Happy Birthday, Little Man!

When I look at this picture, I don't freak out. When I was at the park with him, I didn't freak out. When I consider that he was on a platform that is 3 times as high as he is tall, I still don't freak out. However... when Payton decided to lean forward and try to reach the top rung of that ladder with his foot, missed because it is was too far, and then proceeded to hang from those bars that he has his hands on in the picture... well, I freaked out. A little. I freaked enough that I didn't take the picture of him hanging, but not enough that I put him back up there to get the above shot.

Happy Birthday little man. We love all 26 pounds of you!

WW: Jared...

Happy 11th BDay Kyra!!!

Kyra's "stash", on her birthday morning. (the bunny was just in the shot, being nosey!)

Actually, I think the bunny is trying to make off with the new bag Kyra got to carry her school stuff in. Bad bunny!!

Flip flops, because you can't have too many flip flops in AZ!

Candy for the movie she would attend later that afternoon. Harry Potter!!!

Pokemon, because Tasha really wanted her to have her own box. Sweet.

Goodies for the slumber party she would have the following week.

THE SLUMBER PARTY...

Thanks mom, for getting Kyra her funky wigs and tiaras! The girls all loved them and almost wore them to the video store where they picked out Water Horse to watch at 10pm.

The final product in this ultimate brownie pan that comes with perfect dividers so everyone could put their own treats on their own row of brownies. (OK, this one isn't the ULTIMATE brownie pan, that would be "Kurtis", the pan that bakes a swirl of brownies to where every brownie has at least two edges to it.)

Seriously, they pulled out the Uno cards and even let Tasha play with them!

After dinner and nail polish...

Entertainment in the evening.

Kyra and Cyrena are hiding the secret messages that they wrote. Maya is playing it up, pretending that nothing is going on. I LOVE that I didn't have to plan anything for this party and they just enjoyed having a good time together.
Thank goodness for age 11!!!

We Love You, Kyra!!!

Happy Birthday, Babe!

I looked back to see what I had posted about Bill last year on his birthday. Turns out, I didn't. Good enough, that takes the pressure off, right? Well maybe, except that I used that little trick where I labeled my posts and I've made 13 birthday posts, for other people. That seems a little wrong so now I'm searching for ideas. I told Bill, over the computer that I've been ignoring him on for the last hour, that I didn't know what to write. First he said, "Happy Birthday" is enough. Then he said, "or you could write 45 ways that I rock your world." I'm choosing the latter, but I'm not sure this is what he meant by it.

45 Ways that Bill ROCKS my world

1. 
   
   
   He leaves his socks wherever he takes them off



2. 
   
   
   His shoes are big and I trip over them ALL the time



3. 
   
   
   He kisses the dog, on the mouth



4. 
   
   
   Soda. Need I say more?



5. 
   
   
   Receipts scattered throughout the house



6. 
   
   
   He really likes William Shatner and the show Boston Legal



7. 
   
   
   Trash on the counter, 2 feet from the garbage



8. 
   
   
   Recycling in the trash can



9. 
   
   
   Trash in the recycling can



10. 
    
    
    Overflowing trash can



11. 
    
    
    Overflowing recycling can



12. 
    
    
    He likes beef, a lot!



13. 
    
    
    Cold ravioli, straight from the can. EEEWW!



14. 
    
    
    Cantaloupe. Yick.



15. 
    
    
    He named his pancake griddle "Betty" (that's kind of cute, but...)



16. 
    
    
    He thinks Betty lives propped up behind the stove top instead on in the drawer.



17. 
    
    
    He listens to country music more than anything else now.



18. 
    
    
    He's got me listening to country music more than anything else now.



19. 
    
    
    Pillows on the floor, EVERY night



20. 
    
    
    Clothes by the side of his bed, EVERY night



21. 
    
    
    He paces when he talks on the phone



22. 
    
    
    Rocky



23. 
    
    
    Rocky II



24. 
    
    
    Rocky III



25. 
    
    
    Rocky IV



26. 
    
    
    Rocky V



27. 
    
    
    Rocky Balboa



28. 
    
    
    Rambo



29. 
    
    
    Rambo II



30. 
    
