Rounding Out the Year

Around these parts, Daddy is the last one to celebrate his birthday each year. I kick off the family b-day celebrations at the start of spring (okay, so it's technically still winter, but I like to pretend that my birthday marks the start of spring... even if it's raining cats and dogs outside). Then the kids go boom-boom-boom. (We clearly didn't put a lot of thought into that one, as the back-to-back-to-back shopping and parties about do me in each year). Then, after all of that, it's Dad's turn.

Last year we spent his birthday at a family wedding, and while we did enjoy a night in San Francisco after the nuptuals, this year we tried to make it all about him. He got to hang with his kids and do a little fantasy football drafting. Then we did his favorite thing: We barbequed in the backyard.

There were some tasty things and some not-so-tasty things.



And there ended up being plenty of little helpers when it came time to deconstruct the cake. And lest anyone give me credit for that masterpiece, let me make it clear that it was yet another masterpiece from Amy Van Brasch -- cakemaker, neighbor and friend extraordinaire.





When posting these snaps, I realized that there were some awesome hair-dos on hand, thanks to a couple of the big kids. Foxy's new favorite game is "Beauty Shop," and since it kept her occupied for a good chunk of that evening, I'm not complaining. There were also quite a few crazy hats on heads around the table. But as anyone who knows my husband well would say, it wouldn't be a celebration of Brian without hats. I'm just surprised that he didn't end up busting out his personal collection for the grown-ups. :)