Rachel & Dad's Birthday Parties

This past weekend my sister and dad celebrated their birthdays.  We have always had a week long of birthday events in June because their birthdays are three days apart.  On my sisters birthday we had a FULL day.  We met my sister, Elliott, Jerrytt, and my parents at a local mexican restaurant for lunch.Then we hit the opening day of Cars 2.  Elliott is still talking about how we went to see the movie on his mama's birthday.

After the movie we went to the boys Tee Ball games where they actually looked like a "REAL" team.  We were all impressed with how well the boys did. Z played the pitcher positition (even though he didn't pitch) and E was 3rd base.  We only have 2 games left....it's kinda sad because the team is really starting to "get it".  After that game we went to a Cardinals game with the entire Lemon's family.  We rent out a box of seats and get all you can eat every year for my Freddy's Father's Day present.

It just so happens that it was on my sisters birthday.  Following the game there was fireworks so it was a very fun night.  Needless to say we were all exhausted when we got into bed.  Z was out in the car which rarely ever happens.  It was a fun DAY celebrating my wonderful sister!  Then on Monday was my dad's birthday.  My sister & nephews picked up balloons and a Sonic drink for my dad. We met them at his work to take him a little surprise. I'm not sure who loved it more.  My dad or the boys?

     Later that night my parents came to the boys karate practice and then we enjoyed a birthday dinner at Q.doba.  It was a full weekend of birthdays but Oh so much fun celebrating my sister and Pops! 

Pops & Aunt "Achel's" Birthday Party

My sister & dad have birthday's that are three days apart, so this year we celebrated their birthdays right in the middle.  Instead of going out to a local pizza place we decided to bring the pizza to our house.  That way we could have our own private party, no one had to cook in this hot summer heat, and the boys could play and be loud.  Okay that last one was the real reason we decided to stay at our house.  So that E & Z could be as loud as they want. HA!

Cupcake's for the boys

Table

The entertainment for the guys....it's a toy helicopter that you have to pick up a cargo box and then drop it off at the landing pad. I don't know what it is about this toy but guys LOVE it. They sat in our living room for at least an hour passing it back and forth to see who could do it the fastest. 

Kevin, Zachary, PaPaw & Pops

Singing Happy Birthday!

My sister's favorite dessert...my mom's famous Strawberry Shortcake. Isn't it pretty!  This is my sisters personal request each year. I made the cupcakes for the boys because Zachary insists that there MUST be some sort of cake with icing at every birthday party. The adults enjoyed this yummy dessert from my mom. It's the BEST!

Singing to Pops while he feeds his newest grandson.

The boys helping Aunt Achel open her presents!

Happy Birthday Rachel & Dad. We love you!

Elliott's Birthday Party

This past weekend my sister and brother-in-law hosted the best birthday party for my nephew, Elliott. Elliott loves all things Toy Story so Rachel chose everything around that theme. The party was held at a local bowling alley that had Glow-in-the-dark bowling. Here are the photos from the party. I am still in shock that my nephew is 4! We all had a wonderful morning celebrating Elliott!

Matt, Elliott, Aunt Rachel, and Baby Jerrytt. The birthday family!

Best friends and Cousins!

These little guys had the best time at glow-in-the-dark bowling. They were such a hoot to watch.
Here's E's Buzz Cake...it was YUMS!
Gabe, Zachary, Elliott, and Sam

Elliott standing by the gift table

Blowing out the candles...nothing like your cousin jumping in to help, right?

The guys with their party favors....my sister found the coolest things for the guys. Buzz Lightyear socks which Z will not remove from his feet. A Toy Story notepad which Z carrys around to take our orders. An ornament, Toy Story gummy snacks, and the awesome glow in the dark shirts that our Aunt Renee & Uncle Mike made.

