Birthday

Had a great birthday today

 Melody made me an amazing cake

 And she can dance too

Aspen Grove

First things first:  Tyler needed his wiggly front tooth removed.  Four days later, he had me pull another loose one.  He got one dollar from me each time and the tooth fairy came also.   The kid has a good gig going.

 

Adam was able to be with us for only 24 hours.  On Sunday, both he and his cousin Nick gave a five minute overview about their missions.  (Nick had just returned from his mission 10 days earlier.)

We took this picture the first day there.  The next day, three people had to leave.  A few days later, eight more joined us.  David's parents are front and center and then each of their children and their families are wearing a different colored shirt.  (The 8 more that joined us were our own children and grandchildren.)

 Benjamin joined us on Wednesday, along with the rest of his family.

 The Wirthlin Clan.  Emma, Spencer, Cheri, Tanner, Tyler

 David did the high ropes course.  Impressive.  Doesn't he look ruggedly handsome scaling that wall?  Even better than Spiderman.

 This is the closest we got to having our whole family together.  We'll have to photoshop Adam in for the print for the living room wall.

 Man, I love these people!  (our shirts say:  Hales Angels)

 The Hales Clan.  Jessica, Laura, Benjamin, Michael, Chandler.

This was a long day for them.  They flew from Orlando and got to Aspen Grove around 3:30 on Wednesday.  They adjusted from eastern standard time pretty well.

The Byram Bunch.  Michael, Carly, Matthew.  They arrived Wednesday morning.  After being in a car seat for way too long, (Phoenix, by way of Vegas) Matthew was happy to be spoiled by grandparents and cousins.  And his parents were more than happy for that too.

 The Three Musketeers.  (and Papa)  So thrilled to have their picture taken.

 The Binky Brigade.

Waiting for the closing ceremonies.  (P.S.  Did you know that if you put a baby's binky in the powder of a Lik-a-Stick pouch, they like their pacifier even more?  Um, uh, me either . . . )

 Jessica, Emma and I went to the dance on the last night.  We had fun!

Grandkids.  This is what it is all about.  And with them all scattered around the country now, photos like this are even more special.  They are the sweetest things.  

Our own children were (are) the greatest, but grandchildren . . . goodness - don't get me started.  LOVE YOU ALL.  Thanks for coming to play with us.