Hazel’s Birthday …..Intro to Summer

Hi there!  As you can all see, I only really post about birthdays and holidays lately.  I’m worried this platform isn’t backed up like it used to be and I think a few of my past posts don’t have any of the photos attached anymore.  I haven’t decided what to do about this.   Do I try to keep the blog going?  Clearly I don’t post nearly as much as I used to but I’d still love a place to put some of our family memories.  I guess that what the technology of iPhones and Instagram help us with now. 

Anyway, in June Hazel turned 9!  She is growing up so fast yet will always be the baby of our family.  This girl is smart and funny and knows what she wants. Believe me when I tell you that her opinions are STRONG.  She loves being creative with art or crafting and spending time with her neighbor friends is at the top of her priorities each day. 

We celebrated her with a girls night out and sleepover with friends.  I took the group to a paint your own pottery studio and out for a pasta dinner and then we all came back to our house so four little girls could run wild, laugh a lot and fall asleep watching movies.  Hazel had a great time being the birthday queen and her brothers were even kind enough to help decorate the bonus room for her night of fun.   

This year her birthday fell on Father’s Day so luckily the sleepover was the night before.  On her actual birthday Nana was the hero that hung out with her and took her shopping while Rich got to play a litttle golf with the guys in the neighborhood and I drove Zach to NC State for a week of ultimate frisbee camp.  It was a busy day but we all (except Zach) came back together for a birthday spaghetti dinner that evening. 

Hazel’s birthday launched us right into summer which maybe I’ll get around to posting about.  We’ve taken our annual trip to Chicago and filled our time at home with swim meets, baseball, camps and a few house projects here and there.  Life with kids never really slows down does it?  

Here are a few photos of our birthday girl. 

I almost forgot…..the boys took her out to a movie for her birthday.  


This photo is from camp pick up.  I love it when she really smiles. 

Happy birthday to our best girl!

Big Dozen!

Well…I’m clearly very far behind on blog posts but I can’t skip a birthday when I actually remember to post on the day.  

Gunnar is 12 today!  He is such an amazing kid.  He has adapted fully to being in NC and has wrapped his head around what it takes to be a middle schooler.  He loves to play baseball, build Legos, play video games and be surrounded by his neighborhood buddies.  They really have a special group of boys to pal around with here.  

This boy is kind, sweet and has all the big feelings.  And his boisterous laugh is highly contagious!  

We love you Gunnar!  And can’t wait to see you swinging away with a fancy new bat and batting gloves.  Hopefully I’ll have photos of that soon.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUNNAR!!