    
    Rambo III



31. 
    
    
    (How many Rambo's were there?)



32. 
    
    
    Groundhog Day



33. 
    
    
    Pretty Woman



34. 
    
    
    He leaves the TV on when he goes to bed



35. 
    
    
    The TV is inevitably on a sportscast of some sort



36. 
    
    
    Popsicle sticks strategically placed, NOT in the garbage



37. 
    
    
    He steals the fan from the living room when he goes to bed



38. 
    
    He taught and encourages the girls to burp, fart and make bodily noises of all kinds


39. 
    
    "Zoe,zoe,zoe,zoe,zoe,zoe, ZOEOEOEOEOE-EEEY!"


40. 
    
    Football watching


41. 
    
    Yelling at football playing


42. 
    
    Basketball watching


43. 
    
    Yelling at basketball playing


44. 
    
    Baseball watching (on TV)


45. 
    
    Yelling at baseball playing...

So why would I list all these things that make me crazy about Bill, on his birthday?

"Because, after a month of cataloging all his faults, I realized that none of it matters... and he sure can kiss" (name the movie!)

And let's face it, none of these are really faults. They are just the little things in life that make Bill who he is: the man I love, cherish, and adore. Happy Birthday, Babe!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

If I had known, I'd have planned a par-tay!

(Maybe I'll come up with some witty rhyme when I'm more awake)

A Thousand Splendid Apologies

As I posted yesterday to celebrate a birthday, I realized that I had forgotten a very special friends very special day. It was a while ago. I don't even know the date for sure. I do know that I even saw her on her birthday, took something from her, and didn't even acknowledge that she was special. What a totally lame friend I am! What did she think that day that I called her and said, "Can I come over and borrow that awful book on Afghanistan from you?" Did she think it was an excuse to visit her and bring her flowers and cookies and all sorts of treasures? Was she hoping to get a big hug and sweet card from her friend? Probably not, but what if?! Oh crap, I blew it. That's all I've got. I know she doesn't really care because she's still talking to me. Maybe someday I'll feel inspired to post all the wonderful things about her but now all I feel is remorse. So, sweet Sara, here are a thousand splendid apologies and the things I will offer you for my ineptness of remembering you on your birthday. This year, from me, you will get (and please don't count them):

• A thousand chocolate chips, baked in cookies, or eaten raw in dough
• A thousand belly laughs
• A thousand empathetic nods
• A thousand emails
• A thousand thoughtful words of encouragement
• A thousand cleaned dishes

In honor of her THIRTIETH birthday, here are 30 great things/traits/characteristics about Monique, in no particular order. Please feel free to add anything I've missed in the comment section.

1. Supermom!


2. Great teacher


3. Organized


4. OCD, in a good way


5. Intelligent


6. Thrifty


7. Lover of her family


8. Recycler! She's green baby.


9. Well read


10. Interesting


11. Food storage guru


12. A gardener


13. A chicken farmer


14. Patient


15. Excellent Achievement Day Leader


16. Caring


17. Very compassionate for children


18. Cute pregnant person


19. Excellent cook


20. Fabulous baker (have you tried her cheesecake?)


21. Lover of brownies


22. Believer


23. Trustworthy


24. Follower of Christ


25. Good friend


26. Great painter/decorator


27. Hair stylist/cutter
28. Blogger (DUH!)
29. Long-distance friend keeper (which is harder that it seems!)
30. and, last but not least... drum roll please... and I mean this with all kindness and respect for true talent and use of her OCD qualities... Monique is a fantastic "nit-picker"!!! Nothing will bring you closer to her than hours spent with your neck in anguish as she carefully, considerately, and very thoroughly searches your head for nits!

I love you Mo for all these wonderful qualities and more! Thanks for your friendship and all the good chats. Thanks for loving my daughter and making her 8-12 year old years a blessing. Thanks for being a great example of a wife and mother, one that I try to emulate from time to time (because I can't keep up the rest of the time!). I feel very fortunate that our children and the church brought us together.

Happy Birthday Mo!

