Of Nirvana and Birthday Cupcakes

These last two weeks seem to have gone by so fast. I blinked, and they’re gone. Joe celebrated his 31st birthday yesterday. He received money (which he tells me is going to be used for his next demolition derby car), a ShopVac for the garage, new winter gloves, and lots of hugs and kisses. Brooklin just kind of slobbered on him and smiled, but I think he knew what she meant. We rode the 50 with AJ and friends around the neighborhood. AJ still rehearses his speech about wrecking last year at Grandma’s house every time we mention the dirt bike, but he did much better yesterday. We also supported our local FFA by perusing their pumpkin patch and bought five pumpkins for carving. Actually, we mostly spent the day cooking yummy things to eat. We made pancakes, our spicy orange chicken wings, cupcakes (side note: Natalie told Joe that she was “so proud” of him for choosing cupcakes instead of a regular cake), and personal pizzas (courtesy of Joe’s mom). I think we dirtied every dish in the house.

Joe’s brother, John, is home from Iraq for a few weeks, so we went over there Saturday night and ate dinner and visited. We spent Sunday afternoon over there as well. And last night, John came over here before he had to leave this morning. It was very nice to see him, but, like always, it's hard to see him go back. We wish him well with peace and safety!

Joe and I gave a really interesting lesson in church on Sunday. I’m not entirely sure that the kids in our class didn’t going to go home and tell their parents all about original sin, the quadratic equation, being “saved,” and/or achieving a state of nirvana. But hopefully, they at least got that if they memorize the Articles of Faith, we’ll bring treats.

Brooklin apparently doesn't get bathed enough because she still thinks the water is HILARIOUS!


I've been trying to catch Brooklin giggling on video because baby giggles just don't last long enough. My other kids always want to star in these videos.