A Memorable Weekend

Okay.. here is a megabunch of pics and the like of our weekend. Hang on to your seats, grab a cup of coffee, and all you grandparents and aunts and uncles who couldn't make it, maybe you'll enjoy this post. You all were missed, but we still had fun. At least we can share it with you here!

The only attendees this year were Grandma Post and her friend Harold Abbott. Grandma came with gifts for the kids... a bagful of goodies, if you will.



She also brought the "non-birthdayers" a little something. Here is a little gift for Isaac, which I plan on NOT using for a long time yet.



Mr. Abbott and Jerusha seemed to hit it off really well. Here they are writing on a little white board gadget from Grandma Post. Mr. Abbott was very impressed Jerusha could easily write some numbers!

OOOPS... lost that pic. Hmmmm... anyway, here is a pic with Isaac and Mr. Abbott.



Instead of the traditional birthday cakes, we have taken to doing cupcakes with a "decorate it yourself" assembly. Here are some samples of the creative decorators! Some of us were lame and just wanted to indulge in the mint chocolate chip ice cream. I'll you figure out who that was. ;)









Another diversion from tradition was that we had no wrapped gifts to hand out this year. They had to work for their present! We had a scavenger hunt. This was so much fun, I think I will do it again next year.

The first clue:
"This is the beginnig of a little trail,
To get to the treasure must not fail,
It is for all in the birthday throng,
And all other in the family can come along,
The first clue is hidden inside,
The place where gardening tools like to reside."





They rightfully guessed the shed, and off they went. After a little searching they found Clue 2:
"The second clue leads to a shady space,
Where children like to have a reading place,
There are swings and a ladder to aid a climb,
Go and see what you can find."

That place for us is the tree house, and off they ran at top speed.



Clue 3:
"Everyone likes a juicy treat!
Especially one so red, cruchy, and sweet.
Roses are red and violets are blue,
But this is a fruit, now find the next clue!"



After hunting in the watermelon plants, someone got the bright idea.. "Hey, maybe it was an apple!"



I never thought about the watermelons, but it just added to the fun. They found clue number 4 and read the following:
"That was too easy, now you must think:
Where do you find something cold to drink?"

That lead them to the fridge, and after much plundering inside it, found the clue on top of the fridge. Hehehe! Dale planted that clue, so even I was wondering what happened to it there for a bit.

Clue 5:
"Well done! Now you must go,
Where in the winter there is a BIG pile of snow!"

For us that is by the basketball court. Mr. Butch purposely plows a huge hill from the driveway and church parking lot for the kids. They slide, make tunnels, it is a lot of fun. I missed them finding that clue, because I was checking on Isaac who was in the middle of a marathon 3 hour nap.

Clue 6:
"Just one more clue and you will see,
What the treasure could possibly be.
The Gatekeeper is your daddy, yes it is he;
Your treasure is locked up, and he has the key."

They went to Dale, who had their present in the van, all locked up and hidden under a bunch of bagged clothes and stuff for Salvation Army.



Hopefully that video works!



Monday Dale was home since it was a holiday, and Butch dropped off this big, heavy mower, sans blades and motor for the kids to play with. He had heard how they liked to have the regular mower off and in neutral and push each other around the yard. Now they have this old junkie one to do with as they please.



Dale started setting up the pool. First we had to make a level clearing.



Then put down this plastic to protect the bottom of the pool from any harp edged rocks sticking up.



Fill the rim with air.



Start filling it with water. I wonder how many gallons it will take. We didn't do more than put enough in so we could finish getting the wrinkles out of the bottom.

Jerusha was sitting in her chair waiting and kept asking.. "Is it almost done?" Uh, I don't think so!





Meanwhile, I was doing laundry and tending to Isaac. Everyone was eager to "help" Dale with the pool. We are working on putting more water in it today. We'll run the hose for a while, then turn it off to give the pump a rest, then turn it back on. This could take quite a few days!

Isaac enjoys being outside. I can usually sit next to him and knit for a while. We had fun watching the pool being set up, and looking forward to many hours of cooling off later when the weather heats up.



Now... on to that quilt!!!!