Surprise 60th Birthday Party!

Since my Dad's 60th birthday was at the beginning of the month, my sisters and I decided to plan a big surprise party to celebrate.  My sister Jess and her family were already visiting from KY for a family wedding so it was perfect timing.  My sister Chrissy hosted and we all pitched in and put together a very nice party, I must say!  The only ones missing were my sister Angie and her family who have a lot going on and weren't able to come out for it and then my sister Kaite ended up having to come without her family since the kids were sick...we missed all of them for sure!

Photos of each grandchild holding a letter to spell out "Happy 60th Birthday!"

Games for the kids

Sign for Dad's wood shop, made by Kaite!

Jess put together a scrapbook with letters and pictures from all of us and the kids.  She also "tweaked" the song "Butterfly Kisses" (the song we all danced with Dad to at our weddings) with lyrics more applicable to our family.

Needless to say, he was touched :)

We also had games for the adults that included horseshoes, corn hole toss, and a questionnaire competition amongst us girls about Dad.  Despite predictions of storms and showers, the weather held and we ended up with a beautiful day.  It was quite the party for quite the man.  What can I say?  The guy deserves a big celebration being an incredible dad, grandfather, husband and example for us all.  He has the biggest heart and is generous with his love for all of us and in his love for God.  I feel so blessed to have been raised by such a faith-based, hard working, strong yet gentle and loving man.  Happy birthday to one of the best Dads out there!

At the same time, how could I fail to mention that Zenith and I have fathers who share the same birthday?  Zenith wouldn't be what he is without such wonderful parents, and I thank God for the father that raised him to be the man he is today!  Happy birthday Nadir (though it is now a bit late) and we wish we were closer to you all so we could have celebrated with you.  

Here are a few snippets from the rest of the month.

Local hike after dinner one night

All my boys! :)

In other news, guess we got??!

NOT a dog.  ;)  We found this dog wandering up and down the street so we grabbed him and hunted down his owner.  He was so pretty and had a lovely disposition...made me miss having a dog.  Someday!

Last weekend we picked up some seafood for dinner and headed to the beach for an evening picnic.  It was still warm which paired well with the evening breeze and they had an old car show with big band music playing.  The beach was fairly deserted which was nice so we had a nice time just relaxing.  We finished the evening with a stroll along the shops and little food stands along the beach.

Put your sunnies on...that farmer's tan might blind you! ;)

Only one brave enough to go in the cold water

William wasn't too keen on the waves or temperature of the water

Building sandcastles and digging holes

Now this kid takes after his Mummy...laying on the beach with a drink...

...what more could you want??

We're heading out tomorrow for our long awaited ROAD TRIP!  I can't believe we're actually driving halfway across the country, but we're pretty excited about it!  We'll see my sister Jess for a few days and then we'll stop in Kansas City for a week to visit Angie.  I'm excited but I'll be a lot more excited when we reach our destinations and the driving is out of the way.  Not sure how the boys will do, but I guess we'll see and it is what it is!

I'll try to take lots of pictures and post them when we return in a couple weeks.

Hope you all are enjoying the last bits of summer as we head into September tomorrow.

~Lindsay

 

Snapshots of life: June and July

June:

We have a mulberry tree in the back yard and William was in his glory going out there to pick and eat berries! 

Puppy in the "jumpy jumpy"

FINALLY comfortable in the water!

Nothing like a good boat ride :)

Bumpa's truck is the best

4th of July Weekend:

Saturday-

Kids' table

Eagerly waiting for fireworks

Sunday we went back to Kaite and Dan's house and decided to do some camping...in their backyard!

William adopted this car and was quite possessive of it.  Just wait, Kid, until Marcellus gets a little older and he'll give you a run for your money!

Our "campsite"

Monday-

We all went back to Mom and Dad's on Monday to celebrate the 4th with another cookout since everyone had the day off

Cousins and best buds

And the war continues...

Snapshots from a family shopping trip:

Random videos from July:

When he was just starting to crawl:

Outside fun!

Mr. Marcel

 

Marcellus standing himself up!

A couple weeks ago Zenith and I dropped the boys off at my parents and headed to Boston for a date night.  We went on a cruise along the harbor, strolled through Boston, and then found a bar/lounge with outdoor seating a had a drink, enjoying a lovely summer night together.  It was very refreshing to get out and because we had put the boys to bed at my parents and were staying over, we had no curfew!  Can't remember the last time that happened. :)

The boys have been having a ton of fun outside in our backyard this summer.  My landlord comes out and turns the sprinkler on and they have a blast!

As you saw in the videos, Marcellus is crawling (still using his elbows, but he's fast all the same!) and just a couple days ago started pulling himself up on things and standing!  Now that he's more mobile, the boys are more interactive with each other.  William loves to help me wherever he can, even trying to change Marcellus' diaper!  He has his own set of chores (putting his dishes in the sink, unloading the dryer, throwing things in the trash, cleaning up his books and toys when he's done, bringing dirty bottles to the kitchen to be washed) and loves helping.  Marcellus is a happy chap with a spark of mischief and so much personality.  He's much more adventurous than William ever was and is finally eating solids with less trouble.  He especially loves mangoes we discovered...this boy is his Daddy through and through. :)

If you could spare a few prayers, we'd appreciate it.  I'm heading toward a new treatment for the Lyme disease which looks promising.  We're waiting on results from tests that I sent in before I can start.  It's very new and still in the research phase which means it isn't covered by anything and is pretty expensive, so if you could keep us in your prayers for God's provision and guidance, we'd appreciate it very much!  We have been doing a 54 day Rosary Novena for some time and know that God will answer our prayers, even if it's not in the way we hope.  I've been praying for resignation throughout this and peace, regardless of my state of health.  It has affected my life so much, in ways I never expected, yet I know God would never ask more than He would give me the strength to handle and that thought is a comfort.  If Christ bore such a heavy cross, why shouldn't we follow in his footsteps, for "a servant is not greater than his master."  We have but to look to the Saints to see a shining example of peace and joy among many trials and sufferings because it was done all for the love of God.

I hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

~Lindsay