Well, not only was it tax day in America today, it was also Grandpa Loren’s birthday.  Happy Birthday Loren!!!!  I was hoping to get the boys to sing you a little ditty along the lines of “Happy birthday to you….” but we just ran out of time.  However, don’t think you were forgotten because each step of the way, we reminded ourselves that we needed to get back to wish you a great day.

It was a whirlwind of activity starting with a 6:15am wake up call by the boys. Can’t they just sleep in for once????? Joel and I took turns longingly looking at our bed to see who would be the first to move. Joel did, but then I helped. Joel, being the best husband ever, said I could even go back to bed, once we had the boys moving towards downstairs but I couldn’t be that selfish and instead went and hopped into the shower in the hopes that it would wake me up.

Once downstairs, we tried to get the boys to help us decide between three scenarios for the day. 1) Go to the zoo (that was Dexter’s pick). 2) Drive up to the tulip festival and back down through Whidbey Island, capping the day off with a ferry ride (Nicky’s pick). 3) Stay home. In the end, we talked Nic into the zoo. The weather, which was suppose to be sunny, ended up gray and cold in the morning and I was not prepared. We kept moving and by lunchtime, the sun was out. All the animals were on the move this morning, which was totally cool. A kangaroo hopped on over to us, grabbed the fence and pulled his/her head up to check us out. (Laura – it made me think of Australia.) The wolves were tracking a squirrel up in a tree, hoping that the next leap would be the one that brought lunch to their mouths. It was a very fun morning. After lunch, we played in a park just outside the zoo and helped Dexter with his climbing abilities. Back to the van where we had hoped the boys would fall asleep, but no, not this time.

Then, on the spur of the moment, we decided a ferry ride was in order. After all, it was now a sunny, beautiful day. Nicholas bought into the idea when we mentioned ice cream cones. J So, we headed to the Mukilteo beach. We found a close parking spot, bought our ice cream cones, showed the boys how to eat one, and Dexter ended up with a very chocolatey beard. We walked onto the ferry and enjoyed the ride. The boys especially loved watching all the cars get on the ferry.

As we drove home, this is when we finally got a chance to call Loren. Nicholas fell asleep just after we started driving. Dexter was a close second. Hmmmm – what to do now? We decided to take the long way home via downtown Everett, Snohomish, and up the valley. Just as we got close to Fred Meyer, the boys woke up and it was time to grocery shop.

The boys all went to look at cars and legos while I shopped. Nicholas has no problem pooping in store bathrooms. However, apparently he does get a little freaked out when the toilet flushes before he had finished his business. Very understandable.

Back home, pop in a movie for Sunday night movie night, fix dinner, open Katie’s barber shop, shower boys and now all are in bed. We made it through with some early morning tantrums and then a delightful day.

I hope all of you had an equally fun day. Loren, once again, Happy Birthday. The boys miss their grandpa. Hope you like your birthday card.