Happy-Happy Birthday-Birthday!!

The birthday duo

Yesterday (6/11) my baby girl turned 9 years old.  It doesn't quite seem possible that 9 years ago I was in a hospital room watching American Idol (the first season with Kelly Clarkson) because I could not fall asleep even though Will and Devan were peacefully sleeping.  She wasn't due until June 22nd, but on the morning of June 10th my water broke and around 9:30am on June 11th she finally arrived!

What, your kids read the dictionary too right??

She was not an easy baby in any way, but she kept us entertained and on our toes from day 1.  She is turning into quite the young lady these days.  She is almost done with 3rd grade and really enjoys school.  She loves science and art.  She is not a fan of math (much to my dismay) but I am hoping I can change that.  Somehow she knows nearly every adult that works at her school and has about a million friends.  She is sweet, caring and thoughtful.  She LOVES to play soccer and has been playing nonstop since she could kick a ball.  She plays indoor and outdoor and loves to play in the rain.  She scored a goal today (on her birthday!) at her last outdoor game for the season. 

Devan taking the ball upfield

She has a fantastic sense of humor and loves to be goofy and tell jokes.  She loves pancakes, watermelon, steak, shrimp and ribs.  She does not like sandwiches.  She is a rule follower and does not like to be in trouble.  She used to only wear skirts and dresses because shorts and pants were for boys.  Now she lives in shorts year round and loves the color green.  She loves dogs, horses, rollerskating, riding her bike, and her best friend Kara. 

This year for her birthday party she decided it was going to be a "rock star" party with music and dancing.  We had eleven 9 year old girls over to our house and they had an absolute blast.  What a fun age 9 is turning out to be.  Happy birthday my sweet baby girl, I love you lots.  Quit growing up so fast!  This video below is from her birthday party- those girls are a crack up!

Today (6/12) is my hubby's bday.  I won't tell you how old he is, but I will tell you he turned 30 the day after Devan was born.  That milestone was a bit overshadowed, and for several years he ended up with a pink princess cupcake.  Poor guy, he is a good sport about it though!  I have been attempting to separate the two occasions for the last few years, and tomorrow we have a group of friends going out to dinner with us to celebrate.  And he even gets his own cupcakes :)

My studly husband!

I met Will in my freshman year at college.  We started dating in January of 1997 and have been together ever since.  He is funny, caring and sweet.  He is an amazing father to our kids and is a total hands-on dad.  He gets up with them in the middle of the night.  Since we work opposite shifts he has always done the homework/bath/bedtime routine.  He takes care of our yard, does dishes, sweeps the floor and cleans the bathrooms.  He can play the guitar and has a nice singing voice. 

He loves camping, hiking, surfing, biking and playing soccer.  Somehow I convinced him to join my ragnar relay team- so he has been following the training plan and doing lots of running these days.  And he is a total stud by doing it all in his Vibram Five Fingers I bought him for Christmas!  He supports my running and allows me to take up some of our family time on Saturdays to go do my training.  Then takes care of me when I am done.  I am a lucky lady.  Happy Birthday Will, I love you! 

And an update on the marathon recovery- tonight I played our last soccer game for the session.  I played the field the entire game (instead of keeper) and am happy to report my legs felt perfect!  I was a little nervous that if I tried running they would just snap in half in revolt, but they held up great.   Runner girl is BACK!  Next week I will launch into full blown Ragnar Relay training. 

This is from a couple of games ago.  Don't worry boys- I will get the ball!!!  Our team is blue and I am in yellow.  Will is on the far right, Seth in the middle and Bennett on the left.  Notice how they are rushing to help me :)