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

Catching up around here...guests, and twins 3rd birthday...

"I believe...that everything happens for a reason.
people change...so you can let them go.
things go wrong...so you can appreciate them when they are right.
and sometimes... good things fall apart so better things can fall together." -Marilyn Monroe

In case you did not notice, there were no posts for a long time...but it is not without a good reason.  My good friend, Deborah, from Carlsbad texted me one morning with a shocking message...Her brother had a mild heart attack, was flown by helicopter to a hospital here, had a CT scan, and it was found that not only did he have a heart attack, but he had cancer too!  Long story, short her brother and his wife stayed here while doing the 15 treatments of radiation therapy.

me and my friend, Deborah...

Kenneth

Kenneth, and Deborah

Her brother, Kenneth, sailed through the radiation treatments.  The doctor said he might have various side-effects, but he seemed to not have problems at all.  With each treatment, he seemed to be getting better, and better.  I attribute it to the fact that he is being bathed in prayer by friends, and family.  His wife, Betty, made things very easy for me.  I found my dishes miraculously washed, and put away, laundry mysteriously washed, and folded, my windows washed, and the pool area swept.   We had many wonderful conversations, shopping trips, and meal preparation time together.  I was sure sad when the treatments were over, and they went home. But I know they were glad to get back, because there is nothing quite like home.

I, also, made a trip to NC for the twins third birthday.   It is always a fun time when I can see the twins.

Yummy cupcakes made by Jordan...

Sawyer...

Wearing some cake, and ice cream...

Tate enjoying his cupcake, and ice cream...

Sawyer...

Tate...looking serious....

The lighting of the candles...

These suitcases were a big hit with the boys...

Party time is over...time to go home...

They took these suitcases everywhere filled with everything...

Serious again...doesn't it look like he is reading this?  Maybe he is...

Luke...taking iPhone photos...

Later in the day, we went to the Y to swim.  Luke bought them goggles,  diving rings, and diving sharks.  They could not wait to get to the pool to try out the new items.

First pair of goggles...Come on let's go...!

They had to wear them on the way to the pool.

 Finally in the water.  This Y is a fantastic facility.  I was very impressed with the lifeguards, and all the staff.

Swim lesson time...

Play time...notice the goggles are off...they did not wear them very long before they wanted them off.

Goggle adjustment time...

One of the things I gave the boys for their birthday, was the Mercer Myer book, I was so mad.  It was one of Mark, and Luke's favorite books when they were boys.   It seems like it will be a favorite of the twins as well.  Each morning they crawled in bed with me, or Luke, and wanted the "Mad" book read to them.  I am so glad the boys like books so well.

Reading...

On my last day there, I wanted to try to get at least one photo of me, and the boys.  It is hard to get everyone settled down for a good photo.  Two out of three people in focus is not bad.  I think the boy's hair is pretty styling.  I think Luke enjoys doing it so much, because he does not have any.

We almost got a good picture.

 

I was happy that Zach was working on the day I flew home, because that meant I got to see him.  I stopped by his restaurant, and had a nice visit with him.  Man my head looks so tiny next to his head.  

It was a good trip, good to see Luke's family, and good to see Zach, but I was glad to get home to Warren, my cat, and my own bed.  Ahhhh!