Birthday Extravaganza

It's summer which means we have a whole slew of birthdays to celebrate with our wedding anniversary tucked in there between them all.  It's a whirlwind to say the least.

Randy turned 42 while we were at the Oregon Coast.  I bought a Nothing Bundt Cake for him (and Henry) and tucked them carefully into our van that was bursting at the seams.  Luckily both survived the drive and unpacking unscathed.  Randy has had another busy year as he works his tail off to get our practice off the ground.  He is doing an amazing job, his patients and staff love him, and he and I are getting better at maneuvering the ups and downs of the dental business.  Experience is a great teacher!  We were so happy he could spend a few days with us before he had to go back to work.  Luckily he's been able to take a lot of little 3-day weekend breaks throughout this summer so he's not completely tied to the practice like he used to be.

Two days later, Henry turned 2!  I wish I had a picture of all the people who were at our campsite to sing Happy Birthday to Henry.  My aunts, uncles, cousins, and even his Great Grandma were there.  Henry is still the cutest thing, even though Marcus chopped his bangs in such a terrible way.  I've never had a kid cut their own hair but Henry looks like he did it himself.  Luckily it will grow back and Marcus is fired.  We sure love this boy and I love watching my older boys love him.  Henry brings out the softer side in all of us, except for when he's grumpy, and then the soft feelings are nowhere to be seen.  He is getting better at talking every day, he runs ridiculously fast and far for such a little guy, he takes amazing 3-hour naps daily (my saving grace), he refuses to sit in a high chair and will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Landon and Parker turned 10 and 7 respectively.  Their birthday fell on Fast Sunday this year which usually means Landon doesn't eat breakfast, so Landon was thrilled when I told him he didn't have to fast. I think he thought this was the best gift ever.  I made them breakfast in bed (Star Wars waffles) but since we only have one tray, they even had to share that.  Luckily these two don't mind sharing as long as they get to do it together.  I have almost no pictures of their birthday but Landon was thrilled with his new lacrosse gloves and Parker got a fancy trick scooter.  I'm done buying Lego sets but Grandma and Grandpa S gave them each a Lego set so the boys spent the rest of their birthday in their room in Lego-assembling bliss.  The house was unusually quiet for a few hours as they worked like Santa's elves.  The icing on the cake was that Max and Sam, their cousins from Utah were here to celebrate all week. The party was non-stop.

Excuse the messy kitchen as you watch these clips.  The boys were so excited to eat cake that as soon as I finished frosting it they wanted to blow out their candles.  The best part is Henry yelling, "Happy Birthday" as he tries to sing along with us.  My niece Megan filmed for us.  I can't even begin to tell you how nice it was to have a temporary daughter in the house.  She even helped me make the birthday cakes!