Happy 30th Birthday, Jaimie!

We surprised my youngest sister by having all the family come be with her for her birthday. She even had friends from Kentucky come all the way to see her and wish her well! Nice planning, Tony! He's an excellent surprise party master! :)

We grilled out and all the kids played...destroying poor Claire's room! Diva was also a big hit with the kids, and she was super patient allowing them to pass her around. It was nice to get to see everyone and spend some good family time together. Happy Birthday, Jaimie. We are glad you were born!

Photos:

-We stayed the night before the big event at Sal and Kirb's - even with the flood damage they are still dealing with, they open their home as if they have the world to offer. They give with their whole hearts. Thank you, guys! This shot is in their basement with Eric and the kids all exercising together! (PS - please continue to be in prayer for their situation. It's a hard one, and they deal with it all with such grace).

-Surprise!!!

-At the party

-Honor holding Diva

-The Jonathan, Matthew, and Elena at Donato's Pizza that night...I don't know what's going on here. Pilgrims? Quakers? Crazy napkin-head people...

Halloween Party!

Elena had her very first School Halloween Party Friday. She was so excited for all the fun and getting to dress up. She wanted to be a "Lady Bug Family" for Halloween, and I did find costumes for all of us. Even the Dog! As it turned out though, we wouldn't be using them since we'd be surprising my sister for her 30th Birthday Party. So we promised that we would come in parts of our costumes for Elena. The kids got to "trick or treat" the halls at school, and Eric was even recruited to help! Then there was a big snack time of special treats, and afterward the "Parade of Costumes"! So cute! Elena was really excited to see a "bee" in her class to fly around with her. ;)

More work...I helped!

Here's some more shots of home improvements...the attic is getting closer and closer to be done. Can you believe I spent 2 days helping insulate everything with my hubby?!?! Wow! Anji, getting dirty?!?! I feel a massive sense of accomplishment, folks! Yep...all for getting more storage space...now if we could just clean the insulation puffs from all over the house. I have a feeling I'll be doing that for a while!