75 Years Young!

How do you honor such an amazing woman like my mom?! What can I possibly do to let her know how much I appreciate everything she does, did, and will do in the future? How do I say, "Happy Birthday, I'm so glad you were born and made it these 75 years"? Well, I guess I start by being me and waiting until the day before her birthday to plan anything. (In my defense, she was going to be in Forest Lakes on her actual birthday but decided on Saturday to come down to beat the storm that was headed in) Then I rely on my fallback plan... old friends that never let you down! Friends that I grew up with, my mom raised her children with, and friends that are always there for us...

Edith and LeRoy Harkins

The Harkin's household was definitely a second home to me and their daughters have all been great friends of mine at different points of my life. When I was young and not old enough to be alone, their oldest daughter Kathrine would come over and "babysit" me while my mom went out square dancing. This entailed playing games, eating junk food, and waiting until the last possible second to jump into bed and pretend like I was asleep. Their middle daughter Lacy and I were best friends in high school. We did absolutely everything together, confided in each other, and I counseled her with her boyfriend fiascoes. Eventually I was the maid-of-honor at her wedding the summer after she graduated. She moved away with him for school, but 3 years later she came back to be my maid(matron?)-of-honor. As a wedding gift, Edith made all of my bridesmaids dresses and my wedding dress. LeRoy's brother DJ'ed our reception. Back in the day, birthdays, holidays, and celebrations of any kind were not complete without the Harkins!

Me and Millie

Millie was always the little sister. The one that tagged along. The one that we could dare to eat dog food and she would. Millie was and is fun to be around. When we moved back into this house that I grew up in she was living with her parents (and 2 children) down the street, right where I remember them. I was coming home, but as a grown up. I became pregnant almost immediately and a year later I found myself a stay-at-home mom and Millie and I became the best of friends. We saw each other daily: just popping in on each other; feeding each other; sharing "war" stories of poopy diapers, nursing dilemmas, runaway children, and absentee husbands. I never would have survived a year at home without Millie!

And here I am today... raising my family in the house my mom raised me in! We're doing pretty well, don't you think mom?!

My mom always like to have popcorn strands on her Christmas tree. I can remember setting blankets out on the lawn during the day and stringing popcorn in our front lawn. The neighbors would think we were a little weird, but the Harkin's girls would always come and join in. One year my mom had taken a trip to New Mexico right before her birthday. When she arrived home, she was greeted by a house full of family and friends, popcorn bits on the floor, and plenty of strands to fill up her tree. We all sang to her and I had made a cake for her. I don't remember doing this (much of high school is a blur, simply due to an overabundance of activities), but my mom, Edith, and LeRoy all brought it up Monday night so it must have happened. The best thing of all is that the last minute invitation to come over didn't phase any of these great people in the least. That's how our families work... you are just there for each other. I called Millie on Sunday and she called her parents. Her dad told her mom, "we're going to E's tomorrow night", and she said, "oh, is it JoAnn's birthday?" It's been 11 years since we did this but she knew! She knew like it happened every year.

As the adults strung popcorn and shared memories, the kids all entertained themselves quite happily...

Kyra and Jessie preparing to perform a Christmas song for us:

Max and Tasha, being Max and Tasha:

Alyssa, the loner

To say that we had a lot of laughs this evening would be an understatement. I should post the picture of us laughing, but I have like 3 chins or something and am too vain to put it up. Once we started talking about all the silly things we did, places we went, and mishaps that occurred on our many family adventures together, there was no stopping us. Each of us would jump in with a "oh, and remember..." that was followed by an embarrassing moment or thoughtful gesture. Man when you cram 10-18 years of memories into one night you realize how crazy and delightful things really were.

I told my mom Monday morning over breakfast that I might have a surprise for her that night. When I invited Millie over she asked, "can we bring instruments too?" Of course silly woman! When we were young, we would get together with the Harkins on Christmas Eve and "sing" Christmas carols. What it really amounted to was Lacy and I on the violin and cello, Edith singing boisterously, and my mom and LeRoy mouthing the words. I always hid behind the cello in those days, I was so shy (even around family)!

