Look Who's 18!!

 Can it be true?  Where did my little boy go? 

Hard to believe - but my baby is now 18 years old!!

 

We started the day at iHop for a fun breakfast before school and work.

 

That evening we went to John's favorite restaurant in Salem - Rudy's... Home of the famous Baseball Cut Sirloin Steak.  He also had the Sirloin Steak Salad to start... the boy does love his STEAK!  Unfortunately the flash on my phone was so bright that our features are a bit washed out... but here's proof we were there.

  

 

We had just a few friends/family over for dinner to celebrate the birthday boy.  I wanted to get photos of the birthday boy with everyone... but it quickly dissolved into a lot of silliness... which is often times the BEST kind of photos! 

 

 

~ John and Alyssa ~

   ~ Add Kerry & Dodi ~

 ~ Quickly add Darby, Scott and Rob ~

 

 

 ~ Time for Mom and Dad to get into the act...
hmm... some of us seem to have grown horns or possibly antlers ~

~ And then we all fell into a fit of giggles ~



~ It's hard to believe that this little guy, who lit up our lives 18 years ago ~

 ~ Has grown into this handsome young man who we are so very proud of! ~

Happy Birthday John - We love you VERY much!



Birthday Celebration

Richard celebrated his birthday in style this year - with TWO parties.  

On his birthday we celebrated at our favorite restaurant, "Rudy's".  Richard's sister Kelly and her husband Jay joined us to celebrate the birthday boy.

On Cinco de Mayo we had friends over for a combination Cinco de Mayo / Birthday celebration.  I took photos before the party, and of Richard blowing out his candles... but somewhere along the line I completely forgot to take photos of the party itself.  Well - guess I was having a really good time!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband who I love so very much.  He's loving, charming, handsome, kind, generous and keeps me laughing.  I love you Richard!

Happy Birthday Garden Party

Our good friend, Robin, turned the BIG FOUR-OH this year.  We wanted to do something special for him, so a birthday party seemed like a GREAT idea.

It was a perfect day for a garden party!  Absolutely gorgeous weather and our yard looked great with all the tables and chairs set up.

The birthday boy surrounded by some of his family members - Mom, Sister and Brother

Lots of yummy food and drink for everyone to enjoy!

Richard and Pat

Some of our friends, Nancy, Jean-Paul, Frankie and Neecie

No birthday party would be complete without delicious cake and singing off-key!

Blow out the candles and make a wish!

Three of Robin's four kids helped with the celebration!

It was really a perfect day - filled with love and celebration for a special friend.  Happy Birthday, Robin!  Hope this year is the best year yet!

Travis' Birthday

Travis is one of my most favorite teenagers... next to my son - of course.  We celebrated his birthday last night. 

Here he is with his sisters, Callie & Kaelie... "Speak No Evil" - "Here No Evil" - and "See No Evil".  Well, Travis actually looks like he was sleeping... but he's not peeking... so he has the right idea.

And what brother and sister photo would be complete without one of these shots??

Travis' Grandma - Mira

Callie and Kaelie looking VERY innocent.... Hmmm.....

And we celebrate Travis by singing to him... loudly and intentionally off key.

Yup.. he had a pretty good time, and got lots of fun presents.

Love you Travis!  Happy Birthday!

Celebrate Richard

Richard didn't want a big "to do" for his birthday this year.  He opted for a quiet dinner at our favorite restaurant, Rudy's.

 Our friends Robin & Travis joined us for a fun evening - filled with really yummy food - a lots of laughs.

Richard is a loving husband and father.  He's a fabulous brother and uncle and a really good friend.  He's funny, smart and generous... and everyone that knows him, loves him.

Happy Birthday Richard.  Love you always, honey!

Look Who's 16 !!!

John's 16th birthday was January 31st.  How did this happen?  Where do the years go? Seems like yesterday that we brought him home!

We started with a "friends party".  Justin & Mason came for a night of fun, video games, and a sleep over. 

The next night we celebrated with the family party.

 Cake Time!  Yum!

And on his actual birthday we went to dinner at his favorite restaurant, Rudy's.  Home of the baseball cut steak.  His FAVORITE!

John is a handsome, intelligent, loving, funny and wonderful son.  He was the light of our life when he became a part of our family - and he still is.  We love you John... Happy Birthday!

Hawaiian Birthday

We spent nine glorious days in Hawaii to celebrate my birthday. It was the perfect vacation. As they say, pictures speak louder than words... So, here you go!

One day we drove up to Haleakala Volcano. Perfect weather! We did a fairly rocky hike up to a viewing area. It was SO windy. I was petrified!

Dinner at Sansei in Kapalua. Oh! So delicious!

The view from our condo. Heaven!

Gorgeous sunsets - every night!

The Iao Valley was spectacular. Here are Richard and JJ in front of the Iao Needle.
A "self portrait" along the path in the valley.

My birthday dinner at Mama's Fish House in Paia.

Lunch in Ulupalakula

I decided that if one MUST turn 50 - then this is definitely the way to do it! Maui is certainly on our list of return vacation spots. It was a wonderful getaway for our family.

ALOHA!!