Happy Birthday, Evan!

Our boy is officially ten!

He woke up to balloons in his doorway:

 That one really liked to spin!

He took cupcakes to school, and he went to the dojo, where he was flipped ten times to celebrate. Basically, the day couldn't get any better for this kid!

He asked for bacon cheeseburgers for dinner, and in a hysterical moment asked to save his cake for the next day because he was just too full. This is particularly hysterical because he asked for a Whitt's ice cream cake. I ordered it last week, but somehow the order got lost. Thankfully, they were able to scramble the cake and I made a second trip to pick it up. So glad everyone rushed for it to sit in our freezer overnight.

Last night, we finally did the whole cake thing. Mr. Man was good in his pajamas and towel:

 Sigh.

Unfortunately, I had no idea he was not a fan of sparkler candles. Nothing says happy birthday like a little bit of fear:

We did enjoy the cake, and we will finish the celebrating Saturday with the Avengers movie. I'd say our boy has had a pretty awesome birthday, though.

Making friends with nature...

The end of last week brought a little drama. I already mentioned we are without AC and we had a dying tree. Well...Thursday night Issa woke me up because there was a bat in her room. I know he got in through my bathroom window; the screen was missing and I forgot to put the window down when I went to bed. Issa a super calm. She woke up because she heard it chittering and the wing flapping. He was doing lovely loops around her room.

I called Brad to help me think this through, and after consulting the google we realized we needed animal control to come get said bat since she had been asleep with it in her room--as had I. We got the cat out easily, but then I had to make many trips in and out in between his loops to get her clothes for the next day and everything else she needed. We closed the door and I called animal control in the morning. They were awesome, and they managed to locate the bat and remove it in record time. That said, I spent the rest of the day praying he didn't have rabies. I've never been so glad to get a call in my life! We are all clear, but I am still just a little jumpy around any noise that sounds like bat wings.

Friday afternoon, the tree guy called to see if he could come take out the tree before last weekend's storms. Yes, please! Our house looks so much bigger now:

 While the kids were with Mom Friday night, I spent the evening mowing, weeding, and pruning.

With that giant tree gone, we have regained our front porch! Just look at that view and sky:

Every night we have sat on the porch, and the dogs are loving it, too:

It's been a lovely way to make friends with nature again after our little adventure.

The Birthday Celebration Continues...

Brad may have been in Canada the end of last week and most of the weekend, but that did not stop the birthday celebrating from slowing down! Aunt Shannon actually came into town with the whole purpose of celebrating the big two full-handed birthday. The kids and Nana picked her up Friday, but the celebration began with a Jersey Mike's lunch after the dojo Saturday where this shockingly awesome selfie happened:

 Then just Aunt Shannon and the kiddos went to the bowling alley and arcade, where Aunt Shannon defeated claw machine to win Evan this dog, which he appropriately named Special:

 This picture just makes me happy:

 After bowling it was back to Nana's house for presents:

Aunt Shannon made a scavenger hunt for Evan to find his packages this year:

 And then he reluctantly agreed to a fashion show:

 This is is his Hulk face for his Avengers shirt:

 And big man listening to his crazy mother:

 And being mortified by his crazy mother:

 His shirt had flaming marshmallows, and we were trying to convince him to be the marshmallow while I was the flame:

 Tough ninja:

 He chose Nana mac and brussel sprouts before cake:

 He requested a cookies and cream cake:

 And he even consented to a picture:

 But the highlight was everyone's excitement when the checkerboard inside turned out so well:

 These faces make me happy.

Sunday, we had a birthday lunch at Kanki, and Brad came into town in time to make Shannon laugh until she cried. I can't even remember what he said--twice--but I love seeing my sister laugh that hard.

It was a great weekend, and a much needed respite in the midst of a very bizarre week. (More on that tomorrow...)

Heart Happies

We've been having a bit of a week. Our air conditioner died; replacement is scheduled for next week. Thankfully, it's only May and we're managing with fans! The tree closest to our house died; removal scheduled for next week. Brad had a surprise trip to Canada pop up. It's been nuts.

So...I'm making an extra effort to focus on the little things that are making me happy.

Tuesday night, I got to go see the Heels baseball team with this guy and his buddies:

 It started hot, but as the sun set it was a beautiful night for a ball game. They got to meet their UNC pen pals, and you haven't lived until you've heard a bunch of fourth grade boys who don't play baseball discuss the finer points of the game.

Yesterday, the kids didn't have school so I took them to Sky Zone to get out of the house during the heat of the day. Evan goes for height:

Issa goes for style:

 Since I'm leaving for Italy in a week I went with observation. With the luck we've been having, I was certain I would break something.

And this has made me deliriously happy:

We joined another CSA, Humble Umble. This is a small farm run by the woman I took my first herbalist lesson from. Every Wednesday fresh produce and flowers arrive on my porch from their farm, and these flowers are making me very, very happy.