Happy Birthday....To Me!!

It's true...Wednesday was my big day and it was a good one. Danny, my 21-year old brother, left a message on my cell phone that pretty much summed it all up, " Hope you have a great day and try not to feel too old!". Ah, the wisdom of our youth, or the sarcasim, hmmmm. I turned 27, a number that seemed to baffle Sam and he responded, "Wow, that's a lot!" (Sigh...) What can you say to that?

No, but really, I had and awesome day! My wonderful husband surprised me by taking the whole day off work. We started off the day with breakfast in bed, which is sometimes lonely, but I got to watch the Today show without Sam chattering my ear off. I'm such a nerd, but I love that show!

Joe had me open my gifts one at a time throughout the day, which made it fun. This was right after breakfast. That's a kickstand in Sam's hand, and no he's not about to hit me with it, even though that's kind of what it looks like!

This was after my shower, it was new running headphones for my Ipod. The boys loved helping open my presents! I was trying to show Andrew how it's done because his birthday is getting pretty close!
And a little later...


My birthday present from my in-laws was money so that I could go shopping for some new clothes, so Joe stayed home with the boys and sent me off shopping soon after breakfast. So fun, I've forgotten how easy it is to go places without the boys. Joe arranged for my mom to come over at lunchtime to babysit for the afternoon, which Sam was thrilled about. I was thrilled because I got to got go to lunch and spend the whole afternoon with just my hubby. What a treat! Thanks Mom!

This is one of the outfits that I got on my shopping trip. I don't love this picture of me, but I love the new outfit! Thanks to the Lodge folks!


For dinner we had a BBQ with my family and some friends from our old ward at our house. My parents gave me patio chairs (since I always have to borrow theirs when we have people over) and some Tupperware that I'd been hoping for (again, I'm a nerd but I was very happy)! Instead of cake, we had a cheesecake (from Costco, my favorite!) with fresh strawberries on it. Perfect!

Breanna, Bernie and Danny after dinner.


Jon and Andrew. Andrew seems to enjoy showing off just how big he can open his mouth!

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this a wonderful day, I truly felt loved and spoiled!

Warm weather... Finally!

We are so glad that it is actually starting to feel like summer outside...it's about time! This morning we went to the park with a group of mom's from our ward and my sister-in-law and whole group of little girls. Poor Sam, none of the friends that I'm making in our new ward have boys! Hmmm, I might have to work on that, but in the meantime, he doesn't seem to mind too much. We went to a great little park that has a wading pool and spray area which is perfect for the little kids. First we started with a picnic lunch and then we turned the kids loose. Sam went straight for the wading pool, of course, and hardly left it until it was time to go. He loves water so much and now he wants to go to a "real water pool". The water was pretty shallow, but really cold. But that didn't seem to stop Sam from jumping right in.

Andrew really wanted to be in the water, but he was shocked by the temperature. Eventually he got used to it enough to stand at the edge and splash. Every time he sat down, though, he wailed because of the icy shock. But he definately didn't want out!

Sam and Colette playing together.

We weren't sure if Ela would want to get in the water, but with Sam there holding her hand she had a great time. They are such cute cousins and great friends!

And did I mention that the water was cold? Well, Bre decided to give Bernie a chance to experience it and I think we can see what he thought about it! He is so adorable!

The moms: Bre, Chari, Amy, Sharla, and Melissa. This was just before we left before all of the kids had their "naptime meltdown". It's always amazing to me to watch how they can be playing nicely and then it's like they hit a wall and just can't be human anymore. That was followed by a mad rush to get all of the stuff gathered, wet clothes off, garbage disposed of, and goodbyes said and we raced home for naps. It was a fun little outing and I'm pretty sure all of the kids (and moms) were ready for those naps!

Cousins Pictures

We took the four cousins to JCPenney to have their pictures taken and it went amazingly well. We only got the one pose, but there were no tears, screaming or running away (from the parents or the kids). Plus they all took great individual pictures too, what can I say, they're just cute kids! These are Sam's 3-year pictures, Ela's 2-year (a little late), Andrew's 9 month and Bernie's newborn (I think that he was not quite a month).

Oh, and here's a few more, because they are just so darn cute!