March Birthday Mania!

--

As our family grows and grows it sometimes gets more difficult to get together on a regular basis. It doesn't help that we are all starting to move around as well. So we try to get together at least once a month to celebrate the birthdays for that month. This year we have not done so well. We finally got together this last weekend to celebrate the birthdays from January to March. This includes: January-Peter, February-Ammon, March-Megan, Blair, Marcy, and Ben.

--

Here is a shot of our gift table. We decided that since we were having this up at my house, we should invite the Sheppard side of the family to join us. Almost everyone was able to stop by at some point. We had a great time!

We started the afternoon by letting the kids hang out and play. There is a big basketball court next to the pavilion that the kids were able to play in. They had a great time. Here are some shots of them "hanging out".

--

Marcy was smart and brought some bubbles for them to play with also. They loved that. This picture is of Ammon (Christy's boy) making bubbles for Karly (BJ's girl).

Here is a "shot" of Abby, Jacob and Pyper (Christy's kids) playing basketball.

This is Abby and Jacob, just hangin' out and talking.

Every year, for Easter, while the kids were growing up my Mom would hide chocolate Easter eggs around her house. The kids would come up and get to find them. It was a lot of fun and they hid some of them really well (some years she would even find some throughout the year in places hidden so well that the kids had never found them!).

--

Mom brought up some eggs this year and while the kids were playing in the basketball area the Uncles hid the eggs.

--

Then the kids were brought in and were able to search for all the eggs.

They had a lot of fun hunting them down!

This was just a funny picture that Marcy and Christy took because they are pregnant at the same time! Marcy is due at the end of April and Christy is due in the middle of June!
After all the fun egg hunting we had dinner. Thank you Dave for always being our go-to BBQ guy! We had hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, veggie dip, and fruit. Plus we had lots of different kinds of soda. It was a regular party!

Usually Uncle Davey sits with the kids but he was running a little late today. BJ stepped up and took his place though. The kids had a great time playing with him while they ate.

After we ate, we all sat around and visited for a bit. This is Dad and Russ.

This is BJ and Troy (Cirbie's husband).

This is a shot of people visiting. From left to right Christy, me, Russ, Holly, Mom, Cassie.

Here are the "girls" hanging out. Blair, Marcy, Cirbie and baby Storm.

Then, of course, it was time for presents! Yes, I am guilty of wrapping my grandson's gift in princess paper. Luckily he didn't mind at all, as you can tell from his grin!

He loved his presents.

Marcy was very excited about all she got!

Isn't that the cutest smile!?! Megan loved opening her gifts.

Here is Blair opening one of her gifts! After the gift opening, several people left because Cirbie was having a surprise party for Troy up at the main house. We had some cake and ice cream. Then we settled in and watched a movie. That's right, the patio area next to our trailer has a pull down large screen and we can watch movies outside on it.

--

The kids got all settled in with PJ's, jackets and warm blankets. We watched "The Frog and the Princess". It was a delightful movie and the kids had a great time outside!

Another shot of us watching the movie.

After the movie everyone bundled up and headed home. I thought it was the perfect ending to a delightful night. The whole afternoon ran smoothly and we had a great time. I am so thankful for a family that likes to get together and has a good time, without any drama. I can't wait for next month!

Our "WICKED" adventure...

Ever since the "Wicked" play came to be, my girls and I have wanted to go. We kept an ear out for any time it might be playing, anywhere near us. The closest it has been is L.A. (which is not very close) until this winter. Marcy sent me an e-mail from a mutual friend of ours announcing that she had an incredible deal on "Wicked" tickets showing in San Francisco. This e-mail came just as I was trying to decide what to buy everyone for Christmas this year. Talk about providental.

--

So for Christmas this year I bought tickets for Blair, Christy, Marcy and myself. They were orchestra seats about 8 to 10 rows back. It was AWSEOME and to top it off, I got a great deal!

Here is a shot of us right outside the theatre. They don't let you take pictures inside the theatre but I wish you could have seen it. It was a beautiful building and fit perfect for this musical. It just enhanced the whole feeling of the night.

--

The play was INCREDIBLE. The music was overwhelming and wonderful. Everything was done so well. Glenda the Good Witch kept us laughing, the "wicked witch" was endering and by the end you were totally rooting for her. The play even included and tied in the tin man, scarcrow, and lion. The whole thing was very well done and we enjoyed every minute. At the end we even commented that we wished we could just sit down again and start the whole show over. It was that amazing.

This is a shot of Marcy and I with the "scarecrow". He was the main love interest. He was a very nice guy and chatted us up for a little while, not minding at all how giddy we were!

Here is a shot of me entering the hotel. The hotel we stayed at was litterally 1 block away from the theatre. It was so easy to get our stuff all settled at the hotel and then walk down to the theatre. I am so glad we decided to stay the night, it took a lot of stress off of trying to find parking and having to drive late at night. Plus it gave us some good visiting time.

Here is a shot of Marcy showing us the scenery. It might not look like much but it was actually very pretty, especially at night with all the lights.

--

I am so grateful to have daughters and daughters-in-law that I get along with and enjoy. It was so much fun to spend some time with them and to see the exitement they enjoyed from the Christmas gift.

--

I would see "Wicked" again in a heatbeat and recommend that everyone see it. The music was inspiring and the story was very interesting. Merry Christmas everyone.