I thought we were going to pass the buck to our children this year (Jessie plays the viola and Kyra plays the violin), but Millie showed up with 3 violas and a cello! What?! The girls fiddled around (haha) while we were chatting but then their moms busted in on them and joined the fun. They had sheet music for all but the violin so I got to transpose the cello part of Silent Night for Kyra and she learned most of it in about 5 minutes. Edith came back to drag us out of the bedroom and told us to practice in the living room so they could hear us. It was hard enough to get through the song together, so there was no singing on this number. Alyssa knew Jingle Bells, so we all turned to that and had a group of performers that outnumbered the audience for the first time ever! Jessie, Millie, and I started off on the "dashing through the snow bit" and then Kyra, Alyssa, and Tasha joined in on the "jingle bell" chorus. Tasha was so excited to toot that recorder (on the same note) to the beat of a song she knew! She was beaming she was so happy.

After the Christmas songs we ad libbed "Happy Birthday", everyone joined in singing, and we ate cupcakes that Tasha and I made and Kyra frosted. My mom loves traditions and a good walk down memory lane, so hopefully this birthday celebration was an OK tribute to the most wonderful mom I could ever have. I love you mom!!!

"You Say It's Your Birthday...

Buh-nuh-nuh-nuh...It's My birthday too."

Last night my mom pointed out that somehow I get to celebrate my birthday all week long. Yep, that's right. I know how to do things right. And because the week leading up to your birthday sometimes means more than the actual day itself, these are the fabulous things people have said that I remember...

Things that were not really compiments, but made my each day a little better:

"I realize now that I wasn't focused on myself because I needed to help you."

"I'm sorry that had to happen on your birthday." (empathy from a 10 year old?! WOW!)

"I love you." (by many people)

"I miss visiting teaching with you."

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Hche, happy birthday to you." (Sung a few times. Am I really this annoying on everyone else's birthday?)

"We'll just have to agree to disagree." (sometimes real friends just have to let you have your own opinion)

"...Thankfully, some choices are easier than others" (from a store bought card! How perfectly fitting.)

Compliments:

"I love that you care so much about people... big people, small people, in-between people." (there were a lot more great things in this note, but I loved that line the best)

"You're one of the most incredible people that I know."


And then, of course there are the lines that made me laugh. I'll see if I can remember what they were in reference to next year:

"Let me smell your legs."

"What am I, a circus act?"

The laugh had at my expense because I know nothing about snow. Snow blower, road grater, "snow grater"... whatever it takes. Sheesh! I grew up in Tempe, I'm just making this stuff up. Thanks for the run-to-the-bathroom-I'm-gonna-pee-my-pants-and-spit-out-my-cake laugh.

The gift I almost bought myself, but was given to me today.

The gift that was more about the other person than me, which cracks me up.

The gift of no gift. Amen.

Silly and thoughtful posts.

Thanks for making my day!!!

Happy Birthday Crystal!

I guess with all this Harry Potter on the brain, I'll go with a good Sorting Hat tribute...

There's plenty hidden in her head

For all of us to find

She'll tell you here and there the facts

And juicy truths will unwind.

I'm not so sure the sorting hat

Could put her in her place

So many talents she does have

No one can keep her pace.

One thing we know for sure is this:

A Slytherin she's not

Any means to get her way is not

The way that she's been taught.

A Ravenclaw would welcome her

To sit and dine with them

Many topics she could discuss at length,

Her head's full to the brim.

And Hufflepuff could use a gal

Who stands beside her friends

Through thick and thin supports us all

Enduring to the end.

But Gryffindor, oh Gryffindor

"Where dwell the brave at heart

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart."

I think at times it may be hard

To figure out what's right

But with Crystal standing next to you

Everything will gleam with light!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!!!

Dear Elizabeth,

Your mom called me this morning and said that you probably would not be going to gymnastics today because it was your birthday. Yippee for you! Did you know that I already knew it was your birthday? I've know all month because there is this cute writing on my calendar that says "Lizzie" on the October 16th square. Do you remember writing that many months ago? Congratulations on being 6 years old! How exciting for you. I hope you have a fun day with your family and enjoy some fun activities. Maybe you will get to go goofy golfing or something else exciting.

Tasha says "Happy Birthday to you. I hope you have a great birthday. I hope your baby will feel better when she gets back home. Have a great day and that you can have a great birthday and that I can see you and Joshua soon. Bye!" I think that Tasha will miss you today at gymnastics but you might not miss riding in the van with her. Sometimes she is a little mean when she is in her car seat. Do you remember when you had to tell her "NO!" several times one day? Not many people know that you can have a loud voice because you are usually so quite. Tasha was trying to make you do something and you told her "no". Then all I heard was this:

Tasha: YES!
Lizzie: NO!
Tasha: YES!
Lizzie: NO!
Tasha: YES!
Lizzie: NO!

I was so proud of you for standing up for yourself! Sometimes Tasha can be very pushy and tries to make people do things that they don't want to. You probably made a good choice when you told her "no". Way to go and way to Choose The Right! You are learning so many things every day and are growing up so fast.

Here is one more thing that I like about you Elizabeth: your smile. It is fun to try to figure out what your smile means. You have a shy smile that means you don't know what you want to do or say. You have a sly smile that means you are up to something and you don't want us to know what you are doing. You have a happy smile that is sometimes followed by a laugh. That one is the best!

I hope you have a fabulous day and get to smile a lot!!!

Love,

Sister Durrenberger

"You Say It's Your Birthday..."

BUH, NUH, NUH, NUH. "It's my birthday too!" (Well not really, but now we've all got this great picture of Anthony Michael Hall sitting in a car with Molly Ringwald right before he asks to borrow her panties.)

Happy Birthday to Jaylee!!!

I know Jaylee will forgive me for not being computer literate enough to actually do what I wanted to do which was give her her own Google image. If I had a scanner and had any artistic abilities I would have drawn it, scanned it, and then uploaded it. But I don't. If I had some really great software I would have copy and pasted it, and then uploaded it. But I don't. So everyone put on their fabulous imagination thinking caps and picture with me the Google image, except in place of the 'o's you have Jaylee's fabulous blogger image, probably a close up version that is centered just around her head so they really look like 'o's. "Aah, how thoughtful H, you really know how to make a girl feel special."

And now go google Jaylee's full name. You will find out she's a blog stocker of all things crafty, mostly because she is in charge of Splendid Creationism Day (or something like that). She's been working on this for several months now because she has commented on strangers blogs, giving them her email address and asking them for instructions. You will also find out that she warns you about falling asleep with your mouth open in a car with multiple people (good tip), and that she wants to shut the door on the lips of her mother's stupid chickens. (Do chickens really have lips? How many of us missed that reference the first time around?! Jaylee was probably trying to be funny and it went over all of our heads.) She's got a facebook account, and her name pops up on Technorati which is something I know nothing about but Matt and April pop up on the same page. (Please don't explain it to me though, I've got a migraine already which leads me to an interesting fact about Jaylee...she's never had a headache. Never I tell you, NEVER! That's awesome and I'm not a bit jealous, really. Stupid chickens.)

That's the funny Jaylee that we all get to not know very well, and love. Then you come across this quote about a friend of hers that died as a result of a roadside bomb in Baghdad. "He was so bright and it was enjoyable to try to one-up each other on who read more books," said Jaylee Draney, a friend. "The world has too few many individuals who not only have the ability to make something of themselves, but the drive as well. Nick was one of those people." She doesn't want the world to know that she cares, is interested, or has anything but jocularities to say. But we know.

I'll spare her the further humiliation of how sweet and sensitive she is and let her continue to hide behind her quick wit and unforgettably inappropriate humor. I love her for all of these qualities! Happy Birthday Girl!

And a quick PS to anyone that I haven't done a birthday post for...the only way you get one is if you tell me about said birthday 2 days before your birthday (because I have that long of a memory), or you leave some sort of hint in an evite invitation response that I read about 2 days before your birthday (Jaylee), or I happen to read the RS birthday list about 2 days before your birthday (April). Otherwise you can sing the other party song, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to".

These are a few of her Favorite Things...

To April, on her birthday...

I love ya girl!!!

Raindrops on roses and vines of sunflowers

Nursing her children through all daylight hours

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of her favorite things...

