Happy 3rd Birthday, Ben!

Welcome Ben! April 28, 2006

Tiny feet and toes.

Worn out after a rough first journey.

Visitors

One day old and expressing his thoughts already!

Blueberry muffins....Ben's favorite breakfast!

Decked out in some of his new tools from Grandma and Grandpa.

A new shirt from Nan and Teddy....the tricycle looks just like Ben's. The shirt says, "This is how I roll."

Holding one of his new Desperaux books....but not the signed first edition color printing (that goes on a shelf for safe keeping).

Three years ago at 8:11 on a Friday morning, Brian and I welcomed Benjamin David Browder into the world after 4 hours and 21 minutes of labor. Ben weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces and emerged with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck three times. After some work from the respiratory therapist to get his lungs and airways cleaned up he then met more of his family...Grandma Norma and Grandpa Bob, Auntie Beth, Uncle Pete, Kayla, and Auntie Steph. All of them were there within a couple hours of his birth. Later in the day Auntie Pauline, Uncle Howie, and Olivia arrived to meet Ben as well. And within a couple more days Great Aunt Janet and Uncle Roger came to visit too.

Three years later Ben is an amazing little man who is interested in music, art, building, and all other kid-type things. He is also a wonderful big brother and friend to Sam.

Just a couple hours after waking up this morning we have already opened some gifts, made birthday blueberry muffins for breakfast, and watched his favorite kid shows on PBS.

Here's to a wonderful day!

Springtime Sun and Snow

After a nap on Monday afternoon we headed to the beach to enjoy the sunny weather. The boys loved spending time in the sand and on the playground.

By Friday the beach looked like this.....

And the daffodils were a little chilly.

Spring Break Recap

I have attempted to present our spring break travels in the next six posts beginning with our travels to Yreka, egg dyeing, egg hunting, then our adventures in the Bay Area. This posting goes against the typical blog spot format so I apologize if the dates of the posts are misleading.
Enjoy!

Road Trip!

Lately the boys have been waking much earlier in the morning than I would like. But the Friday before Easter when we were set to head out to Gram and Pop's in Yreka I reasoned that the early waking was a good thing so that we could get on the road. I was especially anxious to travel since I had no idea how long it would take without Brian with us.
Just after six o'clock Ben came into my bedroom, peeked out the drapes and said, "Look, Mom, snow!" What? Not exactly what I had expected, but I guess that's how it goes when you don't see the weather report in several days. We got ready as quickly as possible, ate breakfast, loaded the car, and started driving.
Within the first two hours of our trip we saw snow, rain, sun, and hail. It was cold the entire way but luckily the roads were in good shape, traffic was light and the boys' behavior was superb!

Our driveway covered in snow.

Chains or snow tires were required over Mount Rose.

A quick stop to have a little lunch outside Susanville had to be in the car as snow swirled intermittently outside...so much for running off some energy!


Mt. Shasta to the left, Reno to the right....we'll go left!

Sam so calm and peaceful buckled in all morning.

A quick self-portrait while we waited in road construction - of course I'm not smiling...this was 4 hours into the drive!

The long road ahead.

Siskiyou County welcomed us with cloudy skies....topping Black Butte.

Many miles behind us....not far to go!

No More White Eggs!

It's tradition in my family to get together the day before Easter and transform our plain white hard-boiled eggs into colorful Easter eggs. This year was especially fun because Ben and Sam were both big enough to be out in Pop's shop with the rest of the family and dye eggs on their own. In addition to the boys and I, Gram & Pop, Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Ray & Aunt Annie, Beth, Pete & Kayla, and Olivia took part in the festivities. Between all of us we had fifteen dozen eggs to dye!
Aunt Annie also reminded us of what Lillian, my cousin Heather's little girl, said last Easter....she told Annie (her Grandma) on the phone that they were going to kill some eggs for Easter (apparently she had die and dye confused).
After finishing up the eggs we all enjoyed a traditional dinner of baked ham with all the fixings prepared by Gram.

