A Weekend Birthday Celebration!

He looks quite a bit older doesn't he? 

Isaac turned 14 on Saturday. 

We began the day opening gifts.  Daniel got him Lego Architecture models.  He loved them.

The White House.  He also got ties...but that's not important.

Later that day his friends came over and we went to a local bowling alley.  He and his friends has their own lane and a pizza.  The other kids and I bowled in our own lane.  We weren't cool enough for 14 year old boys.

Isaac's high score was 88.  Higher than anyone else. so I'd say he was the winner.  I think we need to go bowling more often, wouldn't you say?  We are super awesome at gutter balls.  But then so were Isaac's friends.

Sunday was a special day.  Isaac was ordained a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. 

Grandma and Grandpa came.

Abbie and Poppy and Meme came too.  It was a super special day. After the ordination we came home and had food and got to visit for a while with everyone.

Isaac with mom and dad. 

What a great blessing you are to us Isaac.  We love you and can't believe it's been 14 years since you arrived.

This Month Is Such A Special One...

It's Birthday Time For YOU!!

Today Ruthie is 10

Double Digits!

She was off to school and I was off to prepare. 

All her gifts...

Art supplies

Art drawers

Legos

And...

A skateboard!

We went to dinner at Burrito Grande and she got to wear the birthday sombrero.

 

******

10 years ago today, a mom had a baby girl. You.  She knew she couldn't give you all you would need.  She placed you in front of the Bo Ai Hospital in FengCheng China.  The placement spoke volumes to the love she had for you.  You were found and taken to the orphanage around the corner.  You were weighed, measured and named.  Feng Li Qiu.  Beautiful Autumn Thunderclap.  The Beautiful and Autumn are a given.  Literally.  But Thunderclap?  You must have had some lungs or a striking personality to get a name like that.

 

When I got the translation of your name, I KNEW you were mine. My Beautiful Autumn Thunderclap.  I knew you'd go nicely with my Handsome Spring Thunderclaps, Isaac and Sam.

 

On February 16, 2005 I finally held you in my arms.  I cried tears of joy as you cried tears of fear and unknown.  We spent the next week and a half holding you in our arms.  Saying Mama and Baba while pointing to us.  Saying Qiu Qiu (ChooChoo) and Ruthie while pointing to you in the mirror.  You listened to her brothers' voices on the phone each  morning, loving the sound but unsure of what it was.

 

When we finally got you home, we went to pick up your big brothers.  You kept looking at your boys and then looking at me as if to say, "Are they mine? Really mine?".  You called them "my boys" for a couple of years. 

 

I always say, and truly believe, that I couldn't have made you more "mine" than if I'd made you myself. Heavenly Father was watching over each of us during this process of bringing our family together.

 

Ruthann LiQiu, we love you, and are so so so happy you belong to us.  Eternally.

We are also so so so very grateful to your birth mom and her great sacrifice to give you an opportunity to live a life she couldn't give you.  She loved you so so so very much.  I can't wait to meet her and hug her and thank her for giving you life.

 

Happy Birthday sweet Autumn Thunderclap. 

Double Digits!!

You Say It's Your Birthday!

It's his birthday today.  43 will be a great year!

We celebrated by going to the movies to see Ephriam's Rescue.  We had dinner at Burrito Grande.

We had cake a sang and gave him a pig tie.  That's a tie with pigs on it.

More gifts will be here this week, but he'll be at scout camp when they come.  So we'll just celebrate again next week!

 

Happy birthday my love.  We love you and are so glad you're the dad at our house!

Just A Little Trip.

 My Grandma just turned 100!  Can you believe it?  Think of all the things she's seen in the past 100 years.  Depression, War, Inventions, Big Bands, Elvis, Beatles, Michael Jackson, Bieber. She watched her "show", Guiding Light from the very beginning, when it was on the radio in 1952, to when the final episode aired in 2009. 

So we decided to make a trip out of it.  We got in the car last Friday morning and drove over 800 miles to the California coast.  Our hotel room got upgraded.  We didn't complain.  Ruthie and dad just chillin' on the couch.

 Isaac and Sam shared the second bedroom.  And they thoroughly enjoyed having their own TV and bathroom.

We even had a kitchen.  I wish I had brought microwave popcorn.  We even had a dishwasher.  On to the party. 

On Saturday we went swimming, got dressed, ate lunch, then headed to the church for the party.  I got to see cousins who I haven't seen in years.  Here is our family with Great Grandma Nunes.

Singing Happy Birthday and blowing out candles.  Grandma has lived in the same house since the 1940's.  My Grandpa died in 1992, right before his 92nd birthday.  We Nunes' believe in long life.  My dad will be around a while. 

That evening we all (my parents and all my siblings and families) went to the AT&T park in San Francisco to see the Giants play.  Look at that view!

The night was beautiful and slightly brisk.  Perfect for a baseball game.

We got the first row.  A couple of my sisters and their kids are behind us.

We aren't big baseball fans.  Although I was raised on the Giants and 49ers.  But it was so fun to be there with Abbie and Poppy and cousins and stuff.  That's right, my siblings are the "stuff".  I was there for the garlic fries.  Oh Baby!

