We actually had Tierra's special meals on Friday because I knew how crazy Saturday was going to be and didn't want anything to get in the way of making her feel special. For breakfast, she chose mini waffles, bananas, a smoothie, and pink donuts (unforunately, we couldn't find pink donuts so we got the closest thing we could find.) After breakfast, we walked and rode our bikes to the park and spent some time there with our cousins. We all enjoyed that a lot. When we returned home, we had some special drinks Daddy bought, purple grapes, and cheap lunchables (aka we made our own... crackers, cheese, bologna, and jello) for lunch. For a snack, she wanted Cotton Candy and we were all very impressed that Daddy was able to find some at the store! Tia was so happy! :) For dinner, Tia really wanted to go out to eat at a special Teriyaki restaurant in town that is near their dance studio. (We sometimes go there during dance. One of the owners is a really sweet Asian lady, who absolutely adores our girls. She grew up as the oldest of 6 girls and no boys and she also really misses her 2 granddaughters who live in Korea, and so she loves hugging our girls and just loving on them. She is always so sweet and complimentary of our family, when we come in. And brings the girls their favorite miso soup.) So we went there and had a great time. Then for dessert, Tia chose ice cream bars and fudgesicles.
After the baptism, we headed over to watch Riana and Sariah's game, which Grant happens to coach. My sister, Liz, and her family were able to come as well. They both played great! (Thanks Jen, for these pictures.) PS- These pictures aren't actually from that week in April, but I thought they fit well here anyway. :)
After the game, we ran home and grabbed a few things and then headed over to my parents' house. Tierra really wanted to have a birthday party. And the most important part to her, was to have her cousins there (which were all in town thanks to the events of the day)... and to have ice cream cake (which Grant picked up at the store)... and to have pink and white and green streamers (which Riana hung up for me.) I thought that was pretty nice of Tia to keep it simple for me, since I probably could've handled much more. :) She also chose some gummy lunch bag treats to give her cousins (with gummy hot dogs, french fries, pop bottles, etc.) We were also able to celebrate Seth, Harrison, and Rachel's birthdays at the party too! That was fun! After opening presents, we ate a quick dinner of Hawaiian Haystacks. They were perfect! Then some of us cleaned up the party and dinner, while the rest of us headed over to the church to set up for Joe's Eagle Court of Honor.
Joe's Eagle Court of Honor went great! Both of Joe's parents, all of Joe's siblings and their spouses, and all 19 of his nieces and nephews (plus some extra family, a ton of friends, scouting leaders, and ward members) were able to attend. I enjoyed hearing the stories of all that Joe overcame to earn this amazing award. He had quite a few fears as a young scout, like of water, and yet, he didn't let that stop him! He worked very hard and overcame a lot to earn this award! We were all so happy for him! My brothers were able to present quite a bit of the program, which was really neat. My sister, Liz, and I had the opportunity to give the prayers. My favorite part was the slideshow all about Joe, even including some of his animation, that he created. (He is also extremely talented with voices- he has a video of some of his voices on YouTube! He is especially good at the voices of the SpongeBob characters. In addition to playing a couple of other instruments, he is a very accomplished pianist, and has a beautiful low singing voice, as well! Oh, and he can draw incredibly! He really impresses me with all of his talent!) One more neat thing- Joe was the final one in our family to earn his Eagle or Young Women Medallion... 7/7! That is a pretty amazing thing for parents! I'm so thankful that we had parents who helped us all achieve those awards because I am 100% sure that we couldn't have done it without them! They are great parents! They worked really hard to put on this special night for Joe and to make it really nice. I'm so glad we could be there to honor Joe's achievement!
1) One of the yummy Costco cakes, with neat chocolate molds on them, that my Mom bought (I think she bought the chocolates at the scouting store.)
2) My Mom's baby brother, Scott, and his wife, Debbie, and two of their seven children (Tyler and Kylie) drove a couple of hours to be there. It was so sweet of them and meant a lot to all of us! They were the baby holders of the night. It was definitely a win/win situation, as it freed up our arms and they all love holding babies. (Although, they are now starting to get some babies in their family, as they now have 3 married children and their 3rd grandchild on the way. So fun!) It was nice to be able to visit with them and catch up.
3-4) My 4 brothers- Christian/Chris, Daniel/Danny, Thomas/Tommy, and Joseph/Joe! What a bunch of handsome lookin' guys!! :)
5) Joe and 2 of his best friends, who he has known since he was a tiny little guy, Sebastian and Ian.
6) My brother, Chris, and 2/3 sons, Nathanael and Seth, in their scout uniforms. Benjamin is only 3 and so not old enough for scouts.
7) I needed a picture of my parents here, with Joe. Sadly, I didn't get one. So Liz, you are going to have to blog about this, so I can steal yours. :)
7) I needed a picture of my parents here, with Joe. Sadly, I didn't get one. So Liz, you are going to have to blog about this, so I can steal yours. :)
It was a long day, but it was full of really special events and spent with family. Hopefully, Tierra had a good day! I'm pretty sure she did! :)
