POPPY'S 69th Birthday Party!!

The grandkids all got coordinating pj's from Grandma Ce-Ce and Poppy for the annual Santa picture. Maybe this will be a new tradition?

Plenty of kiddos to help blow out the candles on his carrot cake!

The kids all enjoyed making birthday cards that went with a gift certificate to the Cheesecake Factory. We enclosed them in a "gag" box that was labeled for a "sleeping hood". It is a made up product that you can slip on over your head anytime anywhere, complete with a fan inside that runs from the power of your cell phone! It was pretty funny, and fitting for Poppy since he does fall asleep frequently!

James' 40th Birthday!

We surprised James with a staycation to Little America for his actual birthday, but I knew he would have missed his traditional ice cream cake so we had that the night before.

We picked James up from work early and he was very happy to get to leave! The kids really wanted the hotel stay to be a surprise, but when we got downtown he asked if we were going to Little America. That was ok, because he loves that hotel! It was unusually warm for a November day in UT...65 degrees out on the roof there at 3pm! I was sitting outside in my bathing suit and I felt ok! After our fill of swimming and hot tubbing, we walked a short distance to the Cheesecake Factory for a delicious dinner and even more delicious cheesecake. Back at the hotel we played games and laughed hysterically over Guesstures and 5 Second Rule. I think the kids had used up every ounce of good behavior by the morning.  I had planned to eat at the Little America breakfast buffet, which is absolutely fabulous, but the kids were fighting etc. so we just came home! I was disappointed, but James was in a quick fix mode to get "healthy" a few weeks before him annual physical and didn't mind missing out on the chance to gorge himself!