Riding bikes and making instruments

I took this on my phone.  I was so excited he'd figured it out that my words got a little tongue-tied.  This was a couple weeks ago.  He is riding like a pro now.  No help.  So fast.  Pete has, as you can see, upgraded from the tricycle to the bike with training wheels, which we borrowed from some neighbor friends.  He'll probably be riding by the end of the summer.  

 

This contraption was originally a marshmallow gun made by Grandpa Jerry.  They have since been taken apart and fashioned into all sorts of guns and...didgeridoo-like instruments.  Turn up your volume.

 

Annual Hanamatsuri

I was so excited to go to the D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival this year.

Being among the cherry blossoms makes me so nostalgic for Japan. Hana=flower, matsuri=festival.

With all the warm weather, the blossoms were a couple weeks early this year.

The sky was so blue. I love walking under the soft, pink flowers.

To make it even more special, it is the 100th anniversary of the trees being gifted by Japan to our nation's capital.

We picked a beautiful day and we had the company of wonderful friends.

A motley looking crew.

Here we are.

My little lady.

The little inch worms were a favorite.

We took our wagon again.

Rosie travels in style.

Stopping for lunch under a blooming magnolia tree. The huge petals kept falling on our heads and Rosie tried to eat one.

I already can't wait to go again next year.

Dr. Seuss Party

How to have a smashing Dr. Seuss' Birthday Party:

1. Gather all your Seussy paraphernalia.

2. Invite friends and dress up!!

3. Cheese it up.

4. Have story time, reading your favorite Dr. Seuss books.

5. Zone out while listening to reading.

6. Play a game of "What's In The Cat's Hat".

(Charlie, the Hat Master, won because we couldn't guess what was in the hat...one of our thousands of magnets from the fridge.)

7. Have a puppet show!

7. Color your own Dr. Seuss magnets.

8. Make Cat In The Hat treats.

9. Eat 'em.

10. Have green eggs and ham for dinner.

Eating snow

Salutations

"I'm this many"

When we asked Pete what kind of birthday he wanted, he replied, "A yellow birthday!!". Okay, Pete, you got it. Its his favorite color. This was possibly the strangest cake I've ever made, complete with a yellow Peep, 3 yellow candles, yellow Starbursts, yellow star sprinkles, yellow Pez, and yep, you see it, yellow corn skewers!



When we asked Pete what he wanted for his birthday, he thought for a bit and then his face lit up and he said, "A toy!"

We just had a family party but look at all this loot!!

A whole hand full!

The day has come, my Charlie man turned 5. He was soooo excited to be 5, finally. So many things are possible when you are 5.

My attempt at a Death Star cake, learned how here. It looked really cool and Charlie was super excited. However, the fondant didn't taste good at all and the black food coloring spray had a funny taste. We ate maybe half of it before it went bad.

I love how Evan, Charlie's preschool friend, is posing here. He has done this a few times, apparently.



This is Charlie's friend from church, Ireland. She is soooo cute and I'm planning their arranged marriage.

You can kind of see the cupcakes I made with light saber picks and storm trooper rings. The plates and table cover were 3D!


We had light saber fights with long, skinny balloons.

Another favorite present was a Yoda Lego Star Wars watch that came with the figure, thanks Grammy! We took Charlie to the Lego Store in Annapolis and he picked out some Lego Star Wars mini figures with light sabers. Overall it was a very good birthday.