Happy 3rd Birthday, Garrett

Some of the best gatherings are those that are impromptu, with no expectations except for the company of really good friends. Garrett's birthday celebration tonight was one such occasion. We invited the Corley family over along with Tiffany and some of her nephews. The Corleys have been close friends since our oldest kids were born a few weeks apart, and Tiffany's family is close with Garrett--her mom kept him two days a week when we first moved back from Oklahoma, so the nephews got to know him well. We picked up 6 pizzas at Little Caesars, a cake at Wal-Mart, and some glow sticks to enjoy after dark.

Due to the torrential downpour in the last few days, playing outside wasn't much of an option, so I got out the "color and draw your own fort" kit that I had been saving for a rainy day. Geary and Sheri gave this cardboard fort to Garrett for Christmas. We got a pretty good start on coloring it, and I think it will make an excellent summer project.






Garrett was a little goofball at cake time, and we didn't get a proper cake-and-smiling kid picture. He opened a few presents: a batman toy from Braden, a Little Einstein's Rocket toy from us, new flip flops, superhero undies, and Batman pjs from us, a motorcycle toy from the Corleys and a package of Matchbox cars from the Corleys.


After dark, we all went out on the back deck and played with glow sticks. What a nice night!

As I was typing this blog entry, the George Strait song from mom's funeral came on the radio. I've never heard that song on the radio before even though it came out in 2005. Kyle said, "Hey, it's like Grandma is telling Garrett happy birthday." What a comforting thought. I sure miss her and I know she would have loved celebrating Garrett's birthday with us today.