Our Pioneer Day Birthday!

My sweet little boy turned SEVEN on the 24th of July! Wow, seriously. How is time going by so fast?! I guess time flies when you're having fun, and generally there is plenty of fun around here.

Pierce had a great birthday. He had been counting down the days and could not wait for the big day. Anticipation of birthdays is one of my favorite things for my kids. They are just SO excited! He and Madi both woke up bright and early ecstatic for the big day- we started the morning with our traditional breakfast muffin. A favorite of Pierson's.


Then it was off to the Pioneer Day parade, which the kids loved (good thing they are easy to please, there was not much to it.) They had fun sitting with Grant and Annie and cousin Jackson.

Madi, Annie, Grant, Jackson, Pierce

And then it was on to races! Pierson LOVES the races! There are lots of perks that come with having your birthday on Pioneer Day- parade, fireworks (although unfortunately not this year) and the races! He was almost as excited to race as he was for his birthday! First here is a look at Annie and Madi racing with the 4 year old girls...

Annie was all business and ran so hard, she beat Madi by quite a ways, Madi cracked me up prancing along with a little smile on her face. Love it.

Pierce's race was so great, these pictures speak for themselves...


He was so proud of himself, he knew he had won, and by quite a bit! He loves to run, he definitely didn't get that from me. Way to go Pierce!

Then it was home to get ready for the big "Star Wars" Party! He had 9 friends come and they had a ball playing "Jedi, Jedi, Sith" and Musical Chairs- to Star Wars Music. Of course the pinata was a hit! It's always the highlight of our parties and this year was no exception, except they busted it open before all the kids even got a turn! I've been making them this way since Pierson's 4th birthday and it was a sudden realization to how big he is, that my good ol' pinata isn't going to work anymore. I've got to come up with another method for next year.


Present Time! So many fun gifts from his great buddies! He is in Heaven with all the cool new toys he got!

Cake Time!

Our great little party guests: Brooke, Todd, Luke, Cameron, Matthew
Grant, David, Jace, Pierce, Joey, Madi

Pierce shares his birthday with cousin Jackson, who was turning 4. They had fun playing and exchanging gifts during the afternoon.

That evening we had a great get together with our wonderful friends the Woodburys and the Houskeepers. The kids went wild playing and us Moms and Dad enjoyed delicious food and lots of fun too. It was so crazy I didn't get any pictures of the kids, but we all had a fun evening. By the time the 2nd party was over, it was time for bed. But we stayed up a little longer for a few more surprises...

New Bike from Mom and Dad!

Episode 4! Wahoo! This was one excited, happy birthday Jedi!

And just a little side note, Pierson loves this shirt which says, "I've got an awesome Dad." The day before his birthday he got dressed and came out and told me, "I'm saving my awesome Dad shirt for my birthday." He loves his Daddy so much and loves wearing this shirt to show it off, what a sweet boy!

CATS!

I was thrilled to be able to take the kids to see "Cats" at Tuacahn this year! It is one of my favorite shows and I have special memories of my Mom taking me to see it, and listening to and loving the music with her. The kids and I had been listening to the music in the car for a few weeks before so they were familiar with all the songs and knew the names of all the Cats who my favorite songs are about. They were very excited to go and have this special night out. For once we were able to get there early for a show, (Ryan and I are usually racing just to make it in time!)so we had time for a little photo op. Here are a couple favorites...


The kids were so excited to be there and just giddy with excitement. They thought this was so funny.

Madi was so excited to be there for her first time, when the man doing the announcements before the show asked if it was anyone's first time at Tuacahn, she very excitedly raised her hand. It was so cute. We had the opportunity of seeing the show with the Deaf group, so it was also a great opportunity for me to watch the interpreters. They do an amazing job! At intermission a few of the cats came out for photo ops, this was great fun for the kids! Very cool.

Old Deuteronomy, quite a friendly old cat!

Rumpleteezer (I was hoping to meet Mungojerry who was played by Thayne from SYTYCD)

After the show Pierson and I got to meet two of my favorites- Rum Tum Tugger and Mr. Mistofflees
Madi was too tired for any pics at this point, but they did so great during the entire show! We loved it!

We LOVE Daddy!

The kids were very excited about Daddy's birthday and Father's Day this year, especially since they were just 2 days apart, this meant lots of fun and love at our house!

Father's Day

We had a nice relaxing day at home on Father's Day, something that doesn't happen much for Ryan! The kids were very excited to give him gifts, he got a handsome new shirt and a new hair cutting set. Every guys dream, right! Pierce was also thrilled to give him a BYU tie. (Just for the record, this is the only tie Ryan has ever received as a gift from us, and it was a cool one!) Both kids were also very excited to present him with handmade cards, especially since Madi has just recently learned how to write her letters-this was her first time being able to write a card herself, she was so happy about that! We also made him a delicious cake for dessert that the kids enjoyed helping me make.


We love Daddy!

And thanks to darling and creative primary teachers the kids loved giving him cute treats and cards they had made in primary that day!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Dad's birthday party had been long anitcipated since we had told the kids we would go to see Toy Story 3 for Dad's birthday. It was great timing since the movie opened just a few days before, plus I have to admit I think I was more excited to see it than the kids were! We had a super yummy dinner at Texas Road house and then hit the movie. I just wished I would have taken the camera to get a pic of the kids in their 3D glasses. We all loved the movie, of course Ryan and I couldn't help but get a little teary eyed, Ryan thought anyone who didn't was not quite human. And the kids were so cute, laughing out loud and then clinging to our arms during the scary parts. Great movie. Then it was home for cake! We tried the Red Velvet cake from Costco that we'd had our eye on, and it was delicious!


I can't believe my husband is 35! The kids and I had such fun celebrating him. We love him more than I can say. I am so incredibly lucky to have such an amazing husband, seriously, I don't know how I lucked out with him. If you know "the story", I'm sure you'll agree with me. Luckiest girl ever. That's me.

Happy 35th Babe, I love you so much, thank you for being the best husband and Father ever and for loving me more than I have ever deserved. You are the absolute best.