St. James Celebration...

As I mentioned, St. James was our destination this weekend to celebrate Grace's 10th birthday. First of all, let me say I cannot believe Grace is ten years old. It truly seems like yesterday that Jason and I were nervously swinging on our "sunshine sleigh" at our little apartment, preparing ourselves to welcome her into our little family. I can clearly remember being one day away from checking into the hospital and having a mini freak out~wondering if I would be a good mom and thinking about how our lives were about to completely change. Change they did, on May 29, 2000. For the better, without a doubt. Grace was just such a pleasant little baby and the perfect introduction for us into a true family life. She was easy enough to help us gain confidence in our parenting skills but with just enough quirks to challenge them. As our first born, she has the unfortunate role of family guinea pig but handles it with a mostly positive attitude. Responsibility is one of her strong suits (sometimes a little too strong for her sisters' taste) and while she is, for the most part, predictable like her mama, every once in a while she throws us for a loop~just like she did as a baby. Big sister, family historian, detail gatherer, observer extraordinaire, Justin Bieber fanatic, shoe collector and my most favorite 10 year old in the whole world. Thank you Grace for changing my life ten years ago, in the best way possible.

As we were driving to St. James, I was thinking about how much fun I always have there and how I always post a blog about all of the hilarious things that happen and all of the laughs we have. I thought about how people who are not actually there with us probably think I am exaggerating about the wacky antics that leave us all doubled over and then I wondered if maybe I do puff up the stories a little bit~just for the sake of a good story. Well, with this weekend still fresh in my mind, I can unequivocally state that these stories, laughs and moments are in no way, shape or form exaggerations. From the moment we stepped out of the trusty old Expedition right up until we backed out of the driveway, fun and relaxation were the main events.

The hot tub was the hot spot for the kids. They swam, played house and chilled out off and on all weekend~taking full advantage of their own personal little pool. I like to call this next series of photos "The Blind Leading The Blind". It would be impossible to capture the comedic gold that occurred during this game of Frisbee with words or pictures but I hope you can get the idea...
Kim and Josh's body language can best accurately depict how we all felt watching this unbelievably athletic and graceful exhibition of Frisbee prowess... The remainder of Saturday was spent gorging ourselves on all sorts of delicious foods, including Grace's birthday cake...
tie-dying t-shirts with fantastic results...
posing for pictures with the awesome teeth Grace handed out as party favors...
and without the teeth... We were also treated to a spontaneous performance by Emma and Josh's dance troupe...
Sunday was a bit less wild and crazy but no less fun. Dad and I took the kids to the park where they got to enjoy a piece of playground equipment that is virtually extinct these days, the good old fashioned teeter totter... They also climbed... spun...
and posed for more pictures (of course, they were with me after all)...

We closed Sunday out with s'mores...

and messy faces...

Sadly, Monday it was time to pack up and head back to the real world. A world that involves work, cleaning the house and errands. Fortunately, going back to those every day tasks is made a little easier after a weekend full of great times and a heart full of memories.