SILAS' BIRTHDAY - 2016

Silas, who is usually fun and festive, was pretty mellow on his birthday this year. He'd just spent a week at Shasta with the high school group from church, which he enjoyed, but he was pretty wiped out and didn't take the nap he'd originally planned on getting. 

He and Tim went out for bagels in the morning, as usual, but they didn't take any pictures. The rest of the morning was pretty low-key, then he spent a couple hours celebrating a friend's birthday in the afternoon. Once all the Ws were back home in the evening, we ate Silas' dinner of choice - stuffed French toast and cottage cheese with peaches. 

Then he opened gifts from the family and we took some sibling pictures.

We snapped a quick picture in the birthday outfit.

He didn't complain about anything, but he struggled to finish dinner (food he loves), forced smiles for sibling pictures (not normal), and only took one picture in the birthday outfit (always hams it up for several). He was just exhausted. Usually I take the birthday kid out for ice cream, but I asked if he'd prefer to do it another day so he could go to bed. He jumped on that opportunity and hit the sack early.

For his birthday celebration this year, Silas wanted to play ultimate frisbee. So he invited a bunch of people to a park and hoped enough would show up to have a good game. And show up is what they did! Several of his friends, some of their parents, a handful of siblings, and some adults he loves.

We took a picture of the 6 Ws before the masses showed up.

I'm a big fan of getting one posed group shot at parties, but Silas didn't really care if we took one or not and people were enjoying frisbee, so we just skipped that part and let people carry on with their game and conversations. I didn't take many candid shots, either, opting to participate more than photograph. Here are a few pictures to prove the party happened, though.

Some of the people playing ultimate on the field.

Smearing strawberry frosting on lemon cupcakes.

Opening cards and gifts.

It was a fun gathering, exactly what Silas wanted. Later that night he and I headed out to El Paisanito for a belated birthday ice cream right before heading to bed.

He may have been more exhausted this year than he usually is, but we still managed to have some birthday fun.

6/23/16 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful today has "DO NOTHING" on the calendar and that everyone got to sleep in.

What's something that you're thankful for?

FATHER'S DAY - 2016

A dad and all the little people who share his last name.

ONE SPECIAL LADY

Beep and I were able to squeeze in a visit with Pam over breakfast yesterday morning. Many years ago I busted out one of my "Roses are red" poems about her, but, as Beep said when she posted a picture of us on Facebook, words really can't describe how special Pam is to us. We've known her for thirty-two years and she's been a significant person in our lives for a very long time.

MORE MOFFIT TIME

We just wrapped up our second and final Moffit visit. Earlier this month we spent just under 24 hours with them and this week we spent a little over 24. They arrived while we were at Bible study on Wednesday night, so they joined in our traditional late night, post-Bible study dessert and then we stayed up talking for a while. We eased into the next morning and Neo busted out some books.

Pretty soon Teebs joined him.

Things got serious after breakfast when it was time for a competitive photo scavenger hunt. We split into two teams, evenly divided by ages and whether people were residents or visitors, and then took off through town with our lists of things to get pictures of. The two teams ended within one minute of each other, so we headed back to the house to compare photos and determine a winner.

But first we took some team pictures. The dad and kids team looked fierce.

The moms and kids teams looked friendly.

We could talk about who won, but ... well ... it's not like it actually matters. I mean, it's just a game. Riiight?

Ok, the dads' team won. Barely. There was a little bit of creativity and questionable photos on both teams, but Beep and I conceded to Tim and Josh. The winners got candy, but they were nice enough to share it with the rest of us. All's well that ends well.

The girls took off to run a few errands after lunch while the guys stayed home so two could nap and four could lay low for a bit, then we just hung out around the house for the rest of the afternoon.

Cousins, some looking at one camera and others looking at a different one.

Sisters, sisters ...

Reading time with Aunt Beep (or Mom, depending on which kid in the picture you are).

We split up for the evening, as the Moffits hung out with some other Portland-ish relatives, visited briefly before hitting the sack last night, then wrapped up our time together this morning.  Beep and I headed out for breakfast with a friend this morning and Josh coordinated a picnic lunch for when we came back home. We loaded their luggage, grabbed all the food the dads had bought and prepared while the moms were gone, and headed to Centennial. We spent about 1 1/2 hours walking around the park, playing games, visiting, and eating lunch. And then they left.

Needless to say, we're already counting down to their next furlough!

6/16/16 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for flowers we brought home from a wedding nearly two weeks ago that continue to add some beauty to our home.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

DEVON'S BIRTHDAY - 2016

This year Devon asked if he could celebrate his birthday by taking a couple friends to play nickel arcade games at Wunderland. We agreed to his request, snagged a coupon online because we like to stretch a dollar, and then Tim took Devon, Luke, and Dominic out for a little celebration after church on Sunday.

