Bed Buddies, Birthdays, Balloons, and Snowflakes?

Wally has gotten a new Bed Buddy, besides his usual plethora of stuffed animals...Scout. Wally insists that he is scared of the dark and that he needs his night light and lamp left on and his door open when he falls asleep. This allows for Scout, always looking for a soft warm place to sleep, to wander right in. Wally certainly doesn't mind.My big boy is 31! We didn't do much for his birthday, but it was a nice weekend anyway. We had a couple friends over for pizza and apple pie, and to watch the Iowa football game. The Hawkeyes are fun to watch this year. I guess when you are as old as Joel, you need a little help blowing out your candle. I made the pie with the apples we picked at the orchard. It was yummy! Wally only wanted to eat the soggy, not-so-good crust. He said the apples were yucky. I actually enjoyed sharing my piece with him!I found the "blow your own plastic balloon" stuff that Wally got at Christmas, so we had to make some. After I made a few, Wally had to try. He actually was pretty good at it, except the balloons were more like water balloons...they were full of an amazing amount of spit! He had to keep a close eye on the balloons as he inflated them (notice his eye). Though it is hard to see in the pictures, it actually snowed in Iowa on Saturday (my garden is done...bummer). Some of the grass got a slight hint of white for a little while, but that was all. Considering Wally "loves snow." He and Joel went outside to catch snowflakes on their tongues.

Wally found a great stick that is his "sprayer." He really likes to pretend everything is on fire and that everything is his sprayer. Apparently, Daisy thought that Wally's sprayer was her stick, so they played tug-o-war.

Daisy decided just to ambush the unsuspecting fireman to get her stick back. It is fun to watch Wally (and the dogs for that matter) get older and interact with eachother more. Moose loves to play "Duck, Duck, Goose" with us. He is pretty much confused most of the time, but has a big smile as he chases us around the basement. I can tell he is getting older because he doesn't last many rounds before he falls asleep. As for Daisy, she and Wally are quite the buddies. Wally is constantly hugging and kissing her, and just generally harassing her. But, I think she likes the attention.