Monday, June 29, 2015

June Birthdays and Father's Day Style

We celebrated Father's Day at the beginning of the month (it worked so well with Mother's Day) with Brian's family. When June started, it was pleasant to be outside - and it's always fun to be at Grandma and Grandpa's house with all the cousins.
Dena found a newspaper article from Harold's football days in Springville and had it printed for him. She chose this article in particular because it refers to Harold as "The Bruiser." :)
Grandpa and Bridget, kind enough to stop eating and pose together. Bridget injured herself on her scooter the day before this party.
In addition to Father's Day we were there to celebrate these two being a year older. The two most handsome birthday boy and girl in all the land.
They got what is now their traditional Caramel Cake. Grandma provided ice cream so that we actually had a piece of cake to take home for Brian and Bridget's breakfast. :)
Not only did Brian and Bridget request the cake, but Brian asked for extra frosting in the middle.
We were recently home from Yellowstone and we had to show everyone the video of the kids seeing Old Faithful. 
Janessa pitched to Bridget and Emil and sometimes Colin, when Colin wasn't busy throwing that bear (his "stuffy") and teasing Nate.

Bridget wanted some practice because she had a softball camp in June. It was two days with the local high school's girls softball team. They've been state champions for two years in a row! Bridget is trying as many things as she can so that we can find her people and her thing. You know what I mean.
Even with a friend there (Sami, right next to Bridget), this was Bridget's face for softball camp. I should have taken an after picture, though. All smiles.

Also at the beginning of June, Brian took the training wheels off Emil and Colin's bike. Emil took off, wobbling and crashing all the way down the street, but always getting up. Colin crashed once and was d-o-n-e with that nonsense. After just a few hours of practice, Emil was turning and riding up on the curb of the driveway. His grin almost came off his face, he was so proud of himself. He even went to a few neighbors' houses and told them to come out and watch him on his bike. We have kind neighbors. :)

For Brian's birthday, the kids spent the night before at Grandma's house with Nate and Abby. Brian and I went to an early movie (Avengers: Age of Ultron - you see one building blow up, you've seen them all, amIright?), then out to eat, then home to watch the Netflix DVD we've had at our house for three months (Draft Day - skip that one for sure, if you haven't already). I'm glad it's not our normal life - it used to be when we were trying to have a family for ten years - but it was kind of nice to just do that stuff without someone having a meltdown. (I did have to use the restroom during the Avengers movie. I didn't miss anything.) The next morning, Brian's birthday, I made him open his present - a new phone - then go back to sleep while it charged. We went to the temple before going back to pick up the kids from their tired grandparents.

Six days later it was Bridget's birthday. She asked for a dog and a tablet. My heart is forever hardened against getting a dog. It will not happen. I don't care how cute the kids are with a dog. She did get a tablet, though. Her brothers gave her an instruction book for doing her doll's hair and a body board. Grandma Peggy made her an apron and Annalee an apron. She got some fancy pens with feathers on the ends and two journals from her birth mother, and a jewelry box from her birth mother's parents. It was a pretty sweet haul.
We planned a pool party for the next day when the three friends she invited could all be there, so this was Bridget for most of her birthday:
Fine by me! For one day, anyway. It's been unbearably hot the last week or so and this is secretly all I feel like doing too. On Friday, though, we were definitely in the heat at the local pool. Public pools are a faithful nemesis of mine. Especially when they're crowded. More proof that I will do anything for Bridget. Except get a dog.
These four were so adorable playing in the pool. (Through the magic of cropping you can't tell how crowded it was.) They made up routines for me to judge. Then we went to Pizza Pie Cafe for dinner with Daddy and the brothers.
It was the day of the mini float parade here in town and luckily Bridget is friends with Clara and Clara's mom is up to sitting on the curb in 108 degree heat to watch a parade. We left Bridget with Clara's family to enjoy the parade while Brian, the boys and I collapsed in air conditioned comfort back at our house. The two-day celebration ended in perfect happiness for Bridget. She's nine now!


No comments: