a happy birthday party!

the day before the birthday party, and loving their sunglasses!

we got to celebrate both josiah and roman's birthdays over the weekend - had a great time with family who were able to come!  theresa got the award for traveling the farthest - flew in from denver on thursday night and stayed until sunday!  the rest of the gang came on saturday for a full day!  ... britt, ross, raefe, ada, conrad, grandma susan and grandpa mark, and grandma rosie!  we hit some garage sales early in the morning, and then came back to relax during the afternoon while the kids took naps.  we attempted to let raefe and roman nap in the same bed - that didn't work out so well. within 15 minutes, we moved raefe to the floor, and then eventually into a separate room... it's just too much fun to have someone to talk to and laugh with when you're supposed to be sleeping!  :)  

the kids hit the water once they were awake from naps - nice treat on a super-hot day!  (i've come to the realization that this particular birthday party is going to be hot every year, not just the past few... ugh!)  after everyone was well hydrated, the boys got to open their birthday gifts - toys and books, which they are loving. roman is constantly trying to negotiate "more playing time" almost every time we're trying to switch to something else... like bed time, or lunch time or whatever. we enjoyed a nice dinner together - and then ice cream and cake, courtesy of grandma susan!  roman was specific about what he wanted - yellow cake, with a blue brontosaurus on it. (when asked if there was anything he'd like for his birthday, he consistently said "napkins, forks and spoons."  such a practical little guy!)  josiah got to eat a traditional "i'm one - dig in" cake.  he got the "digging" part right but sort of forgot about the eating... so grandma rosie helped him out and fed him some cake before it was scattered all over the deck.  :)  after dinner, roman and raefe played outside, roaming in the backyard, checking the tomatoes, looking for things to catch with the butterfly net, pushing the toy mower, having a good time just hanging out!  the rest of us were inside cooling off - periodically checking on the boys, of course!  

our attempt to get a pic with all four kids in it... will need to try this again some other time!

raefe, getting a good, long drink from the sprinkler!

ross staying cool... apparently his legs were so hot that he had to roll his trunks... 

enjoying some sunshine...

a party photographer...

providing some lovely before-dinner music...

roman watching ada eye his brontosaurus cake...

josiah, just getting a feel for it...

and yes, he got the hang of it...

a satisfied one-year-old boy!  

enjoyed our time with family and celebrating josiah and roman!  looking forward to another fun year!  :)