Declan's 4th Birthday

Declan had a fabulous 4th birthday, despite his mom's denial that her baby could possibly be that old. We came home from the rec center to find a huge surprise waiting for us:

Papa and Nana drove all the way over to celebrate with us!!! We were so excited to see them, and it meant so much to us that they would surprise us and drive all that way to be with us!

Thanks, Mom and Dad! We love you so much!

Declan chose Applebee's for his birthday dinner, and got sung to by the wait staff.

Then we headed home to open all his loot,

and eat cake and ice cream.

We are so used to celebrating birthdays all by ourselves, and it was so great to have my mom and dad there. It definitely felt like more of a party!

The Saturday after his birthday, we had his Superhero friend party.

If Garreth ever decides to leave Big Oil, he definitely has a back-up in party entertainment. The guy is amazing. I handled invitations, decorations, and treats and left the games up to him. We had glow-stick necklaces with super powers attached to them in a big bag and the kids got to come up and pick out a super power, then act out that power. They got really into this. Our favorite was "Invisible Girl," who was really convinced that she was invisible! Some had ice or fire-shooting powers, others had super speed or strength. It was all hilarious.

Best attempt at a group photo:

Garreth would leave the room once in a while and come back dressed like a villain. Once he dropped a huge bag of balloon bombs that the superheros had to destroy (pop). Another time he came back with a bag of Kryptonite to destroy the superheroes. After we explained to some of the kids what Kryptonite was (!) and that they couldn't pick it up with their bare hands, they did a relay race with salad tongs to fill up their team's bucket.

He also had them develop their super powers by jumping on a mini trampoline and "flying" onto the beanbag. Then they battled each other with boxing headgear and pool noodle swords. Which got pretty crazy. Which was what they were doing when their parents came to pick them up. Hopefully those parents still think we're safe and responsible parents.

Declan and his BFF, Brody.

The birthday boy's normal photo face.

And the birthday boy's face after his mom tells a Declan-joke.

("What did one toot say to the other toot?")

It was Declan's first friend party and a big success.

Especially if you gauge success by how exhausted the parents are afterwards.

Oh, how we love this boy. He is so tender-hearted and sweet and fun. When I think back to the circumstances that brought him to our family, I know that Heavenly Father always planned on him being with us for eternity and that He worked a series of miracles to make it happen. We are so blessed that he is ours. I love my days alone with him while the big kids are in school. He is my little buddy and we have such great times together. I love you, Deco!

Pinewood Derby and Other Stuff

Confession: I am not the biggest fan of scouting.

That being said, I also have to add that it is growing on me a little bit.

Maybe because how dang cute is Liam in uniform doing a flag ceremony?!

A few weeks ago we had our first Pinewood Derby. Garreth and Liam had a great time designing the car and it was fun to watch it race, even though it didn't win.

Forcing a smile after being eliminated in the first heat. Liam is not known for his great sportsmanship when he loses.

He did feel a little better when he found out that every boy got a participation trophy.

Taking a group picture of a bunch of 8 to 10 year old scouts is hilarious/annoying.

And in other random news, Sam and I enjoyed a really fun date to watch BMX races and eat Mexican food. Me and Sam are the only ones in the family with a true love of Mexican food, actually a passion for food in general! I just wish I had his metabolism! After a yummy dinner of fajitas and sopapillas, he leaned back in his chair, sighed, and said, "Ah, life is good." Is that my boy or what?!

Declan loves his daily morning swimming lessons and is following in the footsteps of his fish-like brothers and sister. I swear my kids have hidden gills somewhere.

And because my obsession with antelope continues, here are two who casually strolled by our house this weekend.

St. Paddy's Day

It's the time of year for Garreth's annual Ireland presentation school tour. Every year when the teachers ask him to come in, the kids grumble in embarrassment a little, but it never fails: after Garreth comes in to their class, they become small celebrities for a while, the kids with the "Dad who talks really cool." And they remember that they actually like it. Which I think says something about my kids' self-confidence. Because my shy, introverted, fifth grade self would have literally died from sheer mortification if my dad would have come to my school dressed as a leprechaun.

With the fifth graders at White Mountain Elementary:

In between schools, we grabbed a bit of lunch. Not many men would go to the busy sandwich shop dressed like this, especially in tobacco-chewing, big-truck-driving, hunting, "manly" Wyoming. I love this man.

Then it was on to the kindergartners. (My favorite because of the hilarious questions they ask. "Do they have hot dogs in Ireland?")

And finally the third grade, where a reporter from the local paper documented the whole thing!

Celebrity!

Everyone always asks us what we do for St. Patrick's Day; I think expecting us to really party it up! But this is really the extent of our celebrating, aside from some Irish stew and soda bread for dinner. It's a really fun tradition for all of us!