"Fookies" and "fuffins" and gluten-free streudels

Chicken soup made with her fresh homemade noodles

Waldorf inspired to fly high with her wings

These are a few of her favorite things...

Compost to save the earth turning to ashes

Hair to the birds and also her eyelashes

Movie quotes, Potter fan, therapist phone rings

These are a few of her favorite things...

When the babe cries

When the bee stings

When she's feeling sad

She simply remembers her favorite things

And then she don't feel so bad

Roses...hmmm flowers...

Nursing...all hours

La dee da, la dee da,

La dee da da

These are a few of her favorite things...

When the babe cries

When the bee stings

When she's feeling sad

She simply remembers her favorite things...

And then she don't feel so bad...

Kyra turns the big 1-0!

Me: So how does it feel to be in double digits?

K: It is amazing.

Me: Really? You will never get to go back to single digits?

K: I know. There are only 9 numbers and years that you can do that, but there's like a whole lot of double digit numbers.

Me: (Like I don't know that!) Ya-a! So this is the very last year that you will ever get to be a single digit number on your birthday. The very last time that you only get to use one number. Aren't you a little bit sad?

K: (Thinks a little, then looks at the clock) What time was I born?

Me: 4:30...ish.

K: Well, I'll be 9 for about 4 more hours.

Birthday Traditions

We were asked a week or two ago if our family had any traditions that we would like to share with the ward. I thought a bit and didn't come up with anything I hadn't told people about before. I also thought about the traditions that my mom tried to start after we had started our own families, but were short lived. Somehow traditions just fall in our lap and those are the really good ones. Here's what happens on your birthday if you live in our house...

1. In honor of Harry Potter fans and the-need-to-shut-the-kids-up-about-when-they-get-to-open-their-presents: Birthday children wake up to see their "lot" of presents at the foot of their beds, just like happens in the HP movies. (It doesn't happen like that in the books, but visions of the kids ravenging and throwing paper in the air really brings a smile to my face.) This solves the problems of: when to open them; too much pressure to be excited about something that might really suck; being on display as you hoard your stuff; getting several moments to really enjoy your stuff after you've ransacked the lot. It really has become fun the 2 times that we have done it and already the kids are talking about their birthday morning. (Oh, and the presents do tend to be fairly small but needed items and the kids are more grateful for the surprise in the a.m. than they are the actual present)

2. We sing to the birthday person all day on their birthday. We will just burst into the Happy Birthday song on a whim. By about noon the birthday person is going crazy and rolling their eyes, but at the same time loving every minute of it. By nighttime they are quite done listening to it. It ends if there is a cake and we sing one last time. (Notice I used the word IF there, cake is optional in this house. Cheesecake would be preferred by most, and candles are off limits for 2 of us!) Bill and I also can't help busting out with "You say it's your birthday? bu-nu-nu-nu...It's my birthday too!" even though that's the only part of the song we know. Who doesn't love a little Anthony Michael Hall and Sixteen Candles reenactment?!

3. Thanks to Crystal and her what-can-you-get-for-free-on-your-birthday post, I'm sure we will spend most of these days spending more money than necessary to get that free something for the birthday person. Something is fun about telling a complete stranger it's your birthday and they give you something for it. Weird, huh?

That's it. That's all I've got in the way of traditions. See me again in December for St. Nicholas night. (I can never remember if it is the 6th or the 7th, something about D-Day being the same day or a different day has really thrown me for a loop, and some Germans even celebrate on the 5th. What a mess!)

Happy Birthday Tasha

You never know what is going to happen when you mix your school friends with your church friends, but we didn't seem to have any problems in this area with Tasha, Andrew, and Noah...
Two hands, and two friends, easy.

Tasha had a "great birthday in the whole world" thanks to her friends and the Phoenix Zoo. What a fun morning we had just hanging out with the animals, playing in the children's area, and feeding the turtles and fish. We are so grateful that everyone could make this a special day for her, and we missed those of you who were not able to be there.

This is a shot towards the end of the day as she was contemplating how things were going. Her friends were very kind to her and let her set the plan for the day. We saw "giraffeses", elephants, and a few other things...

