Birthday Party: Take Two

Who says small parties can't be fun? Two friends along with their baby sisters and parents joined Brendan (along with his baby sister, parents and grandparents) to celebrate his 4th birthday this weekend. Pin the tail on the donkey, fun party favors, good food and good company made for the best 4-year-old party I've ever seen. Joe was even able to arrange an "off" day from his army training in order to make it home for just one night which was probably the one and only thing Brendan really wanted in order to make this party perfect...

Birthday Party: Take One

It seems it has become a tradition for us to travel to my hometown of Grass Valley right around this time each year. Joe's two-week summer training for the army (that happens to fall during the SAME two weeks every year) leaves me with an inherent desire to be with my mom. What better excuse to visit. So we packed it all up and made the LONG drive to Grass Valley once again.

It should come as no surprise that Brendan would cherish this as a tradition since it results in his receiving the first of 2 birthday parties each year. So just 2 days after we got into town, we gathered at a local park and had ourselves a party. After a prolonged cloudy/rainy season in the Northwest (you NWers know exactly what I'm talking about...) the 80 degree sunny days were a very warm welcome. And a perfect backdrop for a party in the park.

4 years and 2 days ago

I gave birth to this sweet bundle of joy. A joyous experience as we so badly wanted him in our lives. I had no idea what my life would be like with him in it, and now I can't imagine it without him. He's charming and sweet and can be more than a handful at times. His mind is constantly thinking which makes him incredibly inquisitive. He's smart and he's mischievous but can stop me in my tracks when he looks at me out of the blue and says "mommy... I love you so much!" It's hard to believe he's 4 years old. It seems time flies way too fast. But no matter the age, he'll be the first to tell you that he'll be my baby boy forever... I love you sweet child, you light up my life.

Picnic in the Park

During a short glimpse of summer weather a few weeks ago, a friend and her kids invited us to picnic with them in the park. Kim packed a lunch and we met at her house, walking the few blocks to this beautiful park. The boys ran around and rode their bikes (hard to get them to sit long for lunch) and the girls (just 7 weeks apart in age) had fun pushing the wagon and stroller. We were lucky to get in about a half hour of picnicking before the man we deemed the "picnic wrecker" came to tell us he needed to mow the very large field that we happened to be sitting in the middle of. He was "kind" enough to start at the end furthest from us but made it obvious that we would need to move quickly. Oh well... the time was well spent and much enjoyed anyway!