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Saturday, July 31, 2010

Jacob's Birthday Party Utah

We celebrated Jacob's birthday last night with the Utah family members. It was a combined party with his cousin Jacie who turns 9-years-old today. The kids were cute all sitting in a row on the stools in front of the t.v.






Jacie got to open her presents first (ladies first, of course). Jacob was surprisingly patient with that. He was just as excited as she was while she opened her gifts.






Jacob finally got his turn at opening gifts. He got so many favorites: Legos, DSi games, Game Stop gift card, cash. He even declared "I'm the luckiest kid ever!" Yes you are.



We (Jacob) decided to forgo the traditional cake and ice cream and instead eat ice cream sandwiches made out of Costco chocolate chunk and oatmeal raisin cookies. Yummy choice Jacob. It was a lot easier to clean up than the cake too. And of course the kids loved it.



Jacob even got a new bike from mom and dad. He literally wore the heck out of his old bike. The seat no longer stays stationary; the chain contraption falls off constantly, and his back wheel, not just the tire, is broken. He was due for a new bike. I think his smile says it all.


I love you Jake. You are such a good boy with a very sweet and tender heart. Thank you for making our family complete.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Home and Friends

I love vacations. I love seeing my family. But you know what I love the most? Coming home (to a clean home thanks to my pre-vacation cleaning marathon). I love my home. I love peace and quiet. I love my bed. I love love love home.

Jacob and Ben also slept so well last night in their own bed. Jacob had his friends over for a little DSi marathon. Oh boys!




Family Pictures

We had family pictures "done" by our own amateur cameras. The funniest part was trying to get a pictures with just my parents and the grandkids. No lie: all the kids were crying and would not stop, even for one second. These are the only pictures I got. I'm sure I'll get more later from the sibs.






I also got some cute pictures of Ben in the hotel watching "The Chipmunks" on his little DVD player. So cute!


Jacob's 6th Birthday

Jacob celebrated his 6th Birthday in Myrtle. He had a blast. So did all the other cousins. I bought cap guns and other noise makers for the kids. Oh the fun and tears. Not everyone liked the loud noise of the cap guns. But everyone LOVED the noise of the hit of the night: the whoopie cushion, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Larson. All the kids loved sitting on it until Grandpa sat on his a literally blew a hole in it. Ha Ha! Yummy Costco chocolate cake with cheesecake filling was also a big hit.









Myrtle Beach, SC

Our journey continued north to the fun city of North Myrtle Beach. My very generous Aunt Peggy offered us the use of her new beach house. It had seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, two kitchens, two family room, and a flat screen t.v. in every room except for the bathrooms.

The cousins had fun getting to know each other. Since my family is literally spread out from coast to coast, the cousins don't get to see each other but once every two years. It was fun now that they are getting old enough to remember each other and really play well together. Yes, it was noisy at times, but well worth the headache.

Sorry that some of the pictures are blurry. The camera was cold from being in the house and the humidity was 95%. Dang condensation.













Charleston, SC Fire Museum

If you're wondering why it's been quiet on the home front, it's because we've been on our family vacation. As most of you know, my parents are leaving for Singapore in one month to serve an 18-month mission. My family got together for one last reunion before the big event. We met in Myrtle Beach, SC. That's my mom's home and where we spent every summer I can remember.

Marty had never seen Charleston, SC before. So we decided to fly into that BEAUTIFUL city and spend a few days there before making our way up north to Myrtle. We lucked out thanks to Uncle Andy and got an amazing room at the Hyatt. It was super cheap to boot. Thanks Uncle Andy. We took the kids to the Charleston Fire Museum. The kids loved it. They had a fire engine simulator and a fire pole/slide combo. Those were the main attractions for the ninos.









We also saw the historic Battery and ate at the BEST seafood restaurant Hymans. After you get past the name, it really is quite wonderful. Side note: I don't know what it is about restaurant names in the south. We ate at another one north of Myrtle called "Sea Man's." Go figure.