Their first stop was lunch at Costco. I had to pick up a couple things there on my way home and saw them as I exited the building, so I snapped a quick picture on my phone before heading my merry way.

Three happy boys.

Three goofy boys.

Three boys playing games.

He had such a great time! He really enjoys both of those boys, so to play games he likes and indulge in food he doesn't normally eat with them was perfect. Getting gifts he loves from them was icing on the cake!

Yesterday, on his actual birthday, he and Tim went out for doughnuts in the morning.

He opened gifts from family later in the day, so I took a few sibling shots.

Then it was time for dinner. I don't have many rules for their birthday dinners and the ones I have aren't about nutrition. Obviously. Because he wanted sausage, sour cream and cheddar Ruffles, and pumpkin muffins, so that's what we had.

He donned the birthday outfit after dinner and struck a few poses.

Then he and I headed to El Paisanito for some ice cream.

And that was the end of Devon's birthday festivities. 

40 - ROUND TWO

This afternoon I was the guest of honor at a (sorta) surprise party for my upcoming 40th birthday and it was so much fun! Due to the fact that I double booked my afternoon because I had no clue I was going to be at my own birthday party, we ran into a scheduling debacle. There was an ... ummm ... intense conversation between Tim and I one night over how to handle it, a friendly one later on, the sudden realization that there was more to a lunch invitation from a friend than there appeared to be on the surface (even though I didn't know who or what that "more" entailed), and then an attempt to simultaneously cooperate with people who were trying to secretly do something nice for me and make parenting decisions that were both responsible and fair. Everything worked out in the end and all Ws with plans for the day were able to do what they wanted to do. Success!

Anyway, back to my party. Pam picked me up today for a birthday lunch that was allegedly for just the two of us. Except Kit greeted us just inside the entrance to the restaurant. And fifteen other people shouted "Surprise!" as we entered. 

Oh, goodness, it was fun! Look at all these ladies who came to show me a little birthday love. 

Mindy

Pam

Mary Lou

Cindy

Tammy

Flo

Leighton and Amy

Kelli and Kerri

Amy

Linda

Crystal

Megan

Kit

Emelye

A post-lunch picture of the Brookings contingency, even though none of us have lived there in several years

Michele was also there for a few minutes at the start and Becky sent a card for me to open at the party. I knew there was no way I could have a full conversation with everyone, but I was able to spend a few minutes greeting each person when I first arrived.  Then it was time to sit down in my seat and get the party started. 

Kit was the one who planned the whole thing and she did an amazing job! Once I had ordered my food, she had me draw a name out of a bag. I was sitting at the end of the table and she had left the chair across from me open. The person whose name I drew would come down to the chair opposite me, give me their gift, and chat for a couple minutes. They'd leave and I'd draw the next name. Brilliant! This Type A girl loved the efficiency of that system - some one-on-one interaction with each guest, their chance to see me open their gift, my chance to thank them personally, and everyone else's ability to just keep eating their lunch and visiting.

On to the party theme. Yes, there was a theme. Everyone knows that I wear flip flops about 364 days a year, so check out the napkins Kit brought. They say, "KEEP CALM AND PUT YOUR FLIP-FLOPS ON". Perfect!

Then Pam made these party favors for everyone. They're goody bags with Nutter Butter cookies that have frosting applied to look like flip flop straps. How cute are they?! Blue and green are my favorite colors, hands down, so that's where the strap and ribbon colors came from.

And then there were cards and gifts. So many cards and gifts! 

Lots of cards.

All sorts of edible goodness, gift cards for edible goodness, and cash for both edible goodness and whatever floats my boat. It's like they know I have a sweet tooth and love to eat or something.

Practical things and the fluff of life in blue (and a little green).

A bag filled entirely with green things.

Flip flop themed things, as well as cream for dry feet that wear flip flops all the time.

Last, but not least, flip flops. Eight pairs of flip flops. Simple, with bling, blue, green, black ... and even a pink pair to make me stretch my comfort zone. I love it!

Folks, this was such a special time! I know that it was a financial sacrifice for some of these gals to eat out and bring me a gift. Others sacrificed time, even though they don't really have any to spare. I don't take that lightly. And Kit? That lady! I sit by her at church twice a week and had no clue, none at all, that she's had this up her sleeve for a long time. I'm so thankful for her thoughtfulness and hostess skills, Pam's collaboration, and Crystal's help in taking care of some of the scheduling issues, even though I didn't realize she was in on the party at the time. Such a great afternoon!

(Thanks to Kit, Megan, and Emelye for sharing your phone pictures from the party.)