March Birthday Boys - 2021 edition

 My apologies for this post being a bit late ... time continues to feel very wonky as life in a global pandemic continues. The March birthday boys (aka Eric, Conor, and Bestefar) have now celebrated two consecutive birthdays under quarantine circumstances - you lucky guys, you. Unlike last year, this year we got to see Eric's parents to celebrate the March birthdays thanks to Eric's parents being fully vaccinated and Eric/me being partially vaccinated.

On the 27th, Eric's parents came over for b-day celebrates that included playing dice, enjoying homemade fish tacos, dining on sundaes (ok, everyone else had a banana split, I had a sundae), and relishing in the fact we were actually in the same place for the first time in a LONG time.

Bestefar needed lots of help figuring out
what THIS present could possibly be - ha ha!

Conor and Bestemore making a banana split 

Conor turned 11 on the 28th and said he definitely felt different as soon as he woke up in the morning. His day was pretty ideal: he played video games with his friends (remote, of course), had MOD pizza for dinner, and got presents. What more could a kiddo possibly want??? (Except an end to the whole pandemic thing so he could have an in-person party with his buddies!)

Celebratory pancakes

Robotic hands are SO COOL.
Thanks Auntie Kajsa/Uncle Jeff!

His new dog head golf club cover from
Auntie Suzanne/Uncle Randy

Yes, he is level 11 and awesome!

Trying out his new putting return system from
Uncle Troy/Auntie Staci/Kat/Ian

Birthday pie

On the 29th, the festivities continued with Eric's birthday. It wasn't on a weekend, so real life creeped in a bit, but we did our best to make the day relaxing and fun for the birthday boy. We had to come up with a plan B for dinner because we forgot that plan A (aka Red Mill) wasn't open on Mondays. So, Eric's bday dinner shifted from burgers to fried chicken from Ezells. Not a bad plan B, if you ask us! 

I'd like to point out that I managed to keep all of Eric's presents a secret this year. No, I'm not a bad secret keeper - he's just good at noticing receipts I may accidentally leave out or opening Amazon boxes that he isn't supposed to open. The most impressive part of my secret keeping, one of his gifts required me to measure his foot and he STILL was surprised by the gift. BOOM! 

Reading his card from the kids

But only on his bday! :D

Eric's new fancy shoes from Spain

To our March birthday boys - we hope you had wonderful birthdays and feel properly celebrated. You are cherished and we are beyond blessed to have you in our lives. Here's to another great trip around the sun.

Eric's birthday celebration

On March 29th, we had our 2nd in-quarantine birthday celebrations... Eric turned 53 and is wearing his new age beautifully!

I'm fairly certain that a quarantined birthday is Eric's ideal way to spend his special day. When you're an introvert and are required to stay home away and have a quiet day, what could be better?? 😋

Eric's birthday, just like Conor's the day before, was spent at home relaxing, playing games, and generally hanging out. Eric's big birthday present this year was a VR game set, which has come in REALLY handy as a source of entertainment during our confinement. Thank goodness he had the foresight to order it as the quarantine was knocking on the door and got it before the doors were bolted shut!

For his birthday dinner, Eric requested burgers from Five Guys (Plan B because Red Mill is closed due to the quarantine) and boy, did THAT turn into a bit of an experience. We ordered the food online and set up curbside pickup. Easy, right? Oh no! I called from the parking lot upon arrival and told the person where I was parked... EXACTLY where I was parked. The person said someone would be right out with our food. 20 minutes later, still no food. SO, I went inside and asked about the status of the order. Apparently the employee who took the food out found another Toyota that happened to be unlocked (who leaves their car unlocked???) and put our food in it, thinking it was OUR Toyota. (Bonus for those people) Umm... nope! They wound up re-making our food and throwing in a couple of shakes as a way to apologize for the inconvenience (the kids were thrilled).

We finished up the day with presents and pumpkin cake. All-in-all, a good day celebrating one of our favorite people. 💗

Eric being mobbed by the kids while singing Happy Birthday

Pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting

Conor is double digits

My apologies to all involved for how long it has taken me to post. Time has become a strange beast over the past month+ (but I'll save that for another post). In the mean time, let's focus on something upbeat and celebratory...

