Showing posts with label Birthdays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthdays. Show all posts

Monday, March 21, 2011

Happy Birthday, Bubba Rice

Quite amazingly, 12 years ago Brice came into our lives at 12:05 a.m.

He only gave us a 55 minute warning that he was coming, then grabbed the open scissors as they went to cut the cord.

Every birth has a story . . . 

I should have known back then that just being a Powers was going to be dramatic. Surviving being a Powers is going to be a miracle.



He's a little bummed today though. He can't spend his day with his most favorite person in the world.

This post is his mother's lame attempt to cheer him up. Apparently, spending the day with me isn't going to be enough.

12 Reasons we love, love, love Bricey:

1. He's a boy.

Age 11
 When I was pregnant with Mikayla (the first born), Buff wanted a boy desperately. We didn't know she was a girl until birth - and Buff cried when he held her. His little girl needed him and he was thrilled.

Two and half years later, Brice was born. Once again, we first found out he was a boy at birth - and Buff stood by the side of the bed and said, "I can die now. My life is complete."

To which his wife said, "Don't even think about it, Buddy."




2. He is careful and cautious.

He gets this from his mom. He suffers severe guilt just from jaywalking - because it's against the rules. A few more years hanging around his dad and he should be cured.
Age 9

He lives life at his own pace and very little ruffles him.  He sleeps anywhere. He listens quietly. He's always thinking about what's coming next. He doesn't get any of that from his mom. He's teaching me a thing or two.

3. He jumps.


He jumps for the Packers. He jumps for the good guys chasing the bad guys in the movies. He jumps when he's close to winning a board game. He jumps playing video games. He jumps if he knows he is going to surprise you on your birthday.

He's very skinny and he sleeps like a log.

4. He draws.

And is very good . . . if a mother can say so . . .


5. He's creative.

I mentioned he can draw, but there is more going on in his head. He can build. He can paint. He can glue. And it all looks amazing!

He'd love to learn how to cook and putting together science experiments excite him - especially if all his creativity gets to go BOOM!


Age 8
6. He will try any food.

Eating is an adventure for this kid. It's not unusual to get a call while at the grocery store to bring home an artichoke, a pomegranate, a whole coconut or a kumquat just so he can try it once.

7. And he likes his food spicy.

He quivers in the condiment aisle at the grocery store when he learns of all the hot sauce flavors he can try.

No, wait, he jumps.


8. He dreams.

And he dreams big. Just this week he mapped out his whole trip of how he wants to see the world. He even planned in time to come home and work to pay for the trip (a.k.a. visit his aging mother). It was fun to watch. Just think of all the foods he gets to try . . .

Age 8
He dreams of flying jet airplanes and army helicopters with names that contain only letters and numbers. Then when he crashes, he is going to survive off the land like Bear Grylls. He even has a shirt like Bear's to get him started.

He wants to jump out of an airplane and do other insanely crazy stuff. I said he's more than welcome to do it all - as long as I don't know about any of it until after it's all over.

9. He loves babies.

Age 11

He was super with his cousin and now loves his Carson to pieces. It's a good thing, because they adore him back. He's known to have 2 & 3 year old girls look for him at church.

He's a lady killer.






10. He looks out for his friends.

If he knows something that will make their life easier, he's the first to inform them and help them out. He desperately wants to go to camp this summer because it's his friend's first time. He is concerned about him passing the swim test - and just wants to be there for him. It's very sweet.

Now if only I could convince him to think the same about his sister . . .

11. He loves the outdoors.

And unfortunately brings it all indoors with him. He is happiest lost in the woods seeking out wildlife, getting dirty and climbing trees.

12. He's ours.

We love you to bits, Bricey. You teach us how to love, to slow down and to enjoy life.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Bubba* Brice!

** Nickname origin: When he was born, Mikayla was 2 years old and she kept calling him "Rice." I set out to correct her and told her he was "Brice. B - B- Brice."

So from then on she called him "Bubba Rice."

And then one day I decided to teach my kids at home . . . you can guess how well that's going . . .

Friday, November 27, 2009

13 . . . REALLY?????

Let's go back in time . . .

13 years ago . . .

It snowed the day before Thanksgiving.

Remember?

13 years ago . . .

My youngest brother played his last high school basketball game.

13 years ago . . .

We watched the movie Independence Day.

13 years ago today . . .

I became a mother.

