makes dinner special in a lot of different ways. Sorry for the late entry but I only found out at 8:00 p.m. on the 6th. Give who ever wins a high five for me. This is Bailey McKay from Ventura, CA. I am nine. Thank you!!


I am BLESSED!

SMOKING A PIPE?

I have been rather stumped about something lately and it just became clear. Buddy has been caught several times 'smoking a pipe'. Now, that might not seem totally strange, but we live in CALIFORNIA. You NEVER see people smoking in California unless you are at an airport or outside of a club late at night. I am assuming the night club thing. I wouldn't know. I don't even stay up until midnight on New Years! So, where in the world did my 5 year old pick up the pipe smoking thing?

His favorite bed time book, of course!


The man in the BIG YELLOW hat smokes a pipe and now so does my son. And I thought reading was a good thing! Now, here is the funny part. A few weeks ago Mike was saying good bye to me (in bed) on his way to work. Buddy had already hijacked his spot and was snuggled up next to me. As Mike was walking out he noticed Buddy putting something into his mouth.
Mike: "Hey Son, what's that?"
Buddy: "It's my pipe".
Mike to Me (laughing): "Um, I don't think you want Buddy to have that".
Me (squinting my tired eyes open): "YUCK, Buddy, that is not something to play with".

Buddy had taken USED tampon applicators out of the trash can and had stock piled them to use as PIPES! AGHHHHHHH
I think we need to find a NEW book to read at bedtime. ;)

My Garden

Just to clarify, that was NOT a carrot out of my garden. We were visiting a local garden and Emmett just happened to pick the BIGGEST carrot out there.

Here are a few pictures of our garden. This year I decided to start with seeds rather than seedlings (mostly). Everything is growing really well. Several of the seeds we reserved from our crops last year. Our favorite was the yellow watermelon.

Lettuce (5 varieties), radishes, carrots and cucumbers.


Sugar snap peas, soy beans, spinach, cauliflower and broccoli.


Several varieties of each: Tomato, bell pepper, melons and eggplant.


Herbs and onions


Zucchini, squash, corn and peanuts.