Most Epic Birthday Ever

Doesn't this look like it could be featured on Cake Wrecks?
I especially love the green shoreline.

This year for Troy's birthday, we joined forces with the Joneses to celebrate Troy's 18th and Brandon's 17th birthday. Since we were going to be inviting all the same people anyway...this made perfect sense AND made for double the fun.

The party was held at Torii beach, pavilion 2, and featured our own dunk tank and snow cone machine...as well as water sliding and lots of yummy eats.



Poor Elijah sat up there forever waiting for someone with a decent throwing arm.



Pa Jones finally showed up to relieve Jake on the grill.



The ocean was full of sea cucumbers, which squished like poo between toes...so the fun was short-lived.



Here's my toes. Still cute.



Patrick, being patient with the photog, as always.



The kids left the water and headed down to check out the splash pad...







And the waterslide, which closed 30 minutes later.

So, the boys came back and played some football:












or hunted for seashells...



and then watched the sunset.



Isn't it gorgeous?



This was beautiful...sunset, moon and mars, all in one shot.



We were waiting for Rachael and Becca to get here to do the cakes, so it was dark by the time we cut into them.



I forgot the candles, so Troy got matches. Neither matches nor candles would stay lit in the wind anyway, so we sang sans flame.



Beautiful girls



Then the kids decided to play Mafia? (think that's what it's called)



Which was very entertaining to watch.



It seemed way too complex to me, and seemed to be a teenage excuse to hug people, actually.



While they all played, the adults sat around in a circle about here and had our own little party. I think ours was way more fun...solving the world's problems and all...



While Jake and the other "little" kids decided to use the dunk tank as their own personal swimming pool.



It just so happened that Rachael and Becca were moving back to the States the next day, so when it was time to go, it was more than just the party ending...it was the end of their three-year stay here. The kids in our neighborhood are such good friends, and this was such a sad scene. Unfortunately, it's all too common in the life of a military brat. It was a great send off for them, too, though.

Happy birthday, Troy and Brandon!

The Lettermen

The letterman jackets finally arrived. (These were Christmas presents, remember?) I knew they'd arrive after Christmas, but the end of February seemed a bit excessive to me.


Oh, how I love these boys.



These grad year patches are my favorite



Troy had a football number to add, but there are no numbers in cross-country



OK, maybe the dragon is my favorite. (Go Dragons!!)



And of course, their sport pins.



Patrick ran into the house shouting, "Wait, Troy...you need your football."
To which Troy replied, "Um, Patrick...I don't actually USE a football."
To which I chimed in..."That's right Patrick, Troy is more of a...'people' person."
Troy liked that.
Patrick still insisted on the football.



Then Patrick wanted this action shot.



He says the jacket makes him feel epic. I think he's pretty epic anyway.

Troy's Football Banquet

Troy's end of the season banquet was bitter sweet. It was great that it was over because being VP of the parent association was SO much work (more than I bargained for, as so few parents really want to be involved at all, making a large burden on a few). However, the team experience had been such a great one for Troy, that it was sad that it had come to an end. Spring training started last April...Summer conditioning then ran into the Fall season...and now it's over.



The banquet was first class! Sue did such a great job with all the details.



The players all sat together...



And the parents and family members filled in the rest. Being on the board had its privileges. Like assigning some of our favorite people to sit at our table. =^) Like the Beasleys.



OK, these two are kind of obligated to sit with us.



But we got to choose the Andrews, too.











Then it was time for the awarding of the letters. Coach Bales said a little something nice about each of the boys.



When he started talking about Troy, I snapped some pics, but it didn't occur to me to take video right away. He was telling the story of last Spring when he was Troy's history teacher, and he asked Troy if he was going to go out for football. He said that Troy looked at him like he was insane. (Little did he know, Troy's friends were also trying to convince him to join Spring training.) Then the Coach put out forms on the desk and told the class if anyone was interested they could take a form. After class Troy approached his desk and that's the part where it occurs to me to press "record". Here's the rest:




I am so grateful to this coach and to Troy's friends for encouraging him. He sure came a long way from that first day of practice, when after 10 minutes, he said, "I don't think I can do this." The coach believed in him and said, "Just keep putting one foot in front of the other." I'm so proud of Troy for doing just that. For never missing a practice. For always having his uniform ready. For hitting the gym for 2 1/2 hours every single weekday over the Summer. For never giving up. For trying his best to "be mean" even though it is not in his nature.



Then the coaches surprised the board members with a little gift. A Macaroni Grill gift card and these cute little football chocolates. (This is Denise, me, and Melanie...you can just barely see Jim's hand on the right. Sorry Jim.)



The boys listen intently to the program.



Then it's over and the real fun begins...sucking down the helium.



LOTS of group pics...there was love in the air.



These guys are crazy!



This was SO funny...Lofty (above) has the deepest voice I have ever heard in a kid....an ADULT, even! The helium had NO effect on his voice. These guys were dying laughing over that.



More group pics...



These are Troy's main buds...the ones who encouraged him to join. Lofty (Left) also worked out with him every day this Summer. Corbin (in the tie) is another Chaplain's kid...and then Clay (to Troy's right) moved in this Summer and his dad is also a Chaplain. Pretty cool, huh?



Corbin is a Jr., and the personalized jerseys are Sr. gifts. Poor Corbin. Next year, sweetie.



Congratulations, Troy...we love you!