Celebrating Kevin's Mom

My mother-in-law's birthday on Dec 19th. For the past 5 years we celebrate on the Sunday closest to her special day. It's turned into a tradition that can't be broken. Both of our families get together for lunch and then we head to a local theme park to celebrate Christmas. No matter how cold it is we always go. Fortunately this year it was a lot warmer than years past. We had a wonderful day celebrating a birthday and Christmas all in one.

Here is the lunch spread. My wonderful mom made her "famous" quiche. I made homemade french onion soup. Then we had bagels, muffins, and ceasar salad. YUM!

Waiting to eat lunch....you can see Rachel (& baby Jerrytt) in the background....this is the only pic I have of her or Matt.

Zachary picked this out for MaMaw's cake. Before Zachary my mom or I would make Karen a cake. Since the boys are here they love to pick out "FUN" cakes. It was either this one or a Transformer cake from Sam's. Luckily I could convience Zachary that grandma would like this one better.

My in-laws...Karen and Marvin

I love this one...Z & E look like they are planning something.

Elliott with Grandma Karen
Zachary with MaMaw
Kev and Hil
Mom and Dad

Birthday Blessings...

It just so happens that my birthday landed right in the middle of this pneumonia stuff. I told Kevin and all of my family. PLEASE DO NOT WORRY ABOUT my birthday. I am postponing it! I will celebrate it. I will eat cake. I do want my presents :). However I don't want to celebrate my birthday when I am sick because it won't be as fun and my birthday dinner will not taste good at all considering the medicines I am taking alter my taste. So the night before my birthday Kevin said, "Are you for sure?" I think he was afraid if he did not give me my card or gift that I would get mad at him. I said, "100 % sure, don't give me a thing because I really want it when I feel well." If you don't personally know me I love celebrations. I love food. I love parties. So the morning of my b-day I walked into the kitchen and there were these lovely flowers, a card, and a gossip magazine on my table. Kevin said, "don't get mad this is just a "sick birthday present". I'm taking you out when you are well but this is just for today. Isn't he sweet!


Then my sister called to tell me that she was coming to pick up Zachary. She thought he was going to drive me nuts being cooped up in the house. This was the best present. He LOVES his Aunt Rachel, he was thrilled to have someone to play with, and I got some rest. When she came by she brought me this birthday present.


I love the cute brown purse and matching wallet. I started feeling better immediately.

Then about an hour later my doorbell rang and it was a floral delivery. The wonderful girls at Kevin's office sent me the prettiest pink floral arrangement with balloons. Talk about a surprise. They really did not have to do that but I love them.


Then my sis called me to meet her at her OB office at 3:00pm to go to her appointment with her. Mind you this was before I knew I was not supposed to be out of my house. Opps! Anyways, she was supposed to hear the heart beat of the baby today. When we got she introduced me to her OB and told him it was my birthday. He said, "Let's hear the heartbeat...better yet you want to see the baby?" He said, "He did not have time to order me flowers so the ultrasound was the next best thing." Mind you he is a funny guy. So he pulled in an U/S machine and next thing you know my niece or nephew was staring right at me. He/She was moving a lot and had it's hand up by its head. It was saying, "Happy Birthday Howie". Too cool for words. The best present of all! I was so overwhelmed and excited I forgot to take a pictures. Bummer!

Once I got home I checked my e-mail and one of my best friends from church said she was coming by at 5:30 with dinner. No ifs, ands, or buts. She was coming. Julie brought the nicest card, with a huge crockpot of the yummiest chicken noodle soup and rolls. What a blessing! Thank you Julie, Jeremy, Rhett, and Drew!

So for being sick on my birthday it was filled with many unexpected blessings. Thanks to everyone who called, texted, sent something, mailed cards, sent birthday wishes on Facebook, etc. It turned out to be a blessed birthday. I will post more birthday pics when I celebrate again. Not sure when that will be possibly in December. Zachary wants me to have a John Deere party :)!

Mel's 30th Birthday!