Tasha and Andrew held out the longest in the petting zoo. They followed the goats around saying, "cutie, cutie, cutie", then searching again and saying, "here's another cutie." It was pretty sweet, although I'm sure everyone else was bored as they were waiting for us to finish up. We made it to a birthday "bungalow" to have cupcakes and sing to Tasha. Wow was April supermom with the cupcakes in a bag and then whipped out the frosting in a can to spread on. Thanks! Obviously Tasha enjoyed them!





Some of the kids ate a little lunch here to wash down the sugar. Eventually, they all ended up at the edge of the lake checking out the turtles. All the moms were able to sit around and chat while Lorenzo manned the scene by the lake. At some point Jaylee decided that the turtles at the edge of the lake needed to be up on safer ground so Asher could check them out without her worrying about him falling in the water. Someone said, "who needs a clown?" as we watched Jaylee pick up turtles, carry them to the top of the hill and then release them to the delight of the squealing children. The turtles would race down the hill and back into the water and the kids would jump up and down and chase them. Not that Jaylee is a clown or anything, but her turtle antics sure were more entertaining for the kids than some weirdo in big shoes making goofy faces.

Before all of this happened we came upon some really big turtles. I missed the conversation between the kids, but I heard Noah say to his mom, "Mo-om, he said that's not a turtle!"

Well, no, it's a tortoise. Justin would know. Not only would Justin know, but he would care that you called it a tortoise and not a turtle. He probably knows the difference between the two, and I don't. So, on this one, I'm going to trust the 5 year old who seems pretty confident that it's a tortoise.

There are a lot more pic's that I want to post but I'm not so great at this particular skill. I really want to post this on her actually birthday so I'll end with the rest of her day: left the zoo, drove around looking for Sara's car, preschool, big-hug circle from the preschool crowd, about 30 minutes of down time before grandparents came over, 2 more presents, a little work on the super swing set, pizza dinner, butterfly cake, a few summersaults and bed.

Sound asleep, 4 years after her birth, almost to the minute.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Bill's dad turned 75 this past Wednesday. Wow. 75! That's 3/4 of a century. And I have to say the man is in crazy good health, super vitality, and keeping up with the young dogs. In fact, he's coming over this weekend to help Bill build a swing set for Tasha.

A big kudos goes to Bill for calling his dad last week and inviting him over for dinner. Yes, he made the call ahead of time and was thoughtful without me even mentioning a thing. As he invited him he turned to me in a hushed tone and said, "is that OK?!" Then I listened to him coerce a dinner menu out of him. I can imagine on the other end his dad just saying whatever about 5 times until he finally asked for Sauerbrauten. What's that?! I've heard of it but what did Bill get me into?!

More kudos to Bill for looking up the recipe for it...not the day of, but a week before. What a blessing that man is, especially since the meat needed to marinate for something like 3-4 days. (Ours only got a day and a half since it was in my mom's fridge, grrr, no fridge here yet) So I faked my way through this new recipe, using the crockpot since I would not be home in time to cook it for 3 hours on the stove. (who does stuff like that?) And what-da-ya-know, it was fabulous. It was just what his dad wanted and commented on how great it was, several times. I guess he even called ME last night to thank me again.

This tasty dinner, and a book got me to thinking...is there something to this cooking business? If I take the time to prepare, sometimes marinate, add all the herbs a recipe calls for...will I enjoy what I'm eating enough to put the time and thought into a yummy dinner everytime? It really isn't all that great of a chore, just out of my element. I'll get out 10+ ingredients to BAKE something, but to COOK is another story. Why is that?! Although I used a box mix for Dad's German Chocolate Cake, I made the frosting from scratch and it was heavenly. Maybe I just enjoy desserts more than actual food. Go figure! The book I flipped through said that when you have really flavorful food you savor it more, eat less, and thus, lose weight. Good idea.

SO, Happy Birthday Dad! And thanks for the new experience. Maybe I'm on my way to be a Becky Sauer birthday host...oooh, and make a homemade pie that sells for over $40! WOW, wouldn't that be the day? A girl can aspire though, can't she. Maybe in Dad's honor I will try a new recipe each week...well, maybe each month would be a little more realistic.