Birthday Twofer!

This Sunday we not only got to celebrate one birthday but two!




It was Mom's and Mitchell's special day.


This is one of the beautiful roses Daddy got Mom...


along with a sweet poem he wrote for her!


Sean was there with a birthday hug along with...


a rare Kathy sighting ;-)


Opening cards and presents is always fun!


And what's better than one cake???


Two of course!!


This is our very off key rendition of Happy Birthday! It was soooo inspiring....


that Mom put on her new party shades!!!

New Homeowners!

This weekend Rachel and James moved into their very own home!


Here are a few pics of the inside!






From the upstairs balcony...


Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo???


All furniture in??? Check!! Notice the doorway behind Rachel's arm...


This is what is back in there...Liam's own little secret fort... how cool is that!!


No rehoming purchase would be complete without....

funky wallpaper!!!

And the age old question...How many grown men does it take to put together a bed?
If you answered 3 you are the winner! Ding ding ding ding ding!


The bed is now finished!! Don't forget to click play!


This is who we refer to as the Lady of the House!


But here is the real Lady and Man of the house...tired but very excited from the move! Congratulations and wishes for many happy years in your new home!!

Rachel's Birthday

Today we celebrated one of our many July B-days at Sunday Dinner. It was one year ago on this very occasion that I started the blog. Just about everybody that was there then was there today. With one new addition!









After everyone ate their vegetables it was time to light the massive amount of candles!! ;-)


Sarah made the cake all by herself!!


The birthday girl ready to make her wish.


The girls ready to sing and...


the guys ready for cake!!


Mom and Daddy were there to enjoy it all!


I'm trying something new...video! Be sure to click on the play arrow below the picture to try it out!


The new Howard Family one year later, one year older and one baby richer!

Ice Cream and Fireworks!

July 4th... the day to celebrate our nation's independence! It is one of my favorite holidays. It brings back feelings of carefree summers and playing outside after dark...basically it makes me feel like a kid again.

We started off cooking out...




It wasn't low fat to say the least!


Then to add to the fatness (if that is a word:) we made homemade ice cream!


When I went to check on it I saw a message...at first I thought how sweet!! But then I thought ...could that be to the ice cream???? ;-)


In the rush to devour the scrumptious frozen treat, all I was able to get a picture of was the leftovers!

Then we headed out to light fireworks.
Two hundred and thirty two years later there are still bombs bursting in air!
Well that's at least what it sounded like tonight when we went outside.

They were actually very pretty...the pictures don't do them justice....









Another Happy Birthday for our country! With wishes for many more!

Holiday Kickoff!

We started the July 4th holiday early with a ride down the river.


Celia and Kay...


and our Captain Dave!


Evidently there is some BIG Gator fan around the bend,


because they came and landed their helicopter on the dock. It has a big Gator on the top of it.???


We went on across the river into the creek and


passed a restaurant that sits out over the water. It actually started out as a little fish camp and boat ramp. Now it is a cool place to eat. We go there sometimes...it gets quite crowded.



After that it was time to tube!!!





Nice to be back on land...now for the rest of the holiday weekend! It involves homemade ice cream and fireworks :-) Stay tuned!