Last Friday, Sept 18th we got to celebrate Mel's 30th Birthday with her. This is not just any birthday it was MELODY's Cancer-free 30th Birthday. I can remember her 29th birthday when there was not too much to celebrate except dinner and cookies. Last year she was getting ready to head to another chemo session, bald, beautiful, and full of worries. This year she was 30, fabulous, cancer-free, full of life, and excited for the next 60 years of life.


Mel really wanted to go eat at one of her favorite places...Maria's which is a quaint Mexican place downtown. Kev and I had never been there. It was good! Then Mel wanted to go to Ernie Biggs which is a Piano Bar. None of us had been their either. We had a wonderful night. The piano bar was interesting to say the least. I was amazed that two pianos could play together. The craziest part for me was that people would make a request and IMMEDIATELY the musicians would start playing the songs and they would know ALL the words. I can never remember all the words to a song...I end up making them up or humming. It was cool. I asked Kevin how those musicians could do this and his answer was...while we were studying biology these people were studying music and songs. I guess he was right! They were good. After the show we went to a coffee bar for coffee and chocolate fondue. It was a wonderful birthday party. Thanks to my sister and brother-in-law for allowing Z to come sleep over with his best buddy! We had a night out!

Mel and Hil...I figured this was our 18th birthday that we have spent together....12 years old was the first one. Gosh I wish I had a picture of that!

Kevin and I at Maria's Mexican
Mel and Wasson at Maria's
This is Hilary and Tyler....good friends of Mel & Wassons...and ours too. It was the six of us!
Funny story....this was our waitress at Ernie Biggs....she just so happened to be from the small town that I grew up in. Her sister, Kiersten was my BEST friend in kindergarten. We both looked at each other and knew we knew each other but it took us a second to realize it. Courtney was about 3 or 4 when we moved. She is a gem! I had to get a picture of us to show her sister on facebook.
Another funny story...this is another old friend of ours...Jessica. I went to school with Jessica from 2nd grade to senior year of Highschool. We re-connected on Facebook about a year ago when she was expecting her first baby. While we were at Ernie Biggs Melody said, "Hey I think that is Jessica". I said lets see. So I got on my iphone, went to my FB application, and asked her if she was at Ernie Biggs. Within minutes she replied that she was in the window for a birthday party. Just like that we reunited. Again I HAD to get a picture. Thanks to the modern world of technology!

Aunt Rachel's Birthday

Two little boys excited for the game.....I know I am partial but aren't they ADORABLE!

The boys with Poppy in the background showing off their Cardinals hats

Zachary giving his Aunt Rachel some Birthday Love

Last Wednesday was my sister's 32nd birthday.  I am not rubbing her age in her face considering I am just 16 months behind her.  To celebrate I got to meet her for lunch at Qudoba.  Believe it or not this rarely happens. With her work schedule, my schedule, and the two boys we NEVER get to have lunch with just us. So it was nice. Later that evening the entire family and in-laws met up at the Cardinals game to celebrate. Unfortunately 2 hours before the game, my nephew, Elliott had an allergic reaction to peanut dust.  This photo is of Elliott asleep on Matt's shoulder. You can see his eyes are swollen. The little man was drugged on steroids and benydryl for the first hour of the game. :(

Yes you read that right, I said peanut dust. He is severely allergic to peanuts!  He did not ingest any peanuts but a snack pack that was "flavored" with peanut butter powder touched his hands on accident. He rubbed his eye and next thing you know he swelled up and was at the pediatrician's for some shots.  Poor little man!  The birthday party continued because Elliott was super excited for it and they thought it would cheer him up.  It was just what the doctor ordered.  Both Elliott and Zachary enjoyed themselves all night.  The bonus was that my parents church sang the 7th inning stretch God Bless America so we got special seats and got to sing with them.  We had a great day and I think Rachel enjoyed her her day minus Elliott's reaction.  

Happy Birthday Karsen!

