A Spring Teaser Day and a Big Birthday

Do you remember your 10th birthday?  Oh, I know it was a LOOONG time ago but it was most likely a memorable one.  After all, you were in TWO DIGITS for the very first time.  That’s a big deal when you’re a youngster.  Our youngest grandson, Brendan, had his very special 10th birthday yesterday and we celebrated with a party at Papa’s Pizza.




 




The birthday boy is looking mighty pleased with his success at blowing out all the candles.  That’s dad, Joel, on the left and mom, Colony, on the right.


Brendan is very much like his dad used to be…always mugging for the camera.  Most every picture of Joel as a kid has him wearing a funny face.

It seems every February we get some Spring Teaser Days here in the Willamette Valley.  Sometimes they are wicked teasers, like yesterday.  We looked outside mid-morning and there was not a cloud in the sky.  GREAT!  Hurried to Sub-Way for a couple of “to-go” sandwiches and we were off for a ride in the sunshine.  Hold on, not so fast!!  As soon as we started out the clouds rolled in and it started to rain.  We followed a tiny patch of blue sky trying to catch up to the sunshine, but it never happened.  That’s okay!  We had a nice drive and stopped along the Calapooia River to have our lunch.
It was raining hard so I just jumped out for a quick shot of the river – didn’t try to get a shot without the signs.  I regretted it later so had some PhotoShop fun and got rid of the signs!!  It’s not perfect, but I like it better without the clutter.










The last time we were at this park, near Brownville, OR, we had Rusty with us.  We were able to remember his excitement and love of exploration without any tears.  We are remembering all the happy times and how much Rusty loved to explore new places.  You could see his whole face light up when we stopped someplace he had never been before.








These photos were taken in March 2008.  Doesn’t seem that long ago.  Sure is nice to have such happy memories of our Boy.



So today was another one of those teaser days.  Not quite as sunny but it was warm (by our standards!!).  Off to the nearby park to get a little exercise with our Poppy girl.  She climbed the steps to the slide.


It’s a good thing we had her leashed as I think she would have tried to go on down!  At any rate, she seemed to enjoy the view from up high.


We were surprised to find a Camilla bush in bloom already.  I have a white one in my yard but I like this bright pink one much better.


It was so nice to see the touches of color beginning to appear.  Always brightens my day.  As for Poppy, she was just glad to be out riding in the car.