Baseball and Karate

The morning started with opening ceremonies and a baseball game.

Then we went to a friend's karate birthday party.

They had fun playing all kinds of games.

They played Karate Ball (similar to Dodge Ball) and tried not to get hit by the ball.

They tried to hit pads out of the air with swords.

Owen Races to Evan's Birthday Party

Evan's parents threw him a surprise party for his 9th birthday.  We surprised Owen with it, so he had no idea he was invited until the day before or where it was until we pulled into the parking lot of Andretti Speedway.  Evan was surprised and Owen was thrilled to see his friend.  So much so that he had to lift Evan right off the ground.

The Three Musketeers.  Owen, Lou and Evan.

Owen had quite the blue tongue after eating birthday cake.

He was excited about racing in a gokart by himself.

So.  Very.  Excited.

Bunny ears are quite popular around here.

Once Owen was in a gokart, his feet didn't reach the pedals.  So he had to switch to a two-seater and ride shotgun to his Momma.  He giggled the whole way around the race track.  And giggled louder as our helmets knocked together going around curves.

After racing around the track, the kids were given cards to play arcade games.  Owen used up the majority of his card on games like the claw where you use a joystick to move the claw before it drops and feebly attempts to pick up oversized toys.

As we walked out to our car through the parking lot, the tears started and didn't stop for some time.  The boy said he didn't have any fun.  None.  He could have fooled me.  I think he was a bit tired from a full day and over-stimulated from the raceway.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Suzanney!

We're so glad you waited a day to celebrate your birthday with us so we could have more people singing around the table after dinner!

And so glad we could get some multi-generational photos in, too!

Thank you honeys for playing photographer so I could get in a couple of shots!

We had sugar-free ice cream for Grandma's birthday dessert.  It was delicious!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Suzanney!  We love you!!!

Kelley's Birthday

Started with a surprise iPad 2 from her honeys.  He was very tricky and it was truly a surprise.  It will be so great for using with Kelley's photography business!  Once the kids were dropped off at school, Kelley was off for an emissions inspection.

The weather has been playing games, teasing us with the 70s and then dipping into the low 50s.  Today is fairly warm out, but not quite warm enough to stop blasting the heat at 90 degrees.

The dinner table was filled with family, including Aunt Kiki and Mr. Thomas.  I gave Owen my camera and instructions on how to use it.  Nice shot, Owensk!

Grandma Suzanney took quite a delight in loading the cake up with candles!

Owen forgot to refocus the camera on the remainder of the photos, but I love them just the same.

Yes, it did take several attempts before all of the candles were extinguished.  But that's okay.  My wish already came true two months ago when I started meeting the kids at the bus stop every afternoon!

Once the lights were turned back on and Bean had passed out party favors, we had a couple of trouble makers at the table.

I liked watching Owen stand back and watch the antics with an amused little smile.

It didn't take him long to join in and get his aunt in the cheek.

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.  New tags for the car.  A new iPad.  Surrounded by family and friends.  Meatloaf for dinner and Mississippi Mud Cake for dessert.  Welcome year number 37.

Early Birthday Celebration

Papa Ford drove up this morning to spend the afternoon with us.  College football was watched, as were photography video tutorials.  A dishwasher repair was attempted, but was ultimately delayed while parts are being ordered.  And then, Papa Ford made ribs for my birthday dinner.  Woot!  He tried to change them up on me and mess with my birthday dinner by using a different barbecue sauce, but I pitched a stink and he ended up doing half with his sauce and half with the Maul's barbecue sauce I love.  Thanks Dad for not messing up my ribs (although your new sauce is a good back-up for when we run out of Maul's)!

He also brought along an Italian Creme Cake that was soooo delicious.  It might be my breakfast later this week.  I love that I'm still his kid and can get the 'kid' number candles on my cake when Dad comes to celebrate.

Rock Climbing

Chloe was invited to Bridget's birthday party at Lifetime Fitness.  The first hour was spent climbing the rock wall.

Do you see Chloe on the far wall about 6 feet off the ground?

She was very adept at finding the unsupervised lines and getting extra time to climb or dangle.

Such a little monkey.  I think she would have been content to climb all day long because she was having so much fun!

More Presents

When we got home, Chloe was begging to open her birthday presents from her friends.

This was the first year that she was really able to read the cards all by herself, which was neat to see.

Owen re-purposed some of Chloe's present ribbons.