83 Years for Grandpa

Last Saturday my dad turned 83 years old. He is pretty open about the fact that he has spent many years on this earth. In fact, had my mom been alive, they would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this past week. So we just had to have a party! This one was a bit larger than our typical one since I invited all of my siblings and their families as well.

By my count, we had exactly 51 people here plus my brother-in-law who spent the evening sitting in his car in front of the house. (But that's another story.) We served Dad's favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs, and I made a huge German chocolate cake.

Pic from a previous party since lately I keep forgetting to take any...

The party spread throughout the main floor of the house and it spilled into the basement and the backyard. We were only missing my two brothers and their families and Beauty and The Beast and Little Warrior. I guess there were a few random grandkids too who weren't able to make it, but for the most part, Dad had the majority of his family around him.

There was plenty of laughter and sharing of stories. Dad opened his gifts and was gracious and grateful. We don't always get along perfectly, but I'm so glad that he is here with us. Happy birthday, Dad.

Three Cheers for Baby Doll!

Way back in the day, my older girls had the opportunity to be cheerleaders for their brothers' football teams. I don't think I was ever the cheer mom officially, but I was pretty involved for a while. Then the costs got so high that we couldn't afford to have so many daughters participate, so we moved on to other things.

Now I just have one (not-so-little) guy playing football and when the sister (and actual Bingham cheerleader) of our best running back decided to put together a cheer team, I knew Baby Doll would love it, so what could I say?

Today was their first game. Baby Doll is the tallest on the team, but I'm not sure she is the oldest. At first she was a bit shy, but by the end of the first quarter, she had opened up and was shouting as loud as she could. She even started doing kicks and shouts after each cheer.

It will be fun to see how she and the squad grow and change over the rest of the season. Their real uniforms should be in next week and she is pretty excited about that. But nothing could be better than those shiny blue metallic pom poms...

Go Bingham!
and go Baby Doll!

Boating with Bob

We have this amazing friend and neighbor named Bob. He was our Home Teacher from the day we moved in way back in 1994 and has been ever since. Now he is our ministering brother, but that hasn't made any difference. He just takes care of us.

Today he took us boating on the Jordanelle. I had not been boating since I was a child unless you count rafts, so this was a new experience. We had our four youngest with us as well as Twizlet, but Bob has a new boat that is bigger, so it could accommodate all of us.

As we whipped across the water, Twizlet giggled and watched the birds. Then we inflated the tube and Baby Doll and Curly had a great time bouncing across the waves churned up by the boat. After a while, Sport and Scout wanted a turn, so Bob reeled in the little kids and the big ones ventured onto the tube. They had just gotten themselves settled, when it became evident that we had a problem. The rope had tangled itself around our motor.

Mid September in Utah is still pretty warm, but the Jordanelle is always cold. Bob knew we had to get rid of the rope before we could take the boat to shore and there was only one way to do that. So he handed off his sunglasses and sandals and plunged into the cold water.

Little by little he removed pieces of the damaged rope. After about 20 times of forcing himself beneath the waves, the rope was finally free. We had long since put away the tube and the kids were quietly watching as our amazing friend finally climbed back into the driver's seat, shivering and thirsty.

He should have then run us straight to shore so he could get warm, but he never thinks of himself first. He still wanted to salvage the day so we chased the waves a little longer before he took us back to the dock. Now that is true ministering and a lesson for all of us.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Angel Boy

I wanted to post one of Bossy's NICU memories yesterday (sorry about the potty humor!) before I remind you that last Friday, September 7, was the 1st birthday of Bossy and Gamer's sweet angel baby, Calder. On Sunday, they wanted to get the family together at the cemetery and just remember.

Bossy and Gamer had been strapped for cash last year when they lost their little one to a stillbirth, so they went with one of the cheapest routes possible when purchasing their marker for his grave. Unfortunately, that has caused all sorts of trouble because this summer, the caretakers have been careless with the mowers and they have driven right over the stone. Once when we were out there, we even saw tire tracks!

So a few amazing friends and family members all chipped in so that they could upgrade their stone with additional concrete and a vase. Thank you everyone! You know who you are. That work was completed on Calder's actual birthday, so the entire family got to see it when we arrived at the cemetery. Bossy and Gamer had set up a canopy and inflated helium balloons for everyone to release at the same time.

Burrito read his favorite book and they opened a few gifts that would help them remember. When we were finished, we headed to the house for another delicious meal largely created by my sweetie. It was a beautiful, melancholy day.

At the end of the day, we all slept well, but most especially this cute little brother of Calder's. God is merciful and kind and even though Calder was needed for a greater mission, the Lord sent another to heal aching hearts. Love you so much, Skittles!

Back at home, Calder Bear shared his new stories with his new best friends...