Mom’s Birthday

“What do you want for your birthday?,” they asked.

“That’s easy,” I responded.

“I want all my children home at the same time.

IMG_0346[1]

I want to play games – lots of games – and snack all afternoon.

I want an easy supper – like smoked turkey sandwiches.

And a beautiful big salad with berries and pecans and feta cheese.

IMG_0344[1]

And queso dip with chips.

And ice cream – with chocolate – lots of chocolate.

And I want to eat on paper plates so we don’t have dirty dishes.

Yes, that’s what I want.”

IMG_0347[1]

And they came – all of them.

And we played games and laughed.

We ate turkey sandwiches and lots of queso on paper plates.

We snacked on puppy chow and popcorn.

We stayed up late and savored every minute.

It was perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

Yes. That’s exactly what I wanted for my birthday.

Fifteen

Turning fifteen on the fifteenth in 2015 calls for a special celebration.

How about a Golden Celebration that lasts all weekend!

A celebration that begins on Friday night with a surprise visit from his sister.

And continues on Saturday with his good friend spending the night.

After hiking, exploring and riding the minibike, they turned an old couch into a trebuchet and shot hedge balls into the cow pasture until dark.

It was a good day.

But the celebration wasn’t over.

Oh no – it was just beginning.

The next day he was surprised speechless by several cousins who drove down from the city to help him celebrate.

And celebrate we did.

Laughter, cupcakes, and a full-size Chewbacca costume.

I kid you not.

It was an epic party.

And as I popped more popcorn and replenished the crescent rolls, Grandma did a quick headcount.

Would you believe he had exactly 15 guests on his 15th birthday on the 15th in 2015?!

BOOM! Nailed that one!

Happy birthday, Buddy!

Buddy’s Birthday: 12th Edition

We did it again.

Child’s birthday party number 79 is now history.

This one was Buddy’s – his 12th.

Some of you may remember his last year’s cake – a masterpiece of Lego engineering complete with a M & M cannon and his favorite Pika.

This year was just as spectacular!

He had not one – but two royal Pika’s – complete with crowns, guards, a court jester, and a royal food tester – all made out of Lego’s and designed by Buddy himself.

It was truly a site to behold – especially when all the candles were lit and started to lean dangerously over.

We have never sung “Happy Birthday” so quickly.

I have never been so glad to see 12 candles blown out!

And I still can’t believe that 12 years could go by so quickly!

Happy birthday Buddy! We love you!

Paintball Picasso

There are some things that our overgrown pastures and deep ravines are just meant for – things like exploring, berry picking and … paint ball.

Yes, paint ball.

We discovered this fact last weekend when a friend from church hosted his birthday paintball party here.

They brought a lunch, birthday cake and a trunk full of paintballparaphernalia to share with my kids.

After decking out in camouflage –

Paint Ball Outfit

My kids learned how to load and handle the guns. Then they did a little target practice on the grain bin out back –

Paintball Picasso

Now we have our very own paintball Picasso!

Then they jumped on the 4 wheeler and headed out to the ravines where they had a blast for hours.

They didn’t even realize how cold it was – or how late it was getting.

We almost had to peel the guns out of their hands.

Now you’ll never guess what my kids want for Christmas!