Birthday Celebrations

The boys' b-day is on the 7th & mine is on the 9th, so some years it's more of a combined effort, which is what it was this year. We opened their presents & had "their dinner" on their b-day & then did the cake & real celebrating on my b-day, that Saturday. This is the picture of elation when they received their Legos.

This is the aforementioned "birthday dinner," and oh, wow, what a feast it was. They've always both LOVED garden beets (we grow them every year in our little garden & they never tire of them). But recently, out of the blue, being the clever 6-now-7-year-olds that they are, decided that maybe it would be delicious on homemade...hamburgers?? They both get to choose a couple of meals each month and the last couple months the newly-invented "Beet Burgers" have been on the menu. So, of course that's what they wanted for their birthday feast, along with "not homemade macaroni & cheese, Mommy, the stuff from the box!" You see, this is the first time in their lives I've ever bought it in the box, and oh boy, they thought heaven had arrived...in a box. Go figure. The cutest part is that Jaydon-boy is pointing at me (in the picture above). He said he did that because I was the one to make it all for them. Oh, I sure love my wild cats!

This is the treasure chest cake that we ate with family & friends on my birthday that Saturday. I have to admit, I was pretty worried about making it, but you stuff enough chocolate coins & candy necklaces in something (surrounded by graham cracker dirt & chocolate rocks) and really, you can't go wrong. And if you look really close you can see their shirts say "My Mom Rocks!" Isn't that the greatest present ever? To myself? :) I admit, I HAD to buy them when I saw them at Kohl's (pick up yours today to adorn your darling tots!).

This is the Tautphaus Zoo we attended with seven adorable children (assorted relatives & friends, all under the age of 7). Really, we were quite fortunate that we only lost one of them...twice. Sorry Dina! Luckily the 3 year-old in question made friends with the flamingos & a lovely park guide until we came running breathlessly up.


And, to top it all off, after all the festivities and fun, the most favoritest part was when the boys received their bug catchers--from the ever-prestigious dollar store.