Happy Birthday, Maria!

We started off the morning with our traditional wake up of the birthday girl with the rest of the family singing "Happy Birthday to Maria!" All the kids piled on to give her big hugs and wishes for a very happy 9th birthday.

That evening we had a fun celebration of Maria's birthday with family and friends! Gramma Sue made this charming whimsical garden birthday cake:

Girls are such fun! These girls were all a big bunch of giggles up on Beth's bunk:

Maria designed the dinner menu and Aaron got to work grilling: teriyaki chicken and pineapple kabobs, grilled shrimp, and beef and veggie kabobs. Yum.....

Maria loved showing Joyce (her former foster mom) her photo album:

The kids had lots of fun laughing, talking and eating:

Maria prepares to blow out the candles:

Happy 9th Birthday, Maria!

"Berry" sweet and cute girls

We had the youth over tonight for our weekly summer BBQ/Bible Study, and a dear little friend came over with her mom and dad. Our Ella noticed her outfit right away with excitement, as she has matching pajamas! She ran to put them on so they could match.
Ella is also convinced and announced that I have pants that match the ones our little friend is wearing. I promise you, I don't.

Blue Angels and the Seattle Aquarium

July 31st- Aaron had the day off in light of his 10 days away in Northern CA and we took the kids up to Seafair to see the Blue Angels. Aaron and I love the Blue Angels... after all, they came for our wedding day 13 years ago! Others may be under the impression that they were in town for Seafair that weekend, but we know better... :-)It was a gorgeous day, and we enjoyed watching the kids see, hear and feel them fly over for the first time! Alex plugged his ears and Max was in awe, as we would have expected.
Watching the Blue Angels makes a person want to cry, says Aaron. It's just that amazing.
After the airshow, we drove to the Seattle waterfront to meet our dear friend, Rachel. She is currently working at the Aquarium, so we all enjoyed visiting her aquatic friends for a bit, and even had someone to take a couple photos of our whole family together! Thanks, Rachel! :-)
From the Aquarium, we walked along the waterfront to Anthony's where we enjoyed a delightful, relaxed and delicious dinner on the patio. Rachel is preparing to leave for Burundi in January, so we're taking advantage of all the time we can to spend with her now!
It was one of those wonderful days that you feel so content at the end of... a day well spent, enjoying favorite things and new things, spending time with people you enjoy and love... and all in the glorious sun of the afternoon and warmth of a summer evening.


Of course, this was the perspective that Aaron and I had on the whole day. We thoroughly enjoyed it. During the actual day, this is what we heard too often.... "It's too hot." (15 degrees cooler than 2 days ago) "Can't we go now?" "When is it going to start?" "Is it time yet?" "YOU SAID it would start at 1:30!" (because I personally am in charge of the Blue Angels, apparently)

Now, if you were to ask the kids today about what they thought of our trip to Seattle, they would tell you that it was awesome, they loved every minute of it, it was the most amazing thing their fabulous parents have ever done for them (well, maybe not that.)

This is what "Creative Memories" means to us here in our home.

As parents, we believe it is our job that our children BELIEVE and REMEMBER that they had a wonderful childhood, whether or not they actually did. Proper selective storytelling and appropriate photos can go a long way here! :-)

Watching baby birds grow...

I felt this need to document the lives of those little baby birds we had in our hanging flower basket... maybe because I knew if I didn't do it, who else would scrapbook their little lives? :-) I was fascinated with how much they changed every day, and the chance to watch that happen.
So, the last pics I posted were from July 23rd, and here is the rest of how they grew...

July 24th- evening
July 26th- afternoon (sadly, only two little birds now)
July 28th- afternoon
July 29th- evening
July 31st- morning
August 1st- morning
This morning when I went out to water the plant, these two little birds were both sitting up staring straight at me. As I put up the watering pot, they both flew out of the nest at me and escaped to another plant in the yard. I got my last photos of them there, sitting in the branches staring up at me with their little mouths open, one leg up in the air, motionless.They flew away soon after, and are now apparently making their own way in this great big world. I'm glad I have a bit more time with my little chickees to prepare them for life outside the nest!