Birthday Fun!

My little boy is 7 years old and I don't know where all the time went! Tanner had a whole week of birthday celebrations! He definitely felt very special. On Sunday before his birthday we made the long trek to north Scottsdale to my parents house. It was a last minute get together but everyone made it and my parents were so sweet and got Tanner a cake and made his favorite food, barbecue ribs. They were so yummy, my dad is an amazing griller!(is that a word?) Anyways, I forgot my camera that day but we had lots of fun and it was great to spend time with my whole family. I wish we all lived closer. Tanner got lots of fun stuff and had a blast,(probably a little too much fun for a Sunday X-), but it was special for him too.) On Memorial Day we spent time with Jared's family and celebrated Tanner's and Abby's birthdays. Lots of swimming and lots of food. Amber and Jeff are always so generous to let all the kids run wild at their house and use the pool. I made a scooby-doo cake for Tanner and he loved it. I actually bought the pan last year, but I was pregnant and lazy, so I decided to finally use it this year. My mom always made us special cakes every year and I always loved them. So even though it took forever to frost it, it makes it worth it to see how excited Tanner was. Jared works nights now so he missed the day at my parents, but he got to spend a little bit of time at Amber and Jeff's house with us and partake of all the food. So on to the pictures.

Jared was about to leave and I had to get at least one pic of him! He likes picture so it worked out.

My little Parker is just a little attached to me, so I was thrilled when he finally let me put him down to play. Of course he got his clothes soaked, but he loved the water.

Parker, Aiden, and Shay played so good together in this little pool. Aren't they cute!


At least I got one pic of Tanner swimming. It was super hot, so I hung out inside. I know I should have gone swimming too but those kids are wild and I'm a baby and don't like to be splashed.

Isn't the cake cool! Seriously, I was exhausted after I finished, it took a long time.

Here's the birthday boy and girl! Tanner looks kinda silly but it's the only one I have with both kids while we sang Happy Birthday!

Last Saturday, Jared,Parker and I took Tanner out for his birthday. First we went to Freestone Park and used the batting cages. Tanner loved it! I was pretty impressed by Tanner. We went in the "slow" pitch cage and it was still 38 miles per hour! He did pretty good and took lots of turns. Parker's not quite big enough yet, but he hung out with me and cheered on the boys!

He looks so professional in the flip flops huh!

Jared helped just on Tanner's first turn. They are just adorable in those big helmets.

And well the helmet didn't like me but Jared insisted on capturing this on camera. I took one turn and it was way hard. The pitching machine was crazy! I think I hit like 3 out of the 10. Oh well, guess I'll stick to being a mom.

I can't believe how big Tanner is. It makes me feel so old. He is such a sweetie.

Break time! It was really hot that afternoon. We were really sweaty and Tanner and Parker's cheeks were so rosy from the heat. I slathered them both with lots 'o sunblock.

After the batting cages,Tanner wanted to go check out all the skateboarders. There is a huge skate park right by the batting cages. They were pretty good but we didn't stay long. Those little boys needed their mouths washed out with soap. My goodness, they were too little to even know those works! That's why no pictures. That adventure lasted a whole 2 minutes. So we headed over to feed the ducks. It was so pretty seeing all the water, and those ducks sure are hungry. I wasn't sure if Tanner would enjoy this as much as he did. We had to convince him it was time to go because well we were starving.

Parker just observed again. He is such a good baby.

Wave to the camera! Seriously Jared took a million pictures. Not sure what I'm doing. I look my grandma with my hand on my back like that! Tanner wanted a cheese quesadilla for dinner so of course we had to go to Gecko Grill since we were so close! Jared and I love Gecko Grill, so we were pretty excited. Tanner of course changed his mind once he saw the kids menu. He got a rib basket and ate everything! That boy sure does love ribs!

Yay, Tanner actually smiled. Usually they look pretty fake. Seriously, why do kids forget how to smile normal for the camera. Tanner is 7 years old. I need to remember to stop and enjoy this time while he is still little. Tanner is a great helper, has a very loving personality and I'm so grateful Heavenly Father sent him into my life. Happy Birthday Buddy!