Guess who loved them too?? She should be in commercials.  Ruthie sat next to my two brothers, who are gigantic Giants fans.  Their wives and boys were at home.  Too fast a trip for babies.  Ruthie kept saying she was so glad I wasn't like my brothers, who were yelling and making a raucous during the 7th inning stretch and when we all sang Sweet Caroline in support of Boston.  I pointed out that I was singing loudly too.  And I knew all the words to Sweet Caroline and wasn't holding back! It's my job to embarrass.

Sam was bundled in his hoodie, dad's jacket, a blanket and snow hat and gloves.  He wouldn't eat the garlic fries.  More for us.  He was shivering the whole time.  But.. he still had fun.

Isaac and dad had fun together.  They watched the boats in the harbor and enjoyed the game.  Isaac was next to another of my sisters who had her baby.  Isaac loved when cousin Washington would look at him and try to grab him.  He was embarrassed by his dad at this moment.

 

And here is the proof that I was there and having a ball.  The game went only 2 hours and 20 minutes.  Fast!!

We drove home Sunday and are still recovering.  What a fun and exciting trip.  We are so glad we got to go out and see Great Grandma Nunes and go to a baseball game with Abbie and Poppy. 

Happy 100 years Grandma!  We love you and are so glad we got to see you!

You Say It's Your Birthday!

 It's Sam's birthday.  He's 11 and feeling good. 

We began with a trip to Abbie and Poppy's for Easter and birthday fun.  This is Sam with his birthday chocolate and moolah from Abbie and Poppy.

At home, he had to wait for dad to get home to open gifts.  He got his very own box of Swiss Rolls. 

He got lots of Godzilla stuff.  He was Samzilla in another life.  He wants to serve his mission in Japan.  Go figure!

And... he got his ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.  Aahhh.  Look at that face.  He was so excited.

Grandma and grandpa took Sam and the other kids to the dollar store where they could each buy 10 items for their birthdays.  Sam was on a roll and got 10 super fun things.  So did the other kids.  We had his birthday dinner at Burrito Grande where he got to wear the giant sombrero.  Cool.

Sam, we love you and are so glad you belong to us.  Super Silly Sam.  Samzilla.  Samalicious.  Sammy Sam.  Sammers.  Samuel Lawrence.  Samuel L Jackson, etc, etc, etc.  Happy birthday!

The Birthday Review.

Isaac is a teenager.  And this is how a teenager spends his birthday.  First, on Thursday night, birthday eve, we went to the jr high to see the play his good friend Craig was in. 

Friday I asked Isaac if turning 13 was going to be a lucky year or an unlucky year.  He said after last year's birthday, anything would be luckier.  But he also said he's not superstitious.  Okey dokey.

Turning 13 only gets you 2 gifts from mom and dad. 

But worth the 2 bags.  He got a tablet.  He also got a programming book. I get the tablet, I don't get the book.  Look at the smile

After the gifts we went to dinner at Applebee's.  Then, stuffed to the gills, we went bowling.  Isaac just wanted to do something as a family.  I'll take it!  Look at that form!

Sam doing the granny throw.  He was a gutter champ!

And look at this cute form.  Ruthie was a gutter queen.  Until the second game!

During school Isaac texted me and said "BEST birthday ever".  When I asked why, he said, "Mr H sang to me in class"  That's his math teacher.  He got out his guitar and sang his own birthday song.

I love teachers like that.  Now if you were wondering where Isaac got his form...

Then it was back to home and CAKE!  We still have some.  Come on over and we'll share.

Isaac had a totally awesome birthday!  He's so glad to be a teenager.  Now he can say things like "It's a teenager thing" or "It's because I'm going through puberty" or "I need to sleep, I'm a teenager" and, of course, "I can be cranky, I'm 13".  I like to throw out "Hey, be nice or I'll squish the hormones out of you!", but he doesn't think it's that funny.

Lucky 13.

Today is the day.

This young man... 

Is now a teenager!

My baby boy is 13!

There will be cake.  There will be gifts.  There will be eating out.  There will be bowling.  And then more cake!

Happy birthday Isaac.  We love you and are so grateful you belong to us!

A Few Days In Our Life.

I've longed for grass for months now.  At Abbie's Tea Party this year my mom had us plant wheat and grow...  Ta Da!  Wheat Grass!  I am officially happy to have wheat grass.  It's the greenest thing in my life!

My birthday was last week.  Did you hear?  I would have just missed it entirely except that all the people at Blue and Gold sang to me.  Daniel sent me these beauties.  He loves me.

Sunday was Chinese New Year.  We went to dinner with our friends Kim and Jon and their girls on Saturday night.  Sunday we had all my family over to celebrate with lots of food and Chinese fun.

Isn't this a gorgeous orange?  I gave my family oranges to signify sweetness and completeness in this the year of the snake.

Monday Isaac was in the district science fair up at Weber State.  I snapped this at 6:30 that morning.  This is his board.  I guess we only know how he did by whether or not we get an invite to the award ceremony.  When Isaac got there he texted me this.. "breathtaking!".  He is now planning on attending Weber State.

So there you have it.  Our world this past week.  Almost like a day in the life.  Almost.  Maybe...