JUNE BIRTHDAYS

This weekend we drove to Woodburn to celebrate the June birthdays in the Weathersby household.  The Moffits were able to join us this year to celebrate the birthdays of Bethany, Silas and Devon.

Tim and Bethany hand out balloons for the highly competitive Stomp-The-Balloon contest.

Nana helps Naomi and Ashley helps Neo tie balloons to their ankles. 

Silas ties balloons to his ankles.

Tim prepares for the contest.

Devon, Ally and Daisy get ready for the game.

And the stomping begins.

Naomi watches from the sidelines.

Neo watches as his balloon is about to get popped.

Ally and Neo cover their ears in anticipation of the sound of an exploding balloon.

The last two standing.



Time for Silas and Devon to open their gifts.

Devon watches Silas take his turn at opening a gift.

The crowd surrounds the two birthday boys.

Naomi and Neo, among others, continue watching Silas and Devon open their gifts.

An expressive speaker and a captivated audience.

An expressive speaker and a captivated audience.

Naomi asked if she could use the camera and took a picture of Aunt Ashley...

...and a picture of Papa...



...and a picture of Aunt Beep.

Aunt Beep then took a picture of Naomi.



This year's birthday cake consisted of Decorate-It-Yourself cupcakes.

Ally and Daisy consume their cupcake creations.



Ice cream bars accompanied the cupcakes.  Neo holds his ice cream bar while Tyler longingly gazes at it.

Tyler up close.

Silas enjoys his new doodle book.



Neo competes in a game of croquet.



Ally and Josh square off in a game of Washers.

Daisy and Ashley take their turn at Washers.

Papa and Neo

Naomi resting in the trunk of a car.

The party ends, the guests depart, and the family goes for a walk around the block - Naomi on the bicycle, Neo on the scooter, while Josh, Ally and Belinda take up the rear.

MEMORIAL DAY 2012

DEVON'S PATCH

A couple of months ago, Devon spent the weekend with us and helped me with a lawn re-seeding project.  A dying tree had been cut down earlier, leaving a large bare spot on the front lawn.  Thanks to Devon's labor, the patch he re-seeded is now beautifully green and blends in nicely with the rest of the front lawn.



Before Devon's re-seeding



After Devon's re-seeding



Before Devon's re-seeding



After Devon's re-seeding

TEE-BALL, TOY, TREE AND A TRUCK

This weekend I made one final visit to the Moffit's home before their return to the Philippines at the end of this summer.  I arrived at Azalea Park for Neo's morning tee-ball game.  Following the game, Belinda took the kids home while Josh and I hit the garage sales looking for a lawn mower.

After we found one, we returned to the house where we mowed the lawn and played under beautiful, sunny skies.

 

Neo prepares for his next "at bat".

Neo swings and connects while Josh assists at the plate and Daisy (orange sweatshirt), Belinda (black skirt and sweatshirt) and Ally (behind fence beside Belinda) watch the game.

Belinda plays with the new toy.

Josh plays with the new toy.

Daisy, Ally and Neo rest in a tree.

All three take a brief break from catching pollywogs in the stream that runs beside the driveway.

Daisy washes my truck.  Yeah, that's what she's doing.  She's washing my truck.

A hovering hawk joined us for part of the afternoon. 

ADDING BEAUTY, COLOR AND LIFE

Our front yard lacks color.  We have hedges and shrubs, but they're mostly green or shades of green.  

So, today, Debra and I visited our favorite nursery and bought some colorful plants to brighten up the yard.  We also bought a new tree to replace our old tree that died.

This is our front walkway before we went to the nursery this morning.

I kept my eye on the rear view mirror on the way home from the nursery, concerned that our new crab apple tree might be damaged during transport.

The tree and the flowers arrived home injury-free.

Debra filled five flower pots lining our front walkway.
The colors should explode as spring gives way to summer.

 

Debra fills the hanging flower pots
with colorful petunias.

I hang the petunias.

I dig a hole for our new tree, then place the tree into the ground.

Debra and I hide behind our beautiful new crab apple tree.

TRIP TO THE COAST

Realizing a couple of months ago that the Moffit's one-year furlough was quickly coming to an end, and realizing that I wasn 't satisfied with the amount of time I have been able to see them, Belinda and I nailed down some specific weekends for visiting before they return to the Philippines.

I left early from work on Friday, drove to Brookings, and spent two nights with Josh, Belinda, Daisy, Ally and Neo. Following Daisy's baptism at their church on Sunday, I returned home.

Ally sacrificed her room for me to sleep in and left a framed greeting for me on her nightstand.

Belinda showed me a couple of projects from her recent art class: A painting of Neo placed on a kitchen counter and a painting of a daffodil hanging under the stairs.

On Saturday morning, Neo and I drove down to the road to get the newspaper.

We spent some time at Harris Beach before Belinda and I participated in the local Art Walk and before the rest of the family attended T-Ball practice where Neo plays on the team, Josh coaches the team, and Daisy and Ally help as assistant coaches.

Seagulls circled above us at the beach, nearly within our reach.