Today is my beautiful niece, Karsen Rebecca's sixth birthday. I can remember the day she was born just like it was yesterday. I was sitting in a clinical preparations class when my cell phone went off. I wanted to check the message SO bad that I pretended like I needed to go to the bathroom. I quietly snuck out of the lecture hall to check my voicemail. I was so excited to have another niece. I can't believe it has been 6 years. Karsen is such a caring, kind, compassionate little lady. She loves animals, her sister, and being outside. She is so good to her cousin, Zachary. She loves to play with him, read to him, and entertain him. Karsen we hope you have a WONDERFUL birthday. We love you and miss you.

Happy Birthday Mom! (and Grammy)

Today is my mom's birthday. Without my mom I would not be the person I am today. She has always been a fun, creative, self-less mom that ALWAYS put her kids and now her grandsons first. She has the biggest heart. She is always trying to help someone. She is always finding doctors appointments, dental appointments, or clothing for her kids at school. If they can get to the appointments then she will find a way for them to get there even if that means picking them up or paying for a bus fare. She is always giving of her time and money. One of the best things about my mom is that she is an amazing Grandma. If my sister or I needed something she would be right at our house even if it was 3 am when a newborn (aka Zachary) would not nurse. She would go without free time to watch the boys so that we could have a night off or a date night. She is always doing something for each of us that she often forgets herself. One added bonus is that she is a nurse so if anyone is ever sick she is the first person we call. I have always considered my mom to be one of my very best friends...even when I was in high school and that was not the cool thing to do. I tell her everything...even if it is supposed to be a secret.

Mom we love you and hope that you have a wonderful birthday! You are a blessing to all of us.

ELMO Live & E-man's birthday

I am a little behind on this blog but this week I have been consumed with MOPS stuff.

WARNING... LOTS OF PHOTOS IN THIS POST

Anyways, last weekend my parents, Rachel, Matt, Elliott, Kevin, and I went to Kansas City for a little trip. We spent the night in hotel on Friday night and came back on Saturday evening. It was too short for me but we had a lot of fun. On Friday Kevin, Zachary, and I spent the day looking for furniture and items for our basement. We ended up meeting Mel, Wasson, and Charley at T-Rex for dinner. They were also in KC for the weekend. The kids were shocked when we met up for dinner.

As soon as dinner was done we rushed back to the hotel to decorate the room for Elliott's 3rd birthday. Within 30 minutes my parents, Rachel, Matt, and the birthday boy arrived. We celebrated E's party with ELMO cupcakes and gifts, followed by a dip in the hot tub. The next morning we popped up early to hit the Sprint Center for ELMO Live. The boys had no idea we were going there. They were SO excited. Grammy's and Pops got us the best floor seats so we could see everything. The kids really enjoyed themselves and each other. After ELMO we went to Fritz's Railroad Restraunt for lunch. The kids and the guys enjoyed the trains that delivered the food to the table. After lunch we headed home.

Zachary and Charley meeting in KC for dinner.

Kevin, Zachary, Charley, and Wasson at T-Rex
Decorated Hotel room for Elliott's surprise party

The hotel door to surprise Elliott.

I made E and 3 cookies for Elliott
Elliott's ELMO/Pirate cake
Elliott opening presents
Elliott showing off his new pirate towel from Aunt Howie, Uncle Kev, and Z

Zachary being a Pirate

The boys eating their ELMO cupcake ...notice Z's red lips and no shirts on to prevent stains.
The morning of the big surprise...ELMO live tickets.
Zachary sporting his Z is for ZACHARY ELMO shirt from Jen, Jack, Bubba, and Rose. Thank you!
Waiting to go into the theatre
ELMO and Friends on Stage

Grams and Poppy with their boys at ELMO

Rachel, Matt, Dad, and Elliott at adjacent booth at Fritz's Railroad Restraunt
Our Table
Zachary calling the conductor to order lunch

Funny/cute things that happened on our trip:

The boys had several surprises so after every event they would say "Another surprise?"

Elliott and Zachary were in separate cars. When we would depart from one place to the next, Elliott would say, "I really miss Zachary".

We had a wonderful weekend full of fun and memories!