Brax's 9th Birthday

Brax turned 9 the week after Thanksgiving and he was so excited for his birthday.  His birthday was a challenging day for me because I'd been throwing up ever since Thanksgiving and that day I was particularly sick.  I couldn't stop throwing up.  I wanted him to have a very special birthday though.  First thing after he got up, all he wanted to do was open presents.  We had our family spiritual time and were running behind, but Brax really wanted to open presents.  We had a quick present opening time that lasted 5 minutes.  It wasn't full of exciting gifts, but he was grateful either way.  He got socks, new shoes, pajamas, and a Spider Hex Bug.  He went to school and got out early due to SEPs.  He helped finish setting up for his party and waited anxiously for friends to come. 




































There were 8 kids here playing different Nerf games.  We started with Nerf gun tag.  It was pretty entertaining and the kids came up with some fun hiding places.  After that we headed outside to have a target shooting game.  Some kids were pretty good at it while others struggled.  We had one that complained the whole time and how it was unfair.  Mostly everyone had a good time.  We let the kids run loose on 30+ targets that I'd made.  We came in for cake - cookie dough ice cream cake made by yours truly - and opened presents.  We had one final game.  I took a big box and put different size targets on it with different point values.  Whoever got the highest points won a full size candy bar and the rest got a mini size.  The funny thing was that the only girl here won the challenge.

All in all Brax had a great time and went to bed that night exhausted.  He had scouts that night and opted out of going out to dinner.  He is a great kid and we love him so much!  He goes mostly everywhere with me.  I am truly grateful for my little man in my life and couldn't have made it through the last 9 years without him.  He is the greatest blessing to our family and we look forward to adding another child!  

Branden is 35

For Branden's birthday this year I decided to let Branden decide what he wanted to do.  Normally I try to throw him a party or do something way special, but he doesn't seem to like what I come up with.  He had the day off so we started the day out just hanging out at home.  After a little while he decided he wanted to go to Lowe's and Home Depot to look at different things for the yard.  We did buy a new weed whacker, which we were in need of.  We then headed grocery shopping.  We got home and put stuff away, ate lunch, and went to finish our shopping.  For his birthday cake I also let him choose.  He isn't a fan of cake, so we had pies.  I made a strawberry cheesecake, 2 banana cream pies, and a double chocolate pie.  The chocolate pie was at Brax's request.

We have a friend who shares a similar birthday with Branden.  They were born the same year just a day apart.  We've been wanting to do something together so we decided to go out to dinner to celebrate their birthdays.  It was a lot of fun!  We tried going to Olive Garden, but since it was a Friday there was a 30-40 minute wait.  We then decided to head to Red Robin.  I've only been there once before so I didn't mind.  Brax tried onion rings for the first time and Brielle tried cheese sticks for the first time.  The Buell's picked the onion rings and we picked the cheese sticks.  The food was really good and our waitress did a good job in serving us.  Towards the end of our meal Branden pointed out a family from Glenwood right behind us.  It was part of the Rickenbach family so we talked to them a little bit too.

Brielle's first cheese stick

Branden and Brandon

Love Brax's face

Brielle and Brax both downed the cheese sticks and onion rings.

 After dinner we headed back to the house for dessert and games.  Branden had invited some other friends over for the night as well.  We played Apples to Apples and the kids played together.  I hope that everyone had fun, I know we did.    It was fun to celebrate Branden's birthday and I'm glad that he had fun.

Simon loved the banana cream pie.

Abbie is a day older than Branden and he makes sure to let her know that!

Brax Turned 8

The Monday after Thanksgiving was Braxten's 8th Birthday. He was so happy to be 8. He couldn't wait to be baptized. We didn't get him a lot for his birthday. He did get up early to open presents before Branden left for work. Branden made us all french toast as well for Brax. He also took his car seat out of the car. We did take him out that night to Fiesta Fun for some miniature golf and arcade play. He had so much fun! I also took cookies into his classroom that day.


The rest of the week was spent preparing for his baptism celebration that he planned. Tuesday I made two soups, Wednesday 2 more, Thursday was desserts, and Friday was breadsticks and rolls. One of my soups didn't turn out, but the rest was great. We also had a couple other soups and desserts that family members brought.

The baptism was so spiritual. All I could do was cry. My baby is so amazing! I love him so much and am so proud of him. We had so much love and support here for him. We were only missing one of set of Aunt and Uncle's and one cousin. We are so grateful for everyone that was here. I know it was kind of treacherous travel for some, but I can't say thank you enough for everyone. We also had quite a few friends in attendance. We got distracted with having everyone come over that we didn't take a lot of pictures. I felt really bad, but I know it's a day we will remember forever! I feel very blessed with all the love and support that we have in our lives.

Brax writing in his baptism book after everyone went home.

Birthday, Baptism, and Baby Blessings

The 4th of November we headed back up to see family. On November 4th it was my dad's birthday so we made sure to be up there that day. My mom took us all out to dinner at South China to celebrate. Following that, Cara, Branden, and I went to get cake and ice cream for back at the house. It was a lot of fun. My dad enjoyed the time spent with all of us.


Saturday we spent time with friends and family. It was the weekend of the beginning of the pheasant hunt. Branden went hunting and I rested at the house. Following that we all hung out at the pheasant hunter's dinner in Venice. It's a full Thanksgiving meal for not a lot of money. I truly enjoyed it and ran into friends and family. A while later was the baptism of our niece Brinley. It was very fun to be there with everyone. We are so proud of her!
Sunday we woke up and headed to Glenwood for two baby blessings. Paxton and Payton were born within a few weeks of each other and were blessed on the same day. It's fun that they were able to share the special day. Following the blessings, we headed to the dinner. We celebrated the baptism and baby blessings together. It was a great time. I was exhausted because it was the weekend following the surgery, but glad I made the trip with my family.

The Car Ride Home