It's a fun tradition

Every year, year after year, Darin's birthday is the day after Jane and Ruby's (wink!).  Every year since we have photographic evidence, I make him a homemade Red Velvet cake, and he poses with his cake and his kids on his birthday.  It's a fun tradition.  But this year, on his birthday, he had to head to D.C. to participate in a week long conference.  There was no time for the cake photo, or even for the cake!  Thank goodness we found time to squeeze it in on Sunday night before his official birthday week came to an end...

2011

In the event you are in the mood for a glimpse at the years past, might I refer you to a post from a few years back, where you can see how far we've come!  CLICK.

Maybe I can't resist a repost of at least one picture:

2010

Happy Birthday Darin!


P.S.  Want to see what my sisters have been up to lately?  Click HERE...

Falling behind and catching up.

February passes like a blink of an eye.  So do the years that my girls have been alive!  It's sad and happy, all wrapped into one.  They turned 6!  I tried to talk them out of a birthday party.  I wasn't really feeling it this year, but that was impossible.  It was two, way too enthusiastic girls, against one totally unenthused mom.  I lost.  We had a grand party!

There was dancing:

Cupcake decorating:

A game of pinning hearts onto stuff:

Of course there was some crafting:

And my favorite part of all was the beautiful weather and the outdoor Fairy Scavenger hunt:

The girls, all 10 of them, were full of smiles and giggles.  I took that to mean that everyone had fun, and we did a good job.  I thought I was keeping it all simple and manageable (and I really was), but still, I was completely exhausted by the end of the weekend.

Of course, the next day was their "real" birthday.  So there were more presents:

More jubilation:

They got their long over due GIRL bikes:

And there was the requisite blowing out of the candles, on the cake, on the birthday, on the day, and on the weekend.  Phew.

Ruby kept telling Jane that they could not consider themselves 6 until they blew out the candles on their cake, which technically did not happen until fairly late Sunday night.  It might have been my preference, that if Ruby's theory was correct, that they never had blown out the candles. 6 sounds old.  I'm pretty sure when Henry turned 6 I was ready to hand him the keys to my car.  These girls, how come they have to grow up so fast?!  They bring a sparkle to my life, which I will tragically miss when they are gone.

They aren't going anywhere!  I'm going to secretly follow them, and their sparkle around this world, wherever they go.  I think they'll love that!

Happy Birthday sweet Ladies.  I love you so.  

They really are six.

Without any consideration for their poor mother, they went and turned 6 this weekend!  Need I say more?!  

I will.  Soon.  Just let me go sleep for a few days.  It was a B U S Y weekend.

Some Valentine's Day Love

If you want to see some Valentine's Day *love* MOM style, check out what the girls got to wear to school today, HERE.

If you want a delicious treat for FHE tonight, follow the link HERE.  Or here.

But do not follow that link above if you want skinny thighs or to look cute in your swimming suit in the next few months.  I'm just saying, it won't help!

If you want to know how proud I am of my boys for being good students, then observe the pictures below:

George at the Honor Roll assembly.

Henry was there too.  Super excited as per usual.  I keep trying to tell him it's not always going to be as easy as it is right now to get straight A's, so he should really enjoy it while he can.

Do you think he is listening to me?

If you want to read about how George won the Pine Wood Derby, well then, let me just tell you, George won the Pine Wood Derby!!

Here I am, being super excited for him!  It was his first time getting to participate in a Pine Wood Derby. That's a really big deal in the world of Cub Scouting!

Of course, huge kuddos go out to Darin for helping both of his young Cub Scouts earn a "Fastest Car" award.  Honestly Darin doesn't really know how he's managed it.  He barely owns any tools, and the random collection of saws that we now have, have been purchased specifically to trim the trunk of the Christmas tree, and to be used in his effort to help his sons not be embarrassed at Pine Wood Derby.  It is an incredibly successful collection of random saws.   Darin could never build another Pine Wood Derby car for the rest of his life, and his sons will forever be indebted to him for helping them get their big wins!  Way to go Darin.

Cutest George on the block.