Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

Yesterday we celebrated Dad's 36th birthday! Ice cream cone cupcakes and presents for breakfast, a trip to mom's doctor, and a dinner out for parents only made for a good day!

Dad was hoping for a baby on his birthday...but no such luck. Baby is still holding on strong in mama's belly!

Caleb Turned 8!

September 29 th was another fun day in our household! Caleb turned 8 years old and we again started out day with dessert and presents!

The chocolate coconut cupcakes with a peanut butter frosting topped with Reese's Pieces were amazing! Other than the big celebratory morning, Caleb had a pretty normal Monday filled with school, homework, and soccer practice! :)

September 25!!!

It was my 34th birthday...seriously, it was the best birthday I've had all year! So many text and phone calls and messages for me from family and friends. For breakfast, a yellow cake with chocolate frosting in the fridge from my boys....plus some presents. A birthday banner and crown from Jonah and my dear friend Meghan in the morning, followed by an amazing lunch and homemade carrot cake with fresh toasted coconut when I picked Jonah up after my school day! During school I was spoiled by friends with chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes. And in the evening, Eric and I ran almost 7 miles then headed out to dinner, just the two of us....thanks to Unlce Tom. 

Certainly for me, 34 feels great!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Noah Turns 11

That's it…no more counting your years on your hands.  Noah has turned 11!

It was a happy birthday for our big guy and for the first time ever, he had an actual "invite your friends not just your cousins" birthday party. :)  It sounds a little tragic that he has yet to have a friend party, but with his birthday being in the beginning of the school year and knowing that he has switched school 5 times in 7 years….it makes sense.  We had some options for his birthday, and in the end he decided to have a party for his friends at a beach park, and instead of bringing presents, he would collect money to donate to his friend/former soccer coaches sister/daughter's fund for medical treatment.  You with me?  He raised money for a worthy cause!

I decided at the last minute to structure some "minute to win it" type games, recruiting Eric and Uncle Tom for our team captains.  The boys had a blast with it.  I wish I would have planned ahead on the picture situation, but thankfully I have amazing friends and one jumped in to snap pictures, realizing I was missing out!  Thanks Auntie Meghan!

Clearly the morning started with decorations, chocolate pie, and presents!

11

Here is a glimpse into a moment in our house.  On this morning a giant bumble bee got into the house… (hey Ohlers, this reminded me of the scene when I asked Wil to catch the lizard and put it outside :))

Noah is such a good big brother….just as sweet as can be. Usually.  ;)  This video begins as we just started another attempt to sing to Noah…and Jonah has again blown out the candles. 

 The moment he realizes what it is….

 Later a soccer game...

 Then party time….chest bump!

 brother team!

 Team captains!

 Cutest party goers ever!

 Building their marshmallow towers...

 Yay, family pic! These are too few and far between!

 Such great listeners...

 Dad and Noah demonstrating the noodle game.

 Soccer and pizza break!

 The oreo face slide...

 No hands!

 And finally, a kickball game!

It was such a fun day and Noah had a blast….which is all that matters.  A couple days later we headed to the bank to deposit his donations.

Here is a peek at his thank you card he sent out too…

Thank you customized with Smilebox

3 Years Old!

Happiest of birthdays to our sweet baby Jo! Ice cream cake, cupcakes, and presents for breakfast! Then a few hours at the beach and a BIG nap!

Such a fun day for my baby!

Dad's 35th Birthday

The man of the family turned 35 on June 9th and I felt the need to do something special.  Other big birthdays have come and gone and we have always had a good time and enjoyed the days.  This time around, I planned early and decided to surprise Eric with an overnight trip for just the 2 of us to Kaua'i. I'm not positive, but I think this is the first trip we have ever taken alone together since our road trip to Sandusky, Ohio sometime around 2001.

Uncle Tom came to our house on Saturday for a "BBQ," and brought extra clothes to stay the night as we would have some adult drinks.  Little did Eric know…he was staying 2 nights so he could care for our children while we were gone!  I ended up surprising Eric Saturday evening as our flight left at 5:18 the next morning!

We had such a fun time!  Here is a little review in photos….

On the plane at 5 a.m.!!!

 And 27 minutes later….landing on Kaua'i.

First stop Waimea Canyon State Park. And then a little breakfast at a local cafe. 

 It's the Grand Canyon of the Pacific!

Got to take a look at Ni'ihau and Lehua off in the distance (17 miles off shore).

And we made it around the island and to the north shore to our hotel in Princeville by 11 a.m.  Thanks to our early start! 

We were unable to check in until about 3:30 so we made friends with the pool bar and watched some playoff bball for a while.  We later played pingpong poolside for a while and met lots of wonderful people!  So, so fun. 

Monday morning was another early start for Eric's actual present…playing golf at the The Prince course in Princeville, Kaua'i. 

Pretty fancy! 

 They even had a place for me to rest while Eric warmed up. :)

 The driving range was unlike Tower Tee, where I used to frequent.

 We experienced the full effect of Kaua'i weather…trade showers and all!

 Even rainbows!

 Pretty sure I took over 100 pics of this man golfing on his birthday. :)

 The natural waterfall was my favorite part!

 Kaua'i is filled with chickens.  So many more than on Oahu.  Apparently there are no mongoose on that island leading to the increased poultry population. 

 We cut it a bit close after a nap at the resort pool and a trip to Secret beach.  We were being paged at the airport, "Last call for Amy and Eric Selter!" as we were rushing through security.  We made it, sandy feet and all!

 This guy (and his wife) had an awesome b-day!