Dads are sometimes hard for birthdays, aren't they? I try and come up with something different most years, which is really tough when I am suffering from pregnancy brain! We took a trip over the weekend to great grandma's house and the beach (post soon) and called it his "birthday outing", but the real day still needs some fanfare! Here's what we came up with:
Service Presents: The kids all did a "Dad Chore" for him as a surprise!
Christian mowed the lawn while the other kids raked up and bagged the grass. Jonah and Indy swept out his shop. Bekah and Briella picked tomatoes from the garden. Kamberlynne made the cake part of the traditional "pineapple upside down cake". Then we printed out all the pictures, taped them into homemade cards, and met dad for lunch! He was really surprised and happy about his service presents! The fun continued later that night...dad's favorite dinner...hotdogs on the grill and fritos! YUM! Then candles, cake and ice cream! We sure love you, Dad! We hope you had a great day, and all your wishes come true!
After our three week musical theatre camp in July, I thought we were pretty much done, but I got a call for another 2 week camp who needed a costume mistress and thought it would be a great idea to trade out for all 5 of my kids to attend! OK, sounds good! It gets even better! For their production of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", they cast Kamberlynne as "Belle", Christian as "Gaston", and Jonah as "Lumiere"! Indy covered the ensemble beautifully with many of his own solos and lines! Even Rebekah got to star in a little kid show (I'll post that next!) The show turned out marvelously, the kids did great, and Catherine lived through the costuming (not my favorite job) and packing all the lunches (another good reason to homeschool....I REALLY don't like packing lunches)! But the big hero is Briella, who came along day in and day out, and learned just about all the songs and lines (in Briella talk!), and was the show mascot!
Here are a few videos of the musical numbers from a dress rehearsal! Enjoy! (For those of you wanting a quick peak at all the kids, check out the "Belle" and "Be Our Guest" numbers...For you die hard fans....you'll love them all!)
Here is the opener "Belle". Kamberlynne is easy to spot, look to her right and there is Indy singing his heart out. At about 3 minutes or so in, Christian...I mean "Gaston" makes his entrance! One of my favorite parts of the show!
Next is "Home", one of Kamberlynne's best vocals. She has taken her father's place as the Beast's prisoner, and is wondering if she'll ever find "home" again.
"Gaston" has alot of Christian, and he's pretty cute! Watch for Indy, too!
"Be our Guest" showcases Jonah, and he really loved his character...you can tell he had a great time! And Indy has transformed into a spoon, I think....
"Human Again" wasn't in the original Disney release, but added in the later release after it did well on Broadway. It is a cute number with all the enchanted characters, and Jonah starts it off!
I thought I had the finale...sorry! But what do you think....??? The cast was one of the youngest I've worked with, and putting together a show in 2 weeks is crazy, but we all enjoyed it! Thanks to Grandma, Pop, Aunt Amber, Connor, and our Homeschool Friends the Klopcic Family for coming to see our performance! One good thing about camp being over....NO MORE PACKING THOSE DARN LUNCHES!!!!!
We celebrated our 14th anniversary at the place our marriage began, doing sealings in the DC Temple. Nothing compares to the promise of Time and all Eternity. I remember thinking on our wedding day that I couldn't possibly be more in love or happier. I was so wrong. Life has gotten even sweeter, our home has grown in even more love, and every blessing I count dear can be traced directly back to that day 14 years ago. I can only imagine the joy another few years will bring!!!
Brian really looks forward to any chance to play sports....which come few and far between for him, poor guy! But when he gets the chance, he always pulls out his top game, and we as his loyal fans are there to cheer him on!!!! Yesterday was the Stake Church Softball Tournament for the men, and our team came home the champions!
That's what a home run looks like as it comes off the bat!!! And as it keeps going and going and going.... And the traditional home run smooch! (FYI....this wasn't the only one!!!) And of course Brian is a fabulous defensive player, too! Ready positon.... Making a play on the ball... Dad's adoring fans....
The Championship Team! As our Bishop said, "We put the "WIN" in WINTERS RUN"! Way to go, team!
Congratulations, guys! Any guesses who our MVP is??? (Hint...he's the really cute one on the far right in the front!!!!)
Before Brian and I were married, if you would have asked us what we'd like to be doing in 15 years it would go something like this! "We want a big happy family! Catherine could homeschool the kids, and Brian could coach their sports teams. We'll serve in the church and teach our children about Jesus. Maybe we'll even adopt some kids!" Well, we're living our dream, and we love it! God is good!
We sure love you, Dad! We hope you had a great day, and all your wishes come true!
