Birthdays 2

My Newest Happy Place

 D surprised me by staying home from work on my birthday this year. He sent me on an "as long as you want"  run (such a treat~) where I found a new ridge trail with a view. Then we spent the day together and bless him, he let me decide where to eat (even though it ended up being a crappy coupon-motivated choice -- I'm sure I'm the only wife who gets genuine praise for choosing NOT to save money as he keeps my "thrift gene" in check.) It was lovely to spend some relatively uninterrupted or pounced-upon time with my sweetheart (and of course, Sum and Des, affectionately dubbed Family #2.)

 I proudly share a birthday with two of my brothers. Well, one is the day before mine and one the day after, but we always do a big family party with 3 cakes and I've sorta been missing it. So here was my Instagram shout out to Weston and Marty this year.  :)

 Who can help but feel fully loved with a card such as this?

Or heaps of the world's best chocolate posted straight to my door. (Sidenote: Mer, I may or may not have banned Darren from joining in my late night indulgences, as he tends not to slowly savor each bite like I!)

Conveniently, all seven of our birthdays are spread out once a month from April to October. Will pulls up the rear and ended the birthday run with a shabang.

 

 Cheesecake, shopping spree for treats, shaving cream wars, body paint, the chocolate bar game, endless Nerf wars...

It was his dream combination of friends, Nerf, music, sugar and mess. You can bet I was finding remnants of that "epic" sleepover for weeks afterwards (!)

 Will is the forerunner in this fam and also the guinea pig. I'm grateful for his GUSTO (definitely inherited from his namesake, my Dad) enthusiasm, energy, fairness and strong sense of right and wrong. He's compassionate and sensitive, yet totally full-throttle. An awesome combo.

never was a boy happier to get a little brudder

cool dude's b-day lunch, the boy can put it down

We also commemorated 9/11 helping post flags on the Embassy gates - always a breathtaking display, representing each life lost that fateful day.

And we recently had our 13th wedding anniversary. My mom, a numbers gal who remembers the dates of baptisms, her and Dad's first kiss and even our engagement, left a voicemail with congrats.

Which was a good reminder because... well, we had both forgotten. Aaaahh, at least it's not a reflection of our love. (And truth be told we were climbing out from under the rubble of a week long camping trip at the coast.)

So we celebrated the next day with a family candlelight dinner re-telling all the details of our engagement and wedding then sharing favorite things about our family with each other. Will, newly inspired by his awesome breakfast at Scouts campout, even brought us Cowboy Hash in bed.

I had fun finding D pics. It has been a great 13 - looking forward to as many adventures in the next 13!

The Dad Magnet (bottom: late to church yet again)

Holiday Catch Up

Well I 'spose since it's almost Christmas and all, I oughta post Halloween and Thanksgiving...

 I helped throw together a last minute Primary party since the Ward Trunk or Treat was cancelled - had a Witch Room, Skeleton Room, Doctor Who Room, Pumpkin Room and MineCraft Room that they rotated through. Crazy chaotic fun, that was.

did all my touch-the-yucky-body-parts table

 The Embassy held their annual Haunted House Trick or Treating with the reptiles and mummy wrap and all that fun. 

Will opted out of the party for trick or treating with friends

They don't really do  much trick or treating here, but our little group had fun giving it a go anyway. Summer was thrilled with her play group Trunk or Treat.

 Thanksgiving was a treat, since we completely skipped it last year. Had a few families over and really felt American again for a while. Nothing quite like pulling that roasted bird out of the oven to make you feel all reminiscent.

 I picked up a bunch of weeds and pine cones/boughs on my run that morning to throw in the center of the table. Voila~ Weed centerpiece for the win!

So wonderful to enjoy a holiday all about gratitude with people we genuine enjoy, in a house full of children with delicious food coming out of our ears. Although I miss family more than ever, it was a great last Thanksgiving here.

Window Into Life

A random splice of some scenes from the last few months. Just for memory's sake.

Sunday afternoon at the Adventure Park

babies are best air-dried, no?

Mitchell fam hits the lanes

Our neighbor was kind enough to let us leave our mark in his recent driveway repair job before covering it up with brick. So we will live forever in comfort knowing that far away in Australia, our names and handprints are etched in concrete under a nice little driveway we called home for a while.

These two loonies keep me employed and entertained all day every day. Oh how I love them.

sprouts: eat real food. eat live food. eat green food.

A fancy "afternoon tea" with someone who needed a little extra Mum time.

The most enthusiastic and impressive netball team I've seen, with their beloved coach.

And the most extraordinary Island birthday bash I've ever seen thrown for a one year old!

Afternoon tea and a romp in the mountains with our incredibly self-sustained violin teacher. They live up on a ridge in the middle of nowhere and it was delightful to see what can and probably should be done with solar power, composting toilets, greenhouses and recyclables.

 On my return from church girl's camp, I discovered Will had lice. :( Annie, our in-house expert, wrote this tender note as I combed them out - accompanied by his bloodcurdling screams from the bathroom.

 Meanwhile, the babies were having a party in the medicine cabinet so we got a little ambo ride to hospital that same morning. (They threw up and were fine, just needed observation for a while.)

cute Hungry Caterpillar birthday I want to copy someday

busking practice - Kenna's the lyrics guru

Kenna and Will are close in age and only one grade apart so naturally they share friends.  No bigger fights than over this friend though.

Savanna's birthday is between theirs and she lives right up the street, so these guys have been dubbed The Three Musketeers lately (what would we do without you, Sorensons??)

 Spent a lovely afternoon at Lake Burley Griffin downtown. A beautiful spot we don't enjoy often enough.

Capped off by the "Nice Parent" splurging on Magnums for all. :)