75 Candles

My father in law was born 75 years ago. 

Three quarters of a century you all!!!  

As his birthday approached, we knew that we wanted to do something special for him and I had the idea that we could make a book that contained "75 Birthday Wishes" - just for him.   I had John email and petition his family for contributions and from there an beautiful and adorable idea was born.  

John's brother Jordan (and really his wife) proposed the idea of surprising Max, in person, for his birthday.   Every one of John's siblings would fly in/arrive in Cardston on Friday night.  They'd all meet at our house an then when Max showed up ....SURPRISE!!!!

It really is a miracle that eight siblings, their spouses, and their kids could keep this a secret from Max.  (It's especially amazing that my family could keep this a secret.  Every night at supper, it just loomed in front of us and we couldn't say a word.  I was proud of my kiddos.)

On the day of everyone's arrival, Jess made one last snowman for the year, in Grandpa's honor.  

Family began arriving around 3 o'clock. 

First Rachel and Ammon from Calgary.

Then Sarah from Bozeman. 

Ben arrived by 8 and soon after we were able to welcome Dave, and Aaron and Gina and their boys.

It took a lot of planning and sacrifice for some of Johns siblings to make it.   John's brother Ammon has been deployed to Dubai (and then to Japan for three years) and was to fly out the following week.   It was a big deal that he was able to be there with us and this marked the last time (for the next few years) that all of John's family would be able to be together. 

There was a lot of food eaten over that weekend.  

A LOT!

Jordan and Aaron cooked fantastically flavored beasts, Sarah and Rachel spent hours in the kitchen baking stunning desserts in honor of Max, and there was candy in abundance!

John's siblings visited, the kids played, and on Sunday everyone was able to attend sacrament meeting together.   It was a special weekend for John and his family and I felt privileged to get to watch it unfold. 

What an amazing opportunity it was to celebrate Max.

I am convinced that I live a life surrounded by giants, and this man is the "Giant"est of them all!!!

Birthdays and Puppy Propoganda

The only thing this girl wanted for her birthday (the only thing) was a puppy.  

In the weeks leading up to her 11th celebration of life, she grew increasingly persistent and I became increasingly convinced that she deserved one!   There is nothing that I wanted to do more than give this little ray of sunshine exactly what she asked for!!!

Unfortunately (and to no surprise at all) we did not get her a dog.

Fortunately (and to no surprise at all) she was still perfectly happy with how here big day went down.

Jessica shares a Birthday week with our dear friend Jeanne Gladding, so we had her and Jim over for dinner the day before so they could celebrate together. 

Jim and Jeanne spoil our kids and they were delighted to get Jessica a stash of art supplies and more paper then she has ever had to work with in her life!   It is fun to see them love our kids.  

On Jessica's actual birthday, we grabbed five of her friends and headed out to Waterton.  The weather was still pretty freezing cold but we managed to brave conditions and have our first wiener roast of the year.   By the end of lunch - that little kitchen was was toasty warm!

We ended the day by taking the girls swimming at our favorite Waterton Lodge.  

To say Jessica "wanted a dog for her birthday" would be an understatement.   The girl lives and breathes dogs right now and it has been both adorable and heartbreaking.    She has worked hard on her puppy campaign, that is for sure:

*When assigned to teach the lesson for FHE, she made a power point presentation that was designed to teach us all "why our family should have a dog."  She was sure to include lots of pictures, pros and cons, and even a survey in which she pulled people at school and in the community

* Many times I have walked into my room to find messages written on my bedroom mirror, or puppy propaganda hanging from our ceiling fan.  

*One morning she whipped up a darling little book titled "the Book of Cute" which consisted of some of her favorite types of puppies.   

*On a particularly desperate day - she even resorted to making her own puppy out of a water balloon. 

You really have to give this girl credit.  She is tenacious, determined, and strong willed, yet she manages to be all of these things while still being a kind and joy filled angel .  

I love her to bits and I hope she knows I'd sure get her a puppy if I could.  

(Well...if I could bring myself to want one too.)

(Nate and Jess performing "puppy surgery" on one of their stuffies.

Spring Drives with my bird watcher

After a long winter, we were glad to seize a couple of opportunities this past month to go for a drive in search of "Spring."  One opportunity came shortly after Jessica's birthday when her and I realized we still had to make our annual "birthday drive to Waterton" together happen.   The other opportunity came a couple of weekends back when we found ourselves enjoying a Saturday with a few rare unplanned hours to burn.  

We enjoyed seeing Waterton and notice some of the tell tale signs that the park is starting to wake up.  The lakes are beginning to thaw, birds are returning, and the massive piles of snow are beginning to shrink.   

We've also noticed (outside of the park) many eagles soaring mightily above us.   

March is "Eagle Month" around these parts and I am glad we were able to get out and see some of them.

On one particular drive through Beazer, John, Jessia and I saw 15 eagles!!!!

Jessica has been a darling and loyal sidekick to have around on drives like this.  She likes photography too and she not only has an eye for spotting the wildlife but an appreciation for it all too.

Both her and I are counting the days until Spring.  

We feel confident it is just around the corner...ish.