Birthday Celebrations and Family Reunions!

This is a little late, I admit, but just so that it's here, I'll post it anyway! Kole turned 1 on May 1st. I was talked into throwing a complicated, themed birthday party for him by my sister-in-law Haley. She did the cutest little party for Macey a month earlier, so I was feeling a little pressure to diverge from my usual rent-a-spot-at-the-local-pool party. I was further pressured into it when she handed me a piece of paper with nothing less than 40 ideas scribbled onto it for a monkey-themed party. Everything from food and drink ideas, to decorations, to games and party favors was on this paper, and she hands it to me with the comment, "These are just some things I've been thinking of, if you wanted to do that party..." Then she volunteered to make the monkey-themed homemade cupcakes. All out of excuses, I threw the party.

It turned out so cute, I feel bad for not posting this sooner, really. Thanks to Haley for the monkey cupcakes, the monkey smash cake (whose face is made from a pancake!), and all the ideas for the tropical smoothies, fruit on a stick, and Mango salsa chimichangas! Yum, and oh-so-fun!

On July 11th, Kaden turned 3. We were at the Hardy family reunion camping that weekend, so Kaden got to celebrate his birthday with LOTS of family! We had a pinata, cupcakes, and presents from his cousins. He even got to wear a name tag that said "It's my birthday" on it!

This last weekend, August 7-9, was a very busy one for us. First, I took the kids to the lake with my mom and dad Thursday and Friday (See separate blog). Then, as soon as we got home of Friday, we left to go the Egbert Family Reunion in Zion.

I've always said the Gifford property that John's family owns on the top of Zion is the dirtiest place on Earth, and I finally have the pictures to prove it! The reunion was lots of fun for the kids and for Mom and Dad. We are glad we went. I especially love the shirts from this one. They say, "A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg even though they know you are a little cracked." Love it!

I'm always amazed when we see Aaron and Robin how much our girls look alike. I made them pose for a picture first thing when I saw that Alivia got a haircut similar to Kallie's!

One of John's favorite things to do when we are camping is to take tired little boys on 4-wheeler rides to get them to sleep! This ride took about 3 minutes!