Randy and I were reminiscing last night about my "labor story." I have grown a little fuzzy on the details (what a shock) but both of us remember the conversation I had with my mother on the fateful morning of July 4, 1996. I was not due for seven more days and, to the best of my recollection, had not been experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions or otherwise had any reason to believe that labor was imminent. Nevertheless, my mother, ever the worrier, wanted to know if she and my dad were being fool-hardy for hitting the road and traveling to Wichita, KS to celebrate the Independence Day holiday with Clark, Rebecca, Chelsea and Savannah. I assured Mom that they should go and enjoy themselves; I think I may have even uttered the words, "Mo-om, I'm not about to have the baby" in that faintly condescending way that kids talk to their parents when they're just SURE they're right (and almost always turn out to be wrong).
Well, the rest, as they say, is history. I went into labor that night but my water never broke (the nurse kept saying, "I can see the baby's head . . . I think if we would just break your water the baby would pop right out!") and sure enough, when my doctor finally gave the order to break my water the next morning, out came Tyler about five minutes later! And now an unbelievable ELEVEN years have passed since that wonderful, beautiful day when teeny-tiny little Tyler, all 6 lbs. 14 oz. of him, was placed in my arms. And what a ride it has been!
I have never been a big party-thrower, I'm sorry to say. I'm not a particularly creative entertainer and usually feel inferior to just about everyone else I know in that department. When it has come to birthdays, as most of you know, I have usually gone the route of taking the birthday child and a couple of his/her closest friends to Galaxy Games and Golf and letting THEM do all the hard work while I sit back and accept all the praise from my children and their friends for all the fun they've had! We have also had a number of "family" parties, since having six people in our family, and four of them children, feels like a party all the time! Just throw in a few balloons and streamers, some cake and ice cream, and call it a celebration!
Today we did something different still. Since the kids and I just went to a birthday party at Galaxy a few weeks ago, I just couldn't see going through the motions again so soon so Randy had the bright idea of taking Tyler and his friends to a movie. Finding a movie that TYLER deemed appropriate proved challenging:
Me: "How about Pirates of the Caribbean 3?"
Tyler: "Hmm, I think it might be too scary for Grant and Peyton." (Notice he didn't say anything about Sawyer the Fearless!)
Me: "Okay, what about Transformers?"
Tyler: "Mo-om (see what I mean?), what is it rated? PG-13? I don't know, I think you just need to talk to Austin and Grant's mom and dad and ask them if they think it is appropriate."
Me: "Ratatouille?"
Tyler: "Perfect!"
The boys in the picture are Grant (5), Austin (9), Tyler and Zack (11). Grant and Austin are the aforementioned brothers and Zack is the visiting grandson of one of our members. This photo was taken about one minute before we had to rush inside to beat the rain. (Sadly, Randy had to finish grilling in the downpour.)
Boys being boys
With the compass that never points north
I like this picture because of the "inside joke." Zack gave Tyler a birthday card with a hole in the front that you were supposed to put your finger in to receive your present, and you opened the card it appeared that Tyler's finger WAS the present and a "tag" was hooked on it that said "Acme Nose-Picker Deluxe Model." The look on Austin's face makes me laugh every time!
After the movie we came back to the house and changed and went over to the Big Splash for a couple of hours (that explains why Darcy has wet hair in this picture). Then we finally came back home for cake and ice cream and the party was "officially" over at 6:00 p.m. but Austin and Grant's dad came to pick them up and stayed 'til about 9:00, so the boys were very happy about that! By the way, don't Darcy's braces really "pop" with that green shirt? She actually has blue and green bands but all you can see in this photo is GREEN!
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2 comments:
I remember thinking that the car was headed in the wrong direction for the 4th that year. Babies come when THEY'RE ready, not the timetable one sets themselves. I do remember when I saw you that my first thought was, she's just come from the beauty shop. You looked nothing like most NEW moms.
Wow, that looks like a party I would have loved attending. All the guys seemed to really get into character (were those knives between their teeth?).
And those big beautiful teeth in that wonderful smile of T's.
Sorry I forgot to send the card on time yesterday. And we didn't call either. I guess I was too busy getting back to work, etc after a very busy 4th for us. No excuse. Tell Tyler I'm sorry. We may call this evening.
July 5th - The July 5th that will always stand out special for me is the July weekend when Hal and I got to be with all three children and their spouses and the grandchildren in Dallas. We certainly were busy those few days. And to make Tyler's July 5th birthday special we went to the most unusual Medieval Times! (TNT, as his Grandpa calls him.)
My dad celebrated his birthday on July 5th until he turned 80. Since then he's celebrated on July 4th. (Since his mother didn't like people celebrating their birthdays on special days, he always felt his mother coerced the doctor into putting his birth certificate time as 1 minute after midnight on the 5th.)
So Darcy's current colors are blue and green. You're right, Andrea, the green in her top really make the green pop out on her teeth!
Oh my, the cards that are now available - how in the world did any one come up with THAT one ("insert finger...)and how did any one come across it with the multitude of cards to select from at the stores?
What fun party and birthday acitivities you celebrate!
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