A 3-Day [Birthday] Weekend

Speaking of Birthdays, Taylor just turned the big NINER. Seeing as how it was Olympiad and Mother's Day all at the same time, Taylor's birthday got pushed back a couple of days. He got little special treatments all weekend long, but was so cool about not being the center of attention on his birthday. I really like that little dude....I'm so glad he's my kid.

First things first, let's get Mother's Day out of the way! Seriously, before opening any of his own presents, it was important for Taylor to recognize ME.

(Heart! Melting!)

The Birthday String*: starts at his bed and goes all over the house, with presents tied to it. So fun!

All the bed-heads gather to watch the excitement unfold unwrap!

Taylor likes to place sticks of gum into his mouth like a Juicy Fruit commercial. Every. Time.

This is the "O" of "LEGO"

Nice method, buddy. (Careful!)

New gum. New shades. New Cool.

Next-Up... MINI-GOLF!

I think someone's gotten a little too big for that tiny golf club!

What. Ever. SO cute, these two.

Taylor got to bring a friend, and the "big kids" had their own game, while I played with the little ones.

"FORE!!"

We HAD to take advantage of Noble being in almost perfect scale with the Miniature Golf houses. But that kid was born to run, man! He would NOT pose for our Old West photoshoot, the little whipper-snapper!

Most of the time he was in the stroller, munchin' on an apple. Give him an apple and he's happy for about an hour. It's awesome.

Golf is not baseball. A quick little lesson.

Next-Up...BUMPER-BOATS!

Morgen actually stayed pretty dry, while Dave was soaked from head to toe. Because.....

...little did he know that the three big kids had "pinky-swore" that they wouldn't get each other, which left...

...ganging up on Daddy as the only option!

Dave finally gave up on trying to get out of his entrapment and opened his mouth and let the water that had been pelting his face just pour in, which he then fountained back at them. If you get past how incredibly unsanitary that is (imagine me on the sidelines trying not to make a scene screaming, "STOP IT! That's GROSS!"), it was very cartoon-like and hilarious. Kids don't get the concept of germs and dysentery anyway, so to them it was merely a fantastic victory for the record-books!

A little payback = a little refreshment.

Micah and I rode the Go-Karts while Dave and the kids searched for loose tokens in the arcade (they found two dollars!). I just asked Micah what he liked about riding the Go-Karts and he said "when we ran out of gas!" Whu?! It's true...we ran out of gas just as we were pulling in to the finish. He actually loved the whole thing, even though he didn't get to drive, and he laughed and grinned the entire time.

It was a long day and a long weekend and finally everyone had been celebrated and we decided that we really love each other and love being a family. Dysentery and all.

Happily ever after. The end.

*I wanted to give credit where credit is due: The Birthday String was an idea I stole from Heather Whittaker. I don't know her personally, but she has great ideas for family time!