I know a good post when I see one

I am a big fan of Okie girl Rhee Drummond's blog Confessions of a Pioneer Woman and her Memorial day pics are amazing. As we enjoy our day off please take time to remember why we are so lucky to have so much in this country.

A big THANK YOU to all those who serve. Especially from the Pruitt brigade!

A Whole One

Gunnar is officially one!!! Thursday was his actual birthday when we opened family presents and then yesterday we had a BBQ with friends to celebrate. It was a real birthday miracle that the weather actually cooperated and we were able to enjoy the yard and all the yummy food. Here are some shots from the big day:

Wow talk about bang for your buck. Gunnar can't get enough of the helium balloons from the Dollar Tree:

Here is my beautiful friend and her little man. You can see how beautiful the day was:

Nick's cousin and family bought Gunnar a Rody. Huge hit! And fun for the whole family:


We had cake galore with an amazing chocolate creation by Nick and a yummy Russian treat from Lilly. Here is the big candle blowout:

A final parting shot of the whole clan:

Time Lapse

As you can see from my posts we spend A LOT of time in our kitchen. That means that often Gunnar's toys are tupperware, pots and pans, rice in jars etc. He gets more adventurous by the day and now enjoys getting into every cabinet. We have locks on some but on others no harm done and it keeps him busy so who cares. Here Nick captured the whirlwind in motion:

Mother's Day

For my first Mother's Day my mom sent me a couple of gifts. Here is Gunnar helping me open them:

One was a little trivet that says "Of course I can do anything, I am a mother". Love it! I have it on my desk at work where it gets a lot of appreciation.

Yummies

Nick decided to cook up some of his Grandma Bess' cookies last weekend and of course his best man wanted to help too:

The look on Gunnar's face as he tries to peer into the mixing bowl is priceless!

River is OPEN

With this barely spring weather it is really important to get out and enjoy any nice day as you never know how long it will last. Last week Gunnar, Truck and I went down to the river after dinner.

Here is the regal old man standing guard:


Gunnar LOVING the sand:

One of his aunties is handing down her sandbox and we are VERY excited!

SMACKDOWN!! ISR vs CS!

I really try to keep my blog a "work free" zone but I am afraid I will have to make an exception for this one. I am very lucky that my company;s motto is "Work hard and have fun". This week I needed to choose someone for a voluntary position and two people raised their hands so I decided an arm wrestling match would be the only reasonable way to solve it. There were belts, hula hoops and a lot of laughter (warning you may need to turn the volume down). Enjoy!

Feed Bag Totes

I have had several inquiries as to the instructions for make the recycled tote bags. Here are some great step by step instructions. Now send me one!

Like mama like stinky

Sunday Gunnar and I were outside pretty much all day after breakfast. He took a time out for a quick nap midday and then he was at it again. I did a major yard clean up and burn plus some general yard work and Gunnar was a big help. He was on point for crawling in the mud, eating handfuls of dirt, trying to eat every rock etc.

My favorite point of the day was when he discovered the hose. At first he just wanted to drag it around. Then I turned it on so we could wash our hands a little bit and he fell in love! As a kid I can remember that amazing smell of the warm hose and how the water would go from HOT to COLD as you took those refreshing slurps. Nothing like some hose water to quench you on a summer day. Apparently Stinky feels the same way:

What a difference a year makes

I got this really cute shot of Gunnar and his Papa on the tractor Sunday afternoon. I couldn't help but compare it to last year as we approach Gunnar's first birthday.
May 1 2011:

July 30 2010:

Wow, our little man sure is growing up fast!

A hint of spring

What a wonderful May Day! Sunday was a TPTGTP day (too pretty to go to Portland day) so Gunnar and I skipped swimming lessons for a little spring cleaning on the farm.

Here are some pics of pre spring happenings:

My die hard daisies already making an appearance:
A friend gave us literally a hundred strawberry plants thinned from a neighbor's yard so we now have a fully stocked berry hill (which the deer continue to destroy), berries all along the back fence of the garden and a berry corner. YUM!
We moved all the chicks into the large stall in our barn. The reds are getting so big!
Nick tilled our side yard and planted some seed just in time for the wet week ahead:
And it is so much fun he tilled the neighbor's yard too: