Birthday Week!

Thursday was Jefferson's birthday. Saturday was Laena's. Friday night we had about 80 kids running around over here, a full blown party downstairs and in the backyard, and I was surprisingly okay with all this. . They were mostly Choir kids after all, so what could go wrong. : ) Between perky serenades, marshmallow roasting, and impromptu acoustic guitar performances. . . Well, it was actually quite relaxing. Laena had set up some cast iron fire pits on the patio out back, and Charlie had built campfires. It was nice. Nice to sit there, nice to see the warm orange glow light up the kids' faces, nice to hear the gentle twang of the guitarra. . Laena's party was a lot of fun. : ) I just wish I'd recorded them all singing Happy Birthday! Talk about harmonious energy! Breathe it in, Baby. The strength of youth. Beautiful.

Wednesday, the four big kids, Laena, Clinton, Eric and Tommy, all drove downtown to participate in the taping of the big First Night Utah performances. . . Or tried to. . Laena's car got stuck in gridlock, her group didn't make it in time. . They went out for ice cream, I think. Thankfully, Eric took pictures.

I don't know. . . If that boy steals my camera one more time. . . Chuckle. .

Charlie and I visited Jeffy's Kindergarten class Thursday lunchtime. He had fun passing out suckers to the kiddies. .

We had Jeffy's little B-Day partay Saturday afternoon. We had asked our neighbors, Dan and Marcie, if they could let the kids ride horses over at their place for a bit. Friday Dan called and said it was too muddy. It had been snowing all week. A little later Marcie called back and said that it would be okay. At this point, we were prepared for anything. Jeffy was pretty excited! I popped him out of the tub just as the kidlets were starting to show up. Charlie made up some cute games for them to play, off the top of his head, while we were waiting for everybody to get there. Tried and true, the three legged race, which is always cute with 5 year-olds. . 'Let's see who can keep the hot wheels car on the top of your head the longest while racing' . . game. It was good fun. : ) Jeffy was having fun, and that's what counts.

I was a little annoyed to discover yet another dead bird on our front lawn. . undoubtedly a 'present' from our blinking cats. Feline fur balls, Eric calls them. But  seriously? For a birthday party?! I was thinking of maybe . . something a little less gory. Maybe with ribbon. . . Gyaahhh. . . Such carnage. Rolling my eyes, I scooped it up with a shovel, and tossed it in the trash.

After a bit, we all piled in the vehicles, and drove over to Marcie's. She was great about welcoming the little buggers, and instructing them in matters of safety. What a gal!  : ) Then, with Charlie's help, she led them around the corral several times each! We have sooo got to get that chickie some soda! At one point, Charlie was racing the babies around the lot in Marcie's double stroller. . So much fun! Red, their red heeler, lay down and let the kids pet her and scratch her tummy. : ) Does it get any better than this?

After the horsey adventure, Kaleb's mom Brendy and I were driving back. She noticed Charlie's Top of Utah Marathon sticker on the back of the Suburban.

"So who ran the TOU Marathon?" she asked.

I told her how Charlie's a runner. . filled her in on his St. George adventures. . . She apparently ran the crazy marathon up in Park City a few years back. We talked about how nutty it is. . to pay these people like 50 bucks to enter the race in the first place.

"And then when you're done, they give you a T-shirt, and like. . . some fruit." : ) she said. A wry chuckle. . 

Are they kidding?! 26 point 2 . . freaking . . miles. Sheeeaaahhhh!  Not me! I'd fall flat on my face. No joke.

Sigh. Well, to summarize, because it would take about 16 pages to really do in justice, this has been a full week indeed. Election Night fiasco, Parent Teacher Conferences on Wednesday. . . It's a wonder I ever get any sleep!  : )

I'm sure we'll recover eventually. . . Thank goodness Charlie was on vacation.