Twins give Luke a birthday surprise...

"God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well." -Voltaire

The twins and I had such fun planning and celebrating Luke's birthday.  I let the boys plan, shop, wrap, and bake for Luke's birthday.  Luke knew he was going to have a party, but he had no idea what great party planners, and bakers his boys were.

Luke wanted a banana cake with cream cheese frosting for his cake...and even though he eats a Keto diet, he wanted this one with real sugar, and flour.  Totally bad!  I made the cake, the boys made the frosting.

They did a pretty good job keeping the powdered sugar in the bowl

Watching...and waiting...

Tasting to see if they got the frosting just right...what cook doesn't sample their work?

Yummy.  They did eat a lot of frosting.  In fact, I worried about not having enough for the cake.

The best part of baking is licking the beaters, and bowl.  

The easy way to lick the batter

I frosted the cake with enthusiastic onlookers waiting for the opportunity to add the spidermen figurines, and sprinkles to the cake.  Finally, they got to add the sparkle to the cake.

The cake after the sprinkles, and figurines were added...

Next was the placement of the candles. 

Such concentration...

Here's the cake finished...

I thought it was interesting that the boys put the candles along the rim of the cake.  It did make for easier lighting.

...and the table with the decorations...

The boys ate a lot of the red M&M's

I had them wrap their own presents, which they loved.  I cut an appropriate sized piece of wrapping paper, and placed pieces of scotch tape around the sides of the table, so they could pick up the tape easily.  I am sorry I did not get photos of their wrapped gifts, which they picked out on their own.

The gift presentation...they could hardly wait for their Daddy to open their gifts...they had to help.

Sawyer helps 

 Oh Wow... a hot wheels truck... just what Luke always wanted...

Both are very thrilled with the gift...

I love how excited the boys were in anticipation of the unveiling of their gifts...

The faces tell it all...

 Not only did Luke get hot wheel cars, he got some pretty special T-shirts...

We found spiderman temporary tattoos, which were a big hit.   Tattoos had to go on arms, hands, and legs.

The first of the tattoos...

Even though the boys were thrilled with all the tattoos, the party must go on...we had the traditional lighting of the candles on the cake.  I must say, I was a little worried about the position of some of the candles, especially those that are on the side.  I was afraid they might fall resulting in a huge fire.  They lit just fine, and luckily, stayed put.  Disaster avoided...

such joy...

blowing out the candles

The aftermath...

It was a very good party...Happy birthday, Luke

From all of us...Mimi, Sawyer, and Tate

Luke's family visits...part one...

"In the eyes of a child...there is joy, there is laughter, there is hope, there is trust. And a chance to shape the future." -Air Supply

The twins come visit the Roswell clan.  Pawpaw and Mimi were glad to have them visit them.  

We had our typical unpredictable spring weather while they were visiting.  It would be hot one day--91 degrees, then 66 degrees the next.  On the day it was 91 degrees, we took the boys to the park for some fun.

Real swingers here.

Such handsome guys.

Mimi and the boys!  Mimi was certainly happy they came!

Our park trip did not last very long since the playground equipment was blazing hot.  Stay tuned for more adventures with the Roswell clan.

Happy Birthday Luke...

"May you live to be 100, and may the last voice you hear be mine."- Frank Sinatra

Holy Moly, my baby is 28 today!  Happy birthday to Luke!  I am so glad the Lord gave him to us because he has added such joy and blessings to our lives.  There was never a dull moment with Luke around and I think that is still true today.  In looking at old pictures, I think Sawyer looks a lot like Luke, especially in the eyes!  Here is a trip down memory lane for me.

Just a sweet baby...most of the time.

Luke went everywhere in this walker.  It was a miracle he never turned it over.  This is one of the pictures that reminds me of Sawyer and it has always been one of my pictures of Luke.  I think he is too cute!

I am not sure about that face.

Interesting outfit, and notice the drool.

One of the many cowboy Luke pictures.  He loved this cowboy hat...he even slept in it.  Can't you tell.

Okay, this picture should be before the other one, but oh well.  Notice that his cowboy hat is in fairly good shape here.  So that tells me this picture should be first.  Luke liked his boots, too.  He did not care what outfit he had on, he always had his boots on.  But he was not allowed sleep in them.

I think Luke is about 6 or 7 here.  Baseball soon became his love.

At Peter Piper Pizza.  It was someone's birthday, but I cannot remember whose.

Luke started swimming competitively at 6 years old.  He was particularly good at backstroke.  I think he was about 8 years old here.  At 10, he made Zones which is a kind of junior olympics (held in Seattle, Washington) and he finished 9th in most of his events.  He was seeded 32nd, so he did very well.

Luke's 13th birthday with his Grasshopper Pie "cake."

13th birthday and with Smidge.  

Luke today!