Seriously. . . She looks ticked. They woke her up from a wonderful deep sleep. Redressed her. Denied her food. Then they took her picture.

I'd be ticked too.

And now 13 years later we have this . . .

Apparently she forgave us for the injustices she endured . . . because she is smiling.

Whew.

So far so good . . . We have officially survived one day with a teenager in the house.

So far, she has no extra body piercings and no pink hair.

Whew.

Happy Birthday, Mikayla.

You love life and feel deeply.

Thank you for being you.

Thank you for being ours.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Carra . . .

turned 7 years old . . .

. . . shall we pause for a moment to reflect on that day 7 years ago . . .

I have vivid birthing memories of a Chinese medical intern hopping on one foot at the end of my hospital bed (trying to get the sterile footies over her shoes . . . I think . . . sorry about the lack of details . . . I was a bit preoccupied . . .) and giving me futile, yet desperate, commands in her thick Chinese accent.

It was a wonderful day.

Seems like it was just yesterday . . . sniff, sniff, . . . where does the time go???

Okay. I'm done.

So, Carra is 7. She and her cousin Elaine single handedly planned a party for her. I took all of their suggestions, considered them, and then changed every last one of them. We painted rocks instead of faces. We stayed home instead of going to Chuck E. Cheese. We never did get cake . . . And yet . . . they had fun. Especially Kailyn . . .



Since Carra loves, Loves, LOVES caramel apples, we decorated them instead of having cupcakes or a big fancy cake. There was a bit of strategy there . . . less work. Less work = happier mom.

Looking at her purple eyes . . . guess what she got for her birthday?


And the cousins came . . .

and decorated too. (Kailyn is missing . . . sorry about that . . . I think she made up for it in the group picture.)



They also made their own pet rocks. Six out of seven of them went home with a mouse . . . because you know how it goes with 6 & 7 year old girls . . . when someone throws out a great idea . . . it's great for EVERYBODY. I was very impressed with the one party attender that stuck with her tiger idea to the end. Besides, an orange mouse would have just been odd. About as odd as the 2 purple, 1 blue and 2 multicolored mice that left the house that day . . .

Here is Carra's mouse, Bob E. - He's the one on the left.



He looks just like our current mouse resident, Jack, he's the one on the right . . . that we pay actual money to feed and keep alive . . .

except for the green ears . . .



and the really big eyes . . .


and the red nose . . .


And the orange tail . . .


and the size . . .


But otherwise . . . they are nearly identical.

Nearly.

Happy Birthday, Carra . . . thanks for being you . . . except when you are mad at Brice . . . then thanks for just letting him live.

We love you!!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Birthdays . . .

Mikayla had her birthday - ON Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving came Christmas. I know that isn't news to you, but it is my explanation as to why it is now January and I am just acknowledging my child's birthday.

Wow. Did she grow up this year, or what?

This is from last year (or 2007). . .



and this is from 2008 . . .


And all I did was blink.

Another plus is that she helped make the cake - perty fancy, heh? We almost gave up in the middle of the project because of a few glitches, but we persevered. What other kind of cake would you suggest - for a birthday on Thanksgiving?


A hamburger, of course!




Owen also conquered another year, and we "celebrated" in the midst of all the other holiday celebrating.

Since he is only turning four, his cake was a little less complicated - although a bit more slimey.


I woke up the next morning and he had made his contribution to the cake.

Clever.

These other pictures are for Grandma Powers - so she can see what she got him for his birthday. He is trying to position his hands like Spider-man does when he shoots out his web. Still needs a little practice. He really had to think about it . . .

Hurry up, Spidey, the bad guy is getting away . . . .

Close, but don't hold it that way . . .

Got it!

Thank You, Grandma! Call if you need a superhero!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUNTI BRANDI!!!!

Here are the family birthday greetings:

Happy Birthday, Aunt Brandi,
Your mother dresses you funny
and you walk like a duck.

Love, Carra Goose


Happy Birfday to you,
You wiv in a zoo,
You wook wike a montey,
and you smewl wike one too.

Love, Owen

Can't you just feel the love?

(Mikayla and Brice are not around to give greetings today. I know they send their love!)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Update

I haven't posted any pictures of the kids in quite a while so I thought I would post some updates of the craziness that is our life. I think I will do it in spurts though . . .

You may remember the birthday post I put up for Brice on his miserable birthday. Well, don't be fooled, he recovered beautifully.


