birthday love

here's my first part of a september re-cap...

september is a big deal around here because rich and i both celebrate our birthdays within a couple of days of each other. first rich, then me. but i'm the photographer so we usually only have photos of him. :)

we always have a date somewhere in the middle of our special days to celebrate, and i love sharing that with him. this year, the date was just us, which it usually isn't, and while it's always fun to have a group date, it was lovely hanging out just the two of us. 

somehow, we always end up going to the restaurant that i want to go to. i always try to persuade rich to choose his favorite place, but he's too much of a gentleman. we ate at happy sumo, because somehow my birthday always makes me crave sushi. (i crave it all the other days of the year too, but whatever.) 

the thing i took away from birthdays this year is just how much LOVE we have in our lives. everyone was so thoughtful and went the extra mile to make us both feel special and loved. and it worked! there was something kind of big going on every day for a full week - a birthday WEEK. it was a big deal. and a lot of fun. and humbling because i really just feel so blessed.
we have the best friends and family.

have i written out the thank you notes? 

no i have not. i need to get on that. 

tomorrow.

right after i post the second series of september happenings.

seventeen years

the first week of the school year always brings one very important event,

taylor-bing's birthday!

this year is extra special since he is also celebrating his last year of high school.

we celebrated with taco salad and lemon cupcakes, his requests.
i found these super cute candles that i thought were so great.

that is, until we lighted them and they were pretty much melted before taylor could make a wish!

so funny!

i had a ton of fun shopping for t this year because there wasn't a main gift that he wanted and so i was able to accumulate a few smaller things which were totally taylor. i love giving gifts that fit the receiver perfectly.

the biggest hit was a spock bauble-head. its sort of an inside joke about the SBO's theme for the high school his year, "live long and conquer" (instead of spock's traditional phrase "live long and prosper"). his reaction was perfection.

but he also loved the captain america shirt we purchased sneakily during our trip to orlando. it was especially sweet because he went crazy over it in orlando when he saw it, but didn't have enough of his own money to purchase it. :) i love surprises.

and a giant orange watch

(seriously, you could deflect bullets "wonder woman style" with this thing)

and my favorite thing that he actually asked for, a good old fashioned pair of ray-bans.

taylor has excellent taste. later on, i taught him how to "pop" his polo collar so he looked like a true 80's boy, but i missed a photo of it, bummer. i must have been too busy laughing.

so...SEVENTEEN is a big deal.

at least HIS seventeenth year will be.
a lot is going to happen before he turns eighteen next year - including graduating from high school and starting college. it's also going to be a year of a lot of learning and growth with all of his student government responsibilities. two days after his birthday, he was introduced and sworn in as an officer at the back to school assembly.

it was such a proud mom moment for me to see his name come up on the screen and see his little video clip and then later, standing on stage with the other officers getting sworn in. i'll admit to being a tiny bit misty-eyed, i'm such a softy. he was proud too, i could tell. and he should be. he's such a good kid. i mean, man.

on sunday, he received his patriarchal blessing, it was a very spiritual experience, one i am sure he'll never forget. no surprise to me, heavenly father has a lot in store for this sweet boy. it made me remember that a loooong time ago, my own patriarchal blessing promised me a righteous posterity that would bring great joy to my life. check.

(with brother ostler the stake patriarch)

love you t-bill.

you are awesome-spice.

live long and conquer man.

i already know you will.

blink

this happens every year.

one day we are celebrating the last weeks of school with a million spring-time activities...

choir concerts

spencer sang a solo

 (no pic of allie singing?)

dance recital - beautiful dance, terrible pic

pre-school field trip

and graduation

jr.high graduation

 and lots of great lacrosse

 (this next one is of of him shooting an actual goal even though it's hard to tell)

not to mention, the musicals, which i already documented, final projects, AP and other end of year tests, and even, a new job. 

spring is busy, and by the last day of school, we are all jumping for joy.

literally.

because by then, we most definitely need the break.

and then,

(this is the part that happens every year...)

i blink too quickly.

and the next thing i know,

i'm making breakfast,

packing lunches

and taking first day of school photos.

and even though, it's going to be a BIG, awesome, exciting year for each one of the kids, 

i just can't believe that

 summer is over.

 wow.