On March 28th, our sweet boy turned 10-years-old. The night before, Eric asked me, "Tomorrow, we won't have any kids who are single digits in age. Do you feel old, yet?" (Yeah, I love you, too, Honey!) 😄

Even though Conor's birthday was spent during a pandemic/quarantine, we did our best to make it as fun as possible. We (aka Eric, because he's taller!) put up the Happy Birthday banner to mark the day. Conor requested food from the Mr. Gyro food truck for dinner (thank goodness some of the food trucks are still open!!) and grasshopper pie for dessert. We spent the day playing games, relaxing, and just being together. All-in-all, a fairly good way to spend a birthday!

One of the highlights from the day was when Conors' BFF (Theo) and his mom drove by our house to deliver a (socially distanced) birthday greeting. Conor stood on the sidewalk and Theo stayed in the car, but they still giggled and had fun catching up for a few minutes.

Conor opening a present

Modeling the shirt I made for him

Happy boy! He got a Pokemon video game

Obligatory birthday photo

His glowing grasshopper pie

Conor's Birthday Interview

Age: 10 years

What is your favorite thing to do? Play board games, dice games, and card games

What do you want to be when you grow up? An engineer

What is your favorite food? Either gyro or carbonara

What is your favorite color? Seafoam green

What is your favorite toy? Spot 1

What makes you laugh? Dad

What is your favorite song? Allstar by Smash Mouth

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Cookie dough

What do you like to do with your family? Everything

What is your favorite TV show? Atomic Puppet

What is your favorite book? Warriors

What do you do really well? Growing

If you have $1000 to spend, how would you spend it? Pokemon, Pokemon, Pokemon

What do you want to do before your next birthday? I want to go to Hawaii

What was your favorite thing done as a 9-year-old? We got our dog Huckleberry

Annika is a Whopping 11

Well, today Annika is celebrating her first-ever palindrome birthday. YUP! As of 1:55 this morning, we there was an 11-year-old living under our roof.

While Annika soundly slept, Conor decided that he wanted to make her breakfast in bed. Fortunately, I was able to head him off at the pass and convince him that he should eat the bowl of Fruit Loops that he poured for her and after she had more time to sleep, we'd make her breakfast in bed. Reluctantly, he agreed. We got to work making waffles, knowing Annika would think a Belgium Waffle would be a fun treat. Once I saw Annika stagger out of her room (waking up fast isn't her approach to mornings), I told her that Conor had a surprise and she could wait in her bed. We quickly assembled a waffle (including whipped cream, sprinkles, and a candle), and delivered it to her while singing "Happy Birthday". She was in Heaven! :)

After a fairly low-key morning, it was time to head out for the kids' tennis lessons at Klahaya, where the instructors and other students all shouted "Happy Birthday!!!!" to her at the top of their lungs. Again, the girl probably couldn't have been happier if she tried.

Right after their tennis lesson, we headed north to have their bikes adjusted by the folks we bought them from. Conor's gears weren't shifting correctly and Annika's front wheel and handlebars weren't in proper alignment. While we waited for the bikes to get adjusted, the kids and I went to a nearby MOD Pizza for a very yummy (and filling!) lunch. As a special birthday treat, the kids even got to have orange Fanta... yeah, living the wild life!!

We ate our fill and returned to the bike shop, only to find out the bikes hadn't even been looked at yet. (Grr!) We'll head back on Wednesday, in order to give them PLENTY of time to look at the bikes.

The rest of the day was filled with dinner prep (chicken alfredo, per the birthday girl's request), presents, and dessert (grasshopper pie, again, per the birthday girl).