I was supposed to find Legos to put on his cake, but couldn't find the one he was looking for. We couldn't make it back to another store to look for another one because of the 16 inch snow storm, so he got creative with some K-Nex he had and decorated his own cake.
Those were sparkler candles. Cool idea - not so good in reality. They sprayed ash all over the cake. It kept me from eating it!

We later had a birthday celebration with the rest of the family and Ruth turned the favored Rice Krispie treats into the cake. Here (and below) are two of the birthday boys blowing / spitting out the candles . . .
(Note once again - sparkler candles - which once again sprayed ash. Not much can keep me from a Rice Krispie treat though - not even ash (but maybe spit). There were a few unscathed treats buried in the pile that I managed to salvage and enjoy.)

Friday, March 21, 2008

Happy 9th Birthday, Brice!!




I am a bit in awe that you are 9, Brice! We love your sense of humor and your laid back approach to life!

I think we will be remembering this birthday in years to come because it snowed 10-15 inches, he had to cancel his birthday sleepover, and his dad wasn't here to celebrate. (Did I mention that I can't find his birthday card from his dad . . . .). I hope this isn't an indication of the year to come!

We will have a happy day anyway!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Birthday!

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY, MIKAYLA!!!!!!!


We love your perky spirit!

We love your smile!


Have a happy day!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Turning 5

Turning 5 is a very big deal. We have been mentally preparing for this day for months. It took some explaining though to help her understand that there was no miraculous growth on birthday morning. She really thought she would be bigger! I guess it is time for that growth chart idea. Yeah, lets start it with child #3 on her 5th birthday. No time lost!

We learned something about Carra on this birthday. She loves surprises. She refuses to peek, ask questions or even eavesdrop on what her present might be. We had fun teasing her that she was getting Thomas the Train, Legos, and a skateboard because of the ruckus she would make when she thought we were spilling the beans. She didn't inherit that from Auntie Brandi! (Don't fret Brandi. I think you still have a following with Mikayla and Brice.)

If you asked Carra what she wanted for her birthday she would consistently reply with "An American doll." (American Girl doll). Thankfully, Target sells a cheaper version and Carra is thrilled. The doll came with the name Cathrynn, but has since had the name changed to Melissa, and then to Felicity. I'm sure it will change again tomorrow!

The neatest gift she got though was from Aunt Brandi in Colorado. She sent her a ball. She simply wrote the addresses and messages on the ball and the mailman stamped a sticker on it an delivered it to our door. No box. Just the ball. Too cool. A great way to make a simple gift stand out from the rest! Carra was tickled! The mail carrier said that it was officially the oddest thing she had ever delivered - topping the coconut she delivered once. (If you are considering doing this, be careful of the size of the ball. If it is too big, they will charge you $20 - the mailman warned me!)

And so we come to the cake. The idea was supposed to be "Strawberry Shortcake." We ended up with "Just a Strawberry." It looks better than it tasted. Somehow the frosting tasted "distusting". I take no offense - but don't mention it to Betty Crocker.

Thank You to Grandma and Grandpa Powers for the video and shirt. The shirt is a new favorite! (Do you see it in some of the pictures?) Maybe now I can successfully get rid of the old favorite rainbow frog shirt she outgrew on her LAST birthday!

Happy Birthday, Carra!

Carra is 5!

Happy 5th Birthday, Carra!

You make my heart smile!





Birthday pictures coming soon!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Happy Birthday, Grandpa

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Powers!


From Carra Goose:
I miss your cats because they are getting chewed by Bandit.
Happy Birthday, silly Grandpa!

From Mikki Doodle Bug:
I miss you very much.
Can't wait to see you at Christmas!
Happy Birthday, Grandpa.

From Brice:
What up?
I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday.
You are the best Grandpa in the world!
Oh, and did I mention that you are the funniest too?

From Owen:
I want to go your house.
Happy Birfday, Pampa!

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Birthday bash

It was Buff's birthday last week and so the kids and I planned a fun little surprise for him. We invested in 4 cans of silly string (trust me - it was an investment - that stuff is expensive!), an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen (it's tradition) and some balloons and streamers.
When Buff walked in the door, the kids covered him with the silly string, well, at least Brice did - Carra and Owen chickened out.

Buff took the rest of the string and covered Brice with it. Yes, the string was everywhere (do you notice the floor behind Brice?) and it was a little tricky to clean up. Oh, well, it was worth it!