Happy Birthday to....

Alison, Katie and Ryan!

A milestone birthday for the Al! 13! I can't believe I have a teenager! Since her birthday was on Saturday and she was going to be at her dad's that weekend, we celebrated a little early...make that really early! On Friday morning (19th), I made a 6 a.m. run to Krispy Kreme for some hot donuts. I think Cassidy was the most excited of all...I'm not sure how often she's had donuts, but I can't recall another time. She flew out of bed and was practically dragging her sisters to the table. We gave Ali her gifts and cards that had come in during breakfast and headed off to school. I called the local radio station to have her birthday announced and she was thrilled to still be in the car to hear it. On Saturday, we had dinner all together at a little Asian restaurant that Ali picked. It's quite a sight to see Ali with her 7 siblings all together. The kids all get along very well, so that was a nice way to spend her birthday dinner.

Katie wanted the same donut treatment on her big day (23rd). Ryan and I headed to KK in the pre-dawn hours and got the goods. Since we'd done the same for Ali, we let Kate open her gifts with breakfast. We were a little more rushed since Ryan had to work on Tuesday, but we got it all in before he headed to work. We have tumbling on Tuesday nights, so we are usually in a dinner hurry, either catching fast food on the way there (yuck) or eating at home in a rushed super fast family dinner. Katie decided on Tijuana Flats, as close to Tex-Mex as we get here, but really quite acceptable. It's a cross between fast food and sit down. Since Ryan doesn't get off work until 6, I had all the food ordered and on the tables (and everyone eating) before he got there, but we at least had dinner together as a family before rushing off to the gym. I had a yummy taco salad...I think I could eat at least one of those every day!!! Delicious!

Ryan's birthday was less exciting...no KK donuts. It was on Saturday and he had to go to school for a class. So, the girls were very excited but had no outlet for the enthusiasm. So, I convinced them that Dad would love the house cleaned as a birthday surprise and I was startled that they bought into that and cleaned their rooms, the bathroom and the other areas of the house. The house looked nice when he returned. I don't know if he noticed, but it was. We headed to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. We had delicious perfectly cooked steaks (some of our kids with less taste buds had mac n cheese, what are they thinking???). Cassidy and I had picked up a cake for desert at Publix earlier in the day, so we had that back at the house before the kids went to bed.

All in all it was a less than usually crazy week of birthdays. I'm sure that had something to do with not being in our own home. But I must admit...it was nice!

So Happy Birthday to 3/7ths of my family! I love you all very much.

Catching up...

Well, once again, there have been a million things happening, and I haven't posted a one of them!

First, the girls are settling in to school very well. They all like their teachers and are making good grades. We are still working out getting to and from school in a way that is out of the ordinary. Cassidy goes to school Mon, Wed and Fri. Ryan takes her early on Monday and Wednesday so he can get to work on time (he's working four 10 hour days...M-Th 7a-6p). On Friday he takes her as well, but doesn't have to leave as early. I have to get the other girls to school by 8:45. That's a little challenge, but it's working out. Once we get back into our house, Ali can return to taking the bus.

Second, the remodeling of our house is nearly complete. If I can figure out how to do a slide show, I'll put before and after shots up. It's really looking good. The kitchen is in, the tile floors are in, the bathrooms are tiled with cabinets, countertops and sinks! We are hoping it's a productive week and we can be back at home in the next few weeks!

Third, Lily update! She's a full fledged monkey! She climbs on anything and everything. We joke that if we could install a rock wall in our house, she'd be able to climb it! We got her a belated birthday present...a play structure with 3 ways to climb up into it and a slide to get down! We'll put it in the playroom (formerly the back room/computer room/library) on the carpet. Despite her climbing ability, she hasn't really fallen (knock on wood). Ryan and I were at Lowe's on Friday with her and she was swinging on the bar of the flatbed. It is amazing how strong she is. Maybe she's our future gymnast.

I guess that's about all for now.