One of the sweetest presents was Conor's present to Annika: a poem
Awesome
Nice
Neat
Interesting
Kind
Athletic

Favorite TV Show: Liv and Maddie
Favorite thing about school: All of the nice teachers
Thing you do best: Art
Favorite color: Seafoam green
Favorite toy: Bunny 1
Future career goal: I don't know
Favorite toys to take to bed at night: Bunny 1 and story bunny
Favorite book: Cleopatra in Space
Favorite song: A Million Dreams (Greatest Showman soundtrack)
Favorite cereal: Frosted Flakes
Favorite movie: Smurfs Lost Village
Favorite season of the year: Spring-ish Summer
Favorite food: Chicken Alfredo
Favorite animal: All
Favorite ice cream flavor: Cheesecake with Raspberry Swirl
Favorite sport: Soccer
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Dream vacation spot: Disneyworld
If you had $1000 to spend: 1/2 would go to charity, 1/2 to owning a kitten
If you had a wish: World peace
What do you like to do with your friends: Hang out
What do you want to do before your next birthday: Get my ears pierced (note from Mom: not gonna happen)
Favorite thing done as a 10-year-old: We went to Disneyland

2018 Summer Getaway on Whidbey

Last night, a bit after 7 PM, the kids and I rolled up to the house after our 5-day stay on Whidbey. We were tired beyond belief, but due to having had so much fun and lots of activities the entire time. 

All four of us (five, including Buca), drove up to the island Saturday morning and got ourselves moved in for our short-term stay. By the looks of the amount of stuff in our cars, you'd probably think we planned on staying from now until the end of time, but alas, twas not the case. 

On Saturday, we hung around the house and generally kicked back. We played lots of games, threw a ball for the dogs countless times, rode bikes, and caught up with each other. Eric, his mom, and I also got a head start on Conor's class project for the school auction, ta da!! Eric's dad was off fishing when we arrived, but his absence meant he got to bring home an insanely gorgeous salmon (some of which is now in our freezer, soon to become dinner)! Conor and I also spent a little time walking up and down the driveway picking blackberries that were turned into freezer jam (yum!) for us to take home at the end of our stay. And if all of THAT wasn't enough, after Jack got home from fishing, he took Eric, the kids, and me to the rifle range to get in some target shooting. I'd like to point out (brag alert!) that I hit the bullseye multiple times.... and two of my hits were right on top of each other. The kids did a great job, both with respecting the safety rules and with their rifle skills. We wrapped up the day with a mini birthday celebration for Annika, knowing that Eric's parents wouldn't be able to join us the following weekend, when we will have family over to celebrate. 

In PJs on the ferry ... our kids' to-Whidbey tradition

Painting party

Eric working on his ombre technique

Conor with Bestefar and the 20-lb salmon

Annika modeling Bestefar's salmon

Conor, the berry-picking master

Buca "helping" us pick berries

Our blackberry haul

Safety first at the rifle range

Eric taking aim

Conor receiving instructions from Bestefar

Annika getting ready to take her shot

Why, yes, I DID hit the bullseye multiple times

On Sunday, Eric's dad and I got up before the crack of dawn to go fishing at mid-channel between Keystone (Whidbey Island) and Pt. Townsend. The sunrise was truly picturesque. While we didn't have any luck snagging salmon (a few ate our bait, so we were close to catching some!), we did catch a number of dogfish (boo!), a flounder, and 5 rocks (I caught 4 of them!). Even though we returned to shore with an empty bucket, it was still an incredible day. I got to spend 1:1 time with my amazing father-in-law. It's rare that we get time like that, and he taught me so much about fishing. By the end, I was able to tie a hook on my line, put 2 hooks in a herring, and find the bottom of the Sound (hence, all of the rocks!!). After we pulled out of the water at the end of our fishing excursion, our fun came to an abrupt halt when another driver hit the boat's motor (ugh!!). Come to find out, the witness to the accident was an off-duty Sheriff's Deputy (woot!). It was a hassle that included the at-fault driver not having his drivers license and his insurance card was newly out of date, which resulted in us having to call the police (both the Sheriff and State Patrol responded - wow!!) who took care of getting everything sorted out. While we were still on the water, Eric had to head back to Seattle so he could go to work the next day, leaving Eric's mom on kid patrol for most of the day. (Best Bestemor Award winner right there!!) 

Sunrise

Heading out to mid-channel

My 4th rock of the day

Boat snack!!

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were all about golf, golf, golf. OK, there were also swimming, a park trip, and a little hike in there, too. On Monday and Tuesday before golf camp, the kids opted to swim in the club's pool. Monday was a hot day, so cooling off in the pool was a big deal. On Tuesday, it was a bit cooler, but the kids still had fun. By the time Wednesday rolled around, it was downright cool and the kids opted (with some nudging from yours truly) to visit a local park instead. Our visit to the park was a little sad for me because I realized our kids are outgrowing the play structure there.... it is the end of an era. After some time at the play area, we decided to check out a hiking train in hopes that we might see the mama deer and her fawn that we saw about a half hour before (no luck, but we did see a bunny!). 

Our little fish

Conor practicing his driving

Annika at the driving range

On a hike with Bestemor

Reading chair carved out of wood, complete with book and cat (under the chair)

As soon as the golf camp wrapped up, the kids enjoyed a little BBQ meal with their golf buddies before being whisked back to the house so we could gather up Buca and the last of our un-packed belongings (mainly things in the fridge/freezer and the kids' bikes) and we high-tailed it to the ferry terminal. We missed the boat we were aiming for by about 10 cars (bummer), but in the big scheme of things, it wasn't a big deal. We still got our annual "heading home from golf camp ice cream" on the ferry (I even worked a little magic and procured some ice cream for the CKS auction thanks to the fact the ice cream company's guy was in line behind us... bonus!)

On the ferry.... we're on our way home, Daddy!

A HUGE thanks to Eric's parents for hosting our crazy group for such a long time. We are eternally grateful for your hospitality and generosity. 

Conor's 8th Birthday

On Tuesday, our little guy went to bed as a 7-year-old and on Wednesday, he woke up as an 8-year-old. Actually, if you ask him, he was still 7 when he woke up because it was before 6:13, which is the time he was born. (OK then, Mr. Specific!)

 A couple of weeks before his birthday, Conor decided that he wanted to bring lemon meringue pie cookies to school for his classroom celebration. (I can't imagine too many 2nd grade birthdays have involved lemon curd and a kitchen torched meringue! You do you, kiddo! Love your culinary prowess!) He also chose pasta carbonara for dinner and grasshopper pie for dessert. (Cousin Robert is very proud of Conor for these choices!)

The birthday celebrations started last weekend when we went up to Whidbey to celebrate the Bestefar, Eric, and Conor's birthdays. This is an annual tradition and one we always look forward to. Eric's sister and brother-in-law were supposed to join us there, but the pass got hammered with snow, making it unsafe for them to make the trek from Eastern WA. 

Conor had a great day at school and as soon as he got home, asked if he could open presents. Ummm.... not so much, buddy. AFTER dinner, we had our family celebration, which included his grasshopper pie (Auntie Suzanne's amazing recipe) and presents. It was yet another reminder of how generous and creative our family members are. (Thank you note will be mailed soon, but in the mean time... THANK YOU!)

Conor's 8-year-old Interview

Favorite TV show: Wild Kratts

Favorite thing about school: PE

Thing you do best: Running

Favorite color: Tangerine

Favorite toy: Spot 1 (DUH)

Future career goal: Professional racer (runner)

Favorite toys to take to bed at night: Spot 1, Spot 2, Spot 3, Spot 4, Hug-a-Bear

Favorite book: The Book with No Pictures

Favorite song: The Leader

Favorite cereal: Cap'n Crunch Oops All Berries

Favorite movie: Star Wars the Force Awakens

Favorite season of the year: Spring

Favorite food: Carbonara

Favorite animal: Ocelot

Favorite ice cream flavor: Mint chocolate chip

Favorite sport: Foot racing

Best friend: Theodore Jack Thomas

Favorite holiday: Easter

Dream vacation spot: Hawaii

If you had $1000 to spend: I'd buy a house made of Pokémon cards

If you had a wish: I'd take care of my family well

What do you like to do with your friends: Play pretend

What do you want to do before your next birthday: Play with my new catapult game

Favorite thing done as a 7-year-old: First Communion