birthday bash weekend

It started out Friday night with the band concert at school, the Pops Concert.    This is a great, fun night, popcorn and pop music.  It's a long concert, runs until late in the evening, perfect on a Friday night. 

Well, except Lydia complained that they played Led