Birthdays

I'm a bit behind in my birthday blogging.
I (Susan) turned 50.  I think it's kinda cool to be a half a century old :)
Paul got out the blow torch to light the candles on my birthday cake, but it was melting the candles too fast.

David turned 9.  Anna and Sarah are decorating his cake below.  

Deborah turned 18.  Below Quentin is lighting the candles on her cake.

 We got Deborah a Settlers of Catan game for her birthday and the kids have had many hours of fun playing it.

 To top off 2013, Caleb turned 11.

Below Caleb is popping off some fireworks on his birthday.

Birthdays

Deborah and Caleb turned another year older.  It truly is a joy to watch my children grow up.  They are such a blessing.
Below the kids made Deborah a pinata in the shape of a D.

Anna made Deborah a really cute owl cake.

Paul lit 17 candles for Deborah to blow out.

Caleb had 10 candles to blow out.  He's growing up fast.

Anna's cake had a problem that toothpicks couldn't fix so we turned it into another airplane crash cake, which the boys love.

Okay, I'm mad at the next picture because I can't get it to turn :(

Caleb got a remote control helicopter for his birthday.  It was fun while it lasted.  The boys were able to fix it many times.  It flew after it landed in the toilet (Caleb wanted to see it fly in the dark so he could see the beacon.  There are no windows in the bathroom.)  But I think landing in the fish tank did it in.  Quentin thinks he can get it going again.

David turns 8 & skeet shooting

I can't believe that David is eight.  Even my young kids are growing up.  
Anna made David the most awesome camouflage cake with an airplane crash and everything. 

 When the cake was lit the airplane went up in flames...

 and David got to blow it out.

 Deborah put together a really cool pin-the- propeller-on -the-airplane.

 In keeping with the airplane theme, David got a metal diecast C172 and Beechcraft Bonanza.

Paul and the kids spent a few hours at the dump doing some skeet shooting.

Paul

Quentin

Sarah

Joshua

Caleb

 Shooting wasn't the only fun they had at the dump.  The dump usually provides them endless amounts of pleasure.

An old washing machine drum got them rolling.

Deborah is 16 and 3/4

Okay, I made a video of Abigail when she turned 16 and it came out very nice so I fully intended to make one for Deborah too when she turned 16, however...  I have a good excuse, Deborah turned 16 while we were on the road returning from Israel.  So, here it is 9 months later... she is still 16 :) Oh well it's worth the wait.  She's such a beautiful young lady with such a sweet spirit.  She's definitely the nurturer in the family.


Deborah's 16th Slideshow from Paul Brendemuhl on Vimeo.
If you don't see a video above, click on this link to see Deborah's slideshow.   https://vimeo.com/49736004

Abigail is 18

I can't believe we have a child who is 18!  Where has the time gone?  She was just a baby...  Now she is a beautiful young lady that loves Yhwh with all her heart.  She has grown so much even in this last year..  she has been a joy to be with and I love watching her mature.

It was a beautiful day, so we were outside until the bugs got bad.

Deborah and Anna made all the decorations and the piniata.

Paul watching Abigail blow out her candles.

Lavonne's Grandmother, Cheda Mary, at Abigail's party.

A few days after Abigail's birthday, it was a gorgeous day.  Grandma Effie was here so we took her across the lake and up the Tazimina River.  Abigail, Deborah and I paddled rubber kayaks across the lake.  Paul gave us a ride up the river after he dropped his load as the current was swift.  

The birthday girl jumping into the freezing cold water.

Deborah

Quentin

Joshua

Abigail and Deborah helping the little kids across the river.

Paul visiting on a log with his mom, Grandma Effie.

Anna practicing her volleyball.

Momma bear and two cubs.

The kids waded and played until a bear and her two cubs showed up about 300 yards upstream.  The kids decided they'd swum enough.  

Paddling downstream in the kayaks was great fun.

The video below is from the boat while Paul is taking us upstream.  You can see salmon swimming around us.  They have already turned red so they look like big goldfish.  I also tacked on a clip of  the momma bear showing up with her two cubs.  You can hear the excitement in our voices.

If you get this post emailed to you, click on this link to go to the video http://youtu.be/FwSG_HI3yTc