This & That

Birthday

It's this boy's birthday today. He's such a good kid. 

Something you may not know about him is that I was very, very pregnant with him as I sat through DH's grad school commencement....in labor.....really wanting them to hurry up and be done so I could go to the hospital and have an epidural.

Here he is at a year. Who could resist this cute smile?? It was a good thing that he had that cute smile, because he was a really ornery baby, but he had that smile....and the red hair.

Happy Birthday, Kiddo! Love you!

Another Birthday

Another birthday for us to celebrate. AP Boy is 29 today. In three weeks I'll be able to officially say that half of my children are over 25. Oh....laws.

Moving right along...

This boy, along with all his other siblings, makes me happy when I think about everything he has accomplished. In a couple of months we will get to go back east and watch him graduate from another leg of his extended schooling. He has a few years to go yet before he is totally done, but he's getting there....working hard.

Being a good husband and dad.

And having some fun while he's at it.

Love him. Happy Birthday, kiddo!

How to Spend Your 17th Birthday

We were at the cabin the actual day The Girl turned 17. She was not tremendously thrilled to be up there with just her parents with no outside world access, but she ended up being a pretty good sport about it.

Part of the day saw some sunshine, so she decided to sit on the deck with Ollie and work on her Chaco tan. The jay thought it a terrible imposition on his territory.

Then she and her dad decided to give the snowshoes a try. She put on the gaters with them. You can see that even with her skinny self, there was some sinking in....the snow was that soft.

And then she tried to intimidate Ollie, but it didn't really work.

They took off toward the river. You can see that Ollie had trouble staying on top of the snow.

She opted for Hot Fudge Pudding Cake this year. It was a quiet, but fun day. Not a bad way to spend one's 17th birthday.

 

20, Holy Cow!

This boy turns 20 today. 20 years ago today he was life-flighted from our town to Primary Children's Medical Center where he spent the next 3 1/2 weeks mostly fighting for his life.

Every year on this day, I celebrate the miracle that is this boy's life. OK, so maybe I feel a little scared like I did on the day he was born. It goes with the territory...all those feelings get stirred up with each other, but I am really working on trying to let go of the scared part and just concentrating on the multitude of good things that have come our way. We are so very lucky to have him in our lives.

17.

 2 months.

6 years.

12 years.

And now she's 17. I'm not sure I can bear it.

She loves:

• Fishing
• Chaco sandals
• Ollie
• A Messy Bedroom
• Any kind of chocolate cereal
• Hunger Games
• Red meat
• Hiking

She hates:

• Early rising
• Chemistry
• The dreaded senior project
• Uncomfortable shoes
• Split ends
• Doing laundry
• Anything with any kind of beans
• Cleaning her room

She's ready to go to her first prom next week. From christening dress to prom dress....where does the time go?

And the Train Leaves the Station

We are starting the annual birthday train here at our house. For those unfamiliar with it, I have 10 birthdays between March 24th and June 8th....birthdays of parents, children or grandchildren. That doesn't count the more extended family. It's a whirlwind of celebrating.

Today I'm thinking about this guy.

Love him. Happy Birthday, Sweetie.

 

95 Years Young

Yesterday I had the great honor to help host a birthday luncheon for my friend Irene.

Isn't she beautiful? She turned 95 yesterday and my friend, Gail, and I fixed lunch for her and a group of her contemporaries affectionately known in the area as "The Wild Bunch." The Wild Bunch is composed of about 10 widows who have known each other for quite a number of years. They get together about once a month for lunch to celebrate whatever birthdays have happened since the last time they met. The youngest of the group is just over 80 and the eldest will be 97 this year. And they are all just as proud as they can be of their ages.

Gail and I are Irene's visiting teachers. LDS wards (congregations) assign 2 ladies to visit a few gals in the ward every month. Every lady has a set of visiting teachers, so I have a partnership who comes to see me each month and Gail and I visit Irene and 2 other ladies. We keep tabs on them, see if they need anything and this is especially important with the widows in the ward, as well as the younger ones who are having babies and might need a meal or a break now and then. If there's a problem with a family, like sickness, surgery, or a death, visiting teachers are the first ones called to help. 

It is so fun to see these ladies get together and talk and laugh and tell stories on each other, and it's something I look forward to every year mostly because I really love this lady.

Presents and Paper Dolls

We had presents on the SPGB's actual birthday.

She very carefully opened each one.

And was so excited about them all.

Her sister was more interested in the wrapping paper.

I wanted to show you the project I did for the SPGB's birthday present. You may recall that I spent part of Conference Weekend cutting these out.

They are for the SPGB to use on this paper doll quilt. It reminds me of playing paper dolls when I was little.

The Birthday Girl

During the time AP Boy's family has been here this month, the SPGB has had a birthday. She's 3 now, and it's really hard to believe how quickly that time has gone by.

Her mama spent a considerable amount of time constructing a Thomas the Train birthday cake. Isn't it amazing? Complete with fondant train, sculpted chocolate bridge and a gel icing waterfall.  My kids were lucky to get a sheet cake with sprinkles. We had the cake a couple of days before her birthday while her cousins were still here to enjoy it with her. So, some shots from the cake-ing.

I know she's blurry...it's on purpose. The cake is in focus.

She was given her choice of what part of the cake she wanted to eat. She chose Thomas.

She didn't eat him all in one sitting, though.

Her sister would have really loved a shot at the cake.

Her cousins were almost as excited over the cake as she was.

The Old Man

That's my eldest child on the right, there. He and his family are spending some time living in Tornado Alley finishing off his final leg of schooling. I birthed him some 30 years ago...today. And between that fact and my baby going on her first date this week, I'm feeling pretty ancient.

My aim today is to make him feel as old as I do, by concentrating on the fact that he's 30. 3---0. No longer in his 20's. Into his third decade of life.

It's not working. Because no matter how old he is, I'm still 22 years older.

Love you, kiddo! Hope you have a great birthday! But don't strain yourself by trying anything like extreme wheelchair racing or something.