Surprise!!!

SURPRISE big man! James turned 29 this year, and I knew he would expect a party next year for his 30th, so I did it this year just to throw him off...and it totally worked!!! Here he is coming in the door to everyone yelling "SURPRISE!" And believe it or not, I've actually never been to a surprise party, that I can remember, so this was a blast!!!If you know James at all, you can see the pure shock and happiness on his face in these 2 pics (above and below). He has such a cute smile, and it's even better when he's extremely happy!!!The banners and balloons:Daddy and Kaylie, she was soooo cute singing happy birthday to him!
The birthday boy and his mommy:
Yes...8 2 liters, and we only finished 1 off...our tap water must have been awesome!On his actual birthday, breakfast for a King, on the "You are special" plate, of course!
Birthday dinner at Benihana's:Our cool chef...they are always AMAZING, there he's made a rooster out of eggs for the fried rice:They made James play the tambourine while they sang "Happy Birthday" to him! He's a good sport!
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We also celebrated another birthday boy this weekend... This would have been my daddy's 63rd birthday, the day after James' birthday. This pic is from his last birthday, and it is one of my all time favorite pics of him! We love you so much dad, and think about you all of the time! We wish you were here to party with us!!!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What else we've been up to lately:

It wouldn't be a normal post on our blog if it didn't include pics from playdates:
Gateway with Jacksons, Evans, and 2 of the Walker kiddaroos:
These guys were like triplets with all their red outfits, and obsession with the balls!
Kaylie and Sarah, so artistic making their very own Gold Medals!!!
Twinners, seriously, their faces don't look alike, but somehow you can just tell these guys are cousins!
All of the boys running back and forth while we ate lunch on the stairs. Seriously, Gateway, get a decent eating area indoors, PLEASE!
Although this was pretty cute to watch, and I was pretty proud of Josh, being like the big boys!
Dan's birthday party:
The three amigos:
Jess made cupcakes and let the kids frost and decorate them...such a cute idea! Kaylie made her cupcake just for ME! Sweet little girl, I mean big girl...she will not be called little anymore!!!
James rockin the drums at the EQ party...it was the presidency + wives only! (and one other guy...) So, not the most attended party ever, but we had a blast playing Rock Band all night and eating all the pizza!Kaylie and her buddy Porter, playin MarioKart, I think...
Bubbles in the kitchen:
James and I have been pretty busy lately, him with school, work, and both of us with the kiddos and training! We are both training for the Wasatch Back in June, and the Red Rock in September, and I am gonna go for the half marathon again in April, Race for the cure in May, and another triathlon in July...Yay! I love having races to train for, it's the only thing that gets me to push myself and eat better! James is officially now a runner, which I don't think he ever wanted to be...I have been amazed at his dedication, seriously, he's as good as me now, and I've been running for years! It's so fun to have another hobby we like to do together...and it's always been a secret little dream of mine...so it's awesome! Wish us luck on all the races though...they're not all just fun and games! :)

Woah...Jan. and Feb.

It's funny, cause I never feel like we're all that exciting of people, until I start to file through pictures to blog, and I realize we actually do do a lot of fun things. Not that we are the most exciting people on the planet, but we have fun, and actually don't stay home near as much as I would like to. Which may be contrasting to some, I think other mom's feel the need to get out more, whereas, I sometimes error on leaving home maybe too much. But to each his own, right!
Nonetheless, here's what we've been up to:

Jungle Jims for cousin Jacie's Birthday, don't worry, there's not even a pic with Jacie, not sure why...but all the kiddos had TONS of fun...I lost count of how many times they went on this ride!
One of our many trips all the time to Discovery Gateway:

The cute class, it was actually a little too advanced for all of our kids, but some parts they enjoyed...Josh really liked the mini hula hoop, cute huh!

Kaylie didn't.So I realized I never posted any pics of Liza's shower and wedding. Congrats girlie, and Tyler is one stinkin lucky guy...and I think he knows it...We love you guys!

Playdate #5,690. J/K, but really, we just love our friends, can you tell?
Bowling with the Bybees. We thought it sounded like a fun date night...kids included. The kids made it about 3 frames. We learned our lesson well, and we'll listen to Aaron next time he suggests we just get babysitters!

Yeah, that's my Kay-bug in a tank top in the middle of January, a St. Patricks Day one too. Yep, she "likes to be cold." No kiddin, half the time she goes to Preschool without a coat or jacket! The kids were tided over for a little while dancing in the lane...they've got some sweet moves, can you tell?! :)Josh has grown up a lot lately, and now he can crawl, run, and play on his own at the McD's playplaces, and yes, I do take my kids to McDonalds, even though I kept them away from the food there for about 3 years. I swore I would never let them eat that awful food, and yet, here I am, with chicken nugget loving children, and finding myself sneaking one while they're not looking. Awesome mom award #20, right here. :)
But really, I just LOVE taking the kids there to play, they have so much fun! And it passes the time while James is at school some nights. And I LOVE taking pics there, they are just sooo colorful and bright!

Kaylie is a Sunbeam now! Primary from here on out, and guess who her teacher is...ME! Yeah, I cannot complain about this calling one bit...it's like a playdate on Sundays, Kaylie and Porter are the only kiddos in the class...here they are on their first Sunday in class. Totally scrapbook worthy!

Like I said, Josh has been growing up a ton lately...here he is turning around like Kaylie, we LOVE to dance in our kitchen to music ALL the time, sometimes daddy joins in too (see below!)Yup. Matching pj's. Couldn't resist seeing as they were $2.44 each at Childrens Place. Yep, killer sale at the outlets. And I know, a boy in snowflakes is not the most manly design ever, but ya know what, he's 19 mons old, and it's super cute that they match. ok.
Shower for my sis. I'm so excited she's having a boy...and I can't wait to meet him, and have him and Josh wear matching clothes this fall...yes, I got all the same clothes for the 2 of them, cute little cousins they'll be...can you tell I like matching kiddos??????
Pretty chill Valentines Day for us this year. Our usual fondue tradition with the Steadman's got cancelled, so we just stayed home Saturday night and made chocolate dipped strawberries, there's no pics of them b/c I ate them all, while I was making them...he he he.
This was Friday night, making (well, watching Liza make) cookies and decorating them while watching the Opening Ceremonies. Good times. :)
All in all, not a bad month and a half to report about. Life can be so good, and I just have to say that for right now I am thankful for the same old, same old...cause life could be a whole lot worse!