Ben is quite proud of every one's hard work.

Finished!

The great grand kids - Olivia, Ben, Kayla, and Sam.

Kayla overseeing Sam's rock collecting.

What color should this one be?

A small sampling of the 180 eggs we colored.

Kayla and Grandma....notice who's taller?

Gram, Pop, and Uncle Ray

Ben planning out his next move.

Mommy and Sam.

Sam really enjoyed himself.

Easter! Egg Hunt!

The boys woke up Easter morning to find their baskets full of goodies from the Easter bunny. In addition to the traditional candy-filled eggs, they also got bubbles, stickers, and pocket kites. Later in the day their aunties and uncles came along with books, cookie cutters, new shirts and shorts, and more candy!
We all headed up to Hornbrook for the egg hunt and enjoyed a gorgeous day filled with sun and blue skies. Typically there are between seventy-five and one-hundred extended family members on my dad's side present. This year there were just over fifty but it was still fun catching up with everyone and enjoying the huge potluck lunch. We always joke that in our family you start hunting Easter eggs before you can walk and stop hunting when you are too old to walk. That's why there are two hillsides - one for the kids seven and under and one for everyone over eight. When my sisters, cousins, and I were younger I can remember my uncles and boy cousins practically shoving each other to get to the eggs hidden deep in the prickly sage brush. These days many of us are now parents and spend our time on the kids' hill with cameras and camcorders in hand. It is truly a wonderful tradition!
The boys loved playing with all their little boy cousins and finding eggs. Sam found nine eggs and Ben found thirty-two!

The boys with their Easter baskets.

Sam climbing on an old stump in the egg hunt field.


Ben hunting eggs with Grandpa.

"I found one!"

A tumble on the hill sent eggs rolling everywhere!

Ben with his brimming basket.

Sam trying to catch up with Ben, Kayla, and Grandma on the big hill.

Pop, Gram, and Grandpa enjoying the sunshine after the hunt.

So maybe they aren't all his eggs but it's still impressive!

Me and my lovely niece, Kayla.

Sam seemed to think that all eggs open up like the plastic kind....notice the hard-boiled eggs torn in half!

Lindsay Wildlife Museum and McCovey's

Sam and Auntie Pauline.

Ben giving us a puppet show.


Pauline and Olivia.

Sam enjoying his lunch at McCovey's

The kids in the bald eagle's nest.

Olivia's wingspan was closest to the red-tailed hawk.

Ben's wingspan...wood duck?

Sam's wingspan....crow?

Olivia hugging the grizzly.

Our original plan for the Wednesday following Easter was to attend an Oakland Athletics - Boston Red Socks game in Oakland. After a snafu in the tickets sales office, we were left high and dry :(

No worries, my sisters (Pauline and Beth) and I decided to take the kids to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek (http://www.wildlife-museum.org/) then meet Uncle Pete and Uncle Howie for lunch at a popular baseball themed restaurant. If we couldn't get to a real game the next best thing would be to watch it in a restaurant focused on baseball.

At the Lindsay Wildlife Museum you can have close encounters with many live, non-releasable wild animals such as an eagle, hawk, fox, snake or coyote. An on-site wildlife hospital treats more than 6,000 native California animals every year. The museum also features changing art and natural history exhibits, classes for children and adults, and a discovery room with hands-on activities for children.

Ben, Sam and cousin Olivia especially liked seeing the birds. The boys were most intrigued with the owls while Olivia was smitten with her favorite bird - the turkey vulture.

We finished up at the museum and headed to downtown Walnut Creek to McCovey's(http://www.mccoveys.com/) for lunch.

McCovey's is owned by baseball legend Willie McCovey....ever heard of McCovey Cove while watching a San Francisco Giants game? According to Uncle Pete, McCovey's is one of the hundred places every baseball fan must visit in their lifetime. The entire restaurant is reminiscent of a baseball field with memorabilia everywhere and the floor painted to look like the infield. The atmosphere was fun and relaxed, the kids were well-behaved, and the food was very tasty.