Happy Birthday Evan

Belated Birthday Post, that is.
Evan's birthday was December 26th.
We took Evan out to Texas Roadhouse for a steak dinner.
Of course the servers all came out and gave him a big birthday Yee Haw, as they do.

He opened his gifts and then we headed home for some chocolate cake with chocolate icing.  My favorite, I knew I raised this boy right!

So Happy 17th Birthday to my awesome, smart and loving EVAN!

Happy Birthday Logan!!

15 years ago today you came into our life, an adorable bouncing baby boy with big blue eyes and cute little dimples!

Today you are handsome and strong.  You've grown into a great young man.  You still have those beautiful blue eyes and cute dimples too!!

We wish you a wonderful, happy birthday filled with blessings.

We love you!

Mom and Dad

Evan and Isaiah

and Tigger

Happy 10th Birthday Tigger!

We've had 8 wonderful years with our girl.  We couldn't have asked for a better dog!  

We love you Tigs!

Happy 10th Birthday!

A little of this and a little of that

Summer time is Busy time.

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to lately.

The last week of June we enjoyed our trip to Ohio boating with family and friends.

I had a good time scrapbooking with 17 scrappin' friends last weekend in St. Louis.

Isaiah and I had great birthdays.
Evan's friends Harley and Hailey baked me a birthday cake.

I taught a Photography class to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at church all last week.
Isaiah was my helper.

This is a photo one of my students took of me.

Isaiah had his birthday party over the weekend.
It started with water wars....

Then moved inside to the ice cream sundae bar....

Next was present time.....

And finally the boys dug into their goodie bags and modeled their "Billy Bob" rotten teeth for me.

We had a big storm today and a branch fell and snapped my Dwarf Japanese Maple tree in half.

The branch that took out the JM tree

My poor tree is not a pile of branches on the ground now.

The storm knocked over a tree out back.

My Purple Cone Flowers are in bloom.

My Crepe Myrtle is in bloom.

Thanks for popping in for a visit.
Is your summer as busy as ours?

Birthday Time

Happy 11th Birthday to my sweet, handsome son.  We love you and are very proud of you.  Hope you enjoy your special day!

And Happy 40th Birthday to me.

SURPRISE!!

They asked me about 2 months ago if they could throw a Sweet 16 "Surprise" birthday party for Evan. "Of course" I said and we began to plot, scheme and plan. They made the guest list, invited all the friends, arranged for a live band and decorated the house. I just paid for everything. Oh and I asked my sister and her husband to come do all the cooking and food prep while we got Evan out of the house.
Who are they, you might ask? Evan's best friends. Carlos, Halie, Harley and Hannah.

Evan was completely in the dark they whole time! It was a great surprise!

We planned an Ice Cream Sundae Bar
And a Nacho Bar
Decorating for the party
Uncle Matt ~ we call him Uncle Chefy because he used to be a chef ~ came to set up the refreshments
Aunt Tracee~ party refreshment coordinator
Here we are! SURPRISE! I think he was shocked, speechless, unable to compute why more than 25 of his closest friends were in our game room.
Oh, wow, a surprise party....for me!
I have great friends!!!
I rarely smile
Carlos, in line for the Nacho bar
Feeding the herd
Fun with friends


Concert in the garage ~ sorry for the less than stellar photos. Do you know how hard it is to photograph kids in the darkness with strobing lights? Now you do.





Midnight is fast approaching. We fill 25 glasses with Sparkling Cider.
And we toast in the New Year!
Uncle Chefy and Aunt Tracee
Me and Dennis
The aftermath.

Overall, about 35 kids were here to help Evan celebrate his birthday. It was a great party!