Happy Father's Day - #8

Happy Father's Day to the best dad I know.  The kids were super excited about making him breakfast in bed and they worked hard to make a mini book and some cards for Joseph.

The kids helped stir, knead, and cut out doughnuts for Joseph's traditional breakfast in bed.  I think we've made doughnuts for 5 or 6 out of the 7 years he has been a dad.  It's sorta our thing I guess.

We came up with a dozen plus assorted doughnuts.  The vanilla glazed were a big hit this year.

After breakfast everyone got to work on putting up a new mailbox.  The old one was falling apart and Joseph had requested a new one...so he got his wish today!

 In other news, Gabe has been steadily improving his swim time lately.

 He swam on Saturday and improved both his 50 freestyle and 25 backstroke times. 

Joseph was excited to finally attend a swim meet and see Gabe swim.  He was pleased with Gabe's effort.

Grace's 5th Birthday

Yesterday morning we woke up to rain and grey skies...not good news for Grace's 5th Birthday Pool Party.  We were a little bummed but hopeful that the skies would clear up and temperatures would rise. Grandma, AnnaLee, and I got all of the food and decorations ready in the morning, at noon we all ran out for a very quick lunch, and then we headed to the pool clubhouse to decorate.  By the start of the party at 2pm the sun had come out and it was high 60's so they told us they would open the pool at 3pm.  We were so relieved!! 

 A sassy pose in front of the cookie table!  

 Treat bags ready to be filled up by the guests.

 We made a big assortment of cookies and chocolate covered pretzels for everyone to take home.

 I think everyone liked picking out cookies!

 The snack and beverage bar...before we put out the snacks and beverages!

 A cookie decorating station!

 Our first guests arriving!

 The limbo!  

 Hula Hooping!

 Silly Dancing!

 Freeze Dancing!

 How low can you go???

An ice cream sandwich birthday treat!

It was a fun party and I was so glad the sun came out and everyone got to jump in the pool.  Grace had been talking about and planning out this birthday bash for practically an entire year so I'm glad she was pleased with everything.  I told her she's not allowed to mention her 6th birthday party for 11 more months!  Ha!

Silly Dancing at Grace's Party

Family Pictures

After taking it easy this morning we got cleaned up and went to the park to update our family pictures.     We found a big rock to sit on a set up the tripod and started shooting.  Things went pretty smoothly and everyone did great so we were able to get everything done in less than an hour.  In between shots the kids collected stones and practiced throwing them into the river.  

The kids are getting used to the self-timer, so taking our family picture has been getting easier over the years.  I remember it being so hard when they were younger.

 We tried a couple more casual shots too.  The grass was wet otherwise I had a few more shots in mind that I would have liked to try out.

 The kids were pretty cooperative and we got a couple of cute shots. 

Grace's Birthday and More

Last week Joseph and I ran the Corporate Challenge alongside 24,000+ runners.   It was a cold night, but it was great once we were running.  We finished the 3 1/2 miles in under 30 minutes averaging a comfortable 8:30 minute pace.  

The next day we headed to Michigan to visit family during the long Memorial day weekend.  We met Eva and Emily, Uncle Nick and Aunt Michelle's new twins that were born last month. 

We got to spend lots of time with all the cousins...now that there are 8 kids on my side of the family there is never a dull moment and everyone has a buddy to play with.

 We also celebrated Grace's 5th Birthday.  

 She had a fun time and was really excited about having her birthday in Michigan.  

 On her actual birthday we spent most of the day driving home.  Once we got home we had ice cream to celebrate with her.  We're saving all the fun for later this week when she'll celebrate with her friends at the pool. 

 Saturday Gabe had his first swim meet.   

 He swam in 5 events and did a really good job especially considering they've only been able to fit in 1 practice because the weather has been so yucky.

Today we all slept in since things have been crazy busy...as we put Gabe in bed last night he said "Nobody wake me up in the morning I want to sleep in."  Deal!   Joseph spent all day yesterday downtown taking an 8 hour CFA exam that he has been studying night and day for.  He spent some time playing and relaxing with the kids today and the boys both gave Grace some pointers as she shot the BB gun.  It must have worked because the target had plenty of holes in it when I checked.