Thursday, July 24, 2014

Blooms, Boys on Bikes and a Birthday

Hi there.. thanks for stopping by!  We had a busy day yesterday, I joined Gracie in the pool for a swim, then came home just after our older son, Shawn, and his family arrived.  Everyone was outside filling gas tanks and gearing up for some motorcycle and little 4-wheeler riding and some zooming about was happening.  I snapped a few photos of my Stargazer Lilies as I was taking my swim gear into the house.


These are right up there in my top 5 favorite flowers, they are so vibrant in color, exotic and the aroma is aMAYzing!  


It had rained earlier and there were water droplets on the blooms.


See?


I lost all my "hardy" fuchsias - but this one - the others were in pots and this one was in the ground.  We had a hard freeze with snow, then nice weather where things began to grow and then another ice storm where everything was coated with ice for about a week.  That is when I lost all my young potted roses and hardy fuchsias.  It was nice to see this one survived.


I went down into the pasture to see the boys riding and saw how well the pear trees are doing this summer.  This one has a nice blush of color on it.


What a full tree of pears!


Shawn gave the little guys his boy's old quad (4 wheeled motor ATV - All Terrain Vehicle).  Here is one happy 5 year old - Caleb.  They have the speed control set at a learner's pace.


A shot of the 2 pear trees, the barn and Shawn and Beth's truck, Grandpa sitting next to the truck watching the boys zoom around.


I also walked over to our 3rd pear tree and it was also covered with pears.


I think we have Bosc and Anjou pears.


The boys are so lucky that we have a nice big property where they can zoom about on their cycles.  There is a whole upper pasture that is part of their track, too.  


Of course Grandma asked for them all to pose for a photo.  Look who is making sure he's front and center?  :-)


Here is the birthday boy - Gabriel - who turned 10 years of age last Sunday.  When he came home his parents surprised him with a new "dirt bike" and this was his maiden voyage.  Under that helmet and safety goggles is a boy with a big smile!


Here is Hayden.  Some background - last year on a quad riding trip to the dunes, Hayden had a bit of an accident and hit a tree and hurt his chin - an abrasion from the strap.  This is the first time for the quad to be available to be ridden since then and Hayden was apprehensive.  Finally, Grandpa encouraged him to try again, and it took some talking, but finally he did it and he was very happy!


When he got off to give Caleb a turn, I caught his victorious moment.. his roar of happiness.  How cute is this?  A 6 year old, conquering his fears.


Boys having fun.  5 years old.  Amazing.


Here is the cake for Gabe.  A dirt bike track.. the cake itself was delicious, light yellow cake, fluffy filling with a layer of raspberry jam.  


Happy Birthday to you.. happy birthday to you.. happy birthday dear Gabriel, happy birthday to you!


We took everyone to Chinese dinner and they let us bring the cake in for dessert.  All in all a very good day.  Do you have any fun weekend plans?  We are footloose and fancy free, no idea what kind of mischief we can get into.. yet.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

22 comments:

  1. Happy belated birthday to Gabriel! What a great play area for grandkids you have! Love the lilies (sigh, I lost a potted mini rose--a gift-too) and your grandkids photos! So much fun:)
    Blessings,
    Aimee

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  2. Dirt bike cake ! that's almost as fun as dirt biking! I suppose!
    FUn pics of the boys.

    Weekend plans: Fishing on a new lake….in a row boat
    working? saturday probably
    Our town's little art fair and more importantly a local pond walk. You go from house to house to see their gardens

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  3. What a lovely birthday Gabriel enjoyed. You have so much space for them Teresa they are very lucky boys indeed. Enjoy the upcoming weekend, we have our wedding anniversary tomorrow and then the family BBQ in Southampton on Saturday. We really hope our sunny spell lasts xx

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  4. What a wonderful time you've been having. Happy birthday to Gabriel, it looks as though those boys had a fantastic time, I know mine would love that kind of thing. Your pear trees are doing really well aren't they. I have a young tree, and all of the branches are bowed down with the weight of the fruit this year. I hope you have a good weekend Teresa. CJ xx

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  5. Wow!!! Your family never stops do they? Happy Birthday a little late. It does look like the boys all had a blast. Grandpa and Grandma sure have a fun place to be. Just as it should be. Did you get my text? I'll be heading your way in a week or so. We're trying to coordinate dates...it seems to be vacation time for all of you!
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  6. Those quad bike thingies look like awesome fun!

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  7. Those boys look like they are having the time of their lives. Happy Birthday to the birthday boy! I am taking my teenager on a 24 hour round southern Florida trip to look at colleges, I am not ready for him to go but he is entering his senior year.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  8. Beautiful Lilies!!!

    That's one great birthday Gabriel will always remember.

    How wonderful to have so many pear trees.
    What do you do with all the pears? Do you preserve them? Sell them? I can see making pear bread, pear pie filling, etc. Yum!!!

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    1. We usually just eat the pears right off the trees.. but I might try some pear bread!

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  9. It's so beautiful where you live! I love all your photos! That's interesting to know that those four wheelers have a setting for a learner. Great idea!

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  10. Happy birthday to your little grandson. The boys all look like they were having a great time just busy being boys. It is good that they have plenty of space at grandma and grandpa's to ride around. The fresh air is good for everyone. The cake was cute and I'm sure it tasted yummy. Those pear trees, heavens, I just want to come pick them and make canned pears, pear butter (like apple butter) and I know there are plenty of bread recipes that would be great to make and put in the freezer. You got that bunch of men and I'm sure they would love a piece of warmed up pear bread with some butter on top when the weather gets cold. In this family only my oldest and myself liked canned pears. My husband and youngest never cared for them because of the grainy taste. heck, people even make pear wine. Girl, ya got a fruit gold mine! have a great weekend.
    (((HUGS))) Susanne :)

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  11. So glad the celebration happened under some blue skies! Happy Birthday, Gabriel! I think your stargazers are even more beautiful than last year, Teresa [if that is possible :) ] You are really growing an amazing crop of pears! I am meeting with our art group at church on Sat. and hope to go to church on Sunday, and get some travel plans firmed up in the time between :) xx

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  12. Happy birthday to Gabriel... All the boys seems to be happy and healthy.,.e,.,it looks like they had a lot of fun !

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  13. What a great family gathering and belated birthday wishes to the birthday boy. Lots of happy memories in the making. Love the look of the pear trees, I can imagine all sorts of pear recipes. Have a great weekend.

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  14. Your Stargazer lilies are so pretty - you'll have to let me know how to grow them. Mind you, I do manage to kill everything I get which is a terrible shame as I do enjoy flowers so much. Even my navel orange tree isn't growing much although it is still very much alive thank goodness as it was a gift from my daughter and son-in-law. I eat a lot of oranges so I'm hoping my tree will do well. Those pears look yummy too. What are you going to do with two whole trees full? Belated happy birthday to Gabe - what a fitting cake for a bike enthusiast. Have a great weekend - whatever you decide to do. xox

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  15. Love your gorgeous stargazers. I have one plant, but I had two lovely blooms this year. Always a treat.

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  16. Happy birthday to Gabriel! Your grandsons are so cute and they always look like they're having a great time. Your pear trees look great, they're going to be so good. Your lillies look beautiful too, enjoy them. I hope you have a good weekend.

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  17. Beautiful Lilies!!!! Love all the moss growing on your roof!!!! Love your new header!!!! Is that somewhere near you!!!! Have a fab fun and happy weekend!!!
    Love
    AMarie xxx

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  18. Gorgeous lilies!!!
    First time to see pear tree with pears how amazing
    Happy belated birthday to Gabriel what a handsome brute!!!!

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  19. Can I come and stay at your place Teresa?? It always looks like so much fun goes on there and all those magnificent pictures you take lift my day a lot ☺ I would even have fun with your grandboys xoxo

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  20. Looks like you have alot of fun at your house! Your grandsons are handsome! Glad Hayden decided to try the bike again. Good for him! If you fall off the horse, get back on it? I'm enjoying my flowers and Megan watered all of them tonight. I need to put some little plants in a pot this weekend that we picked up at Rasmussens farms last Sat. They are root bound in pot and love the flowers so will add that to my menagerie of plants outdoors! Your stargazer lilies are lovely! Not alot of goings on here, need to catch up with stuff I'm behind on~sigh!

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  21. Hi Theresa, just spotted your gorgeous blooms via Jill at Emerald Cottage .... it looks like you live in Paradise, and your flowers are spectacular! Am adding you to my blog roll, have a most wonderful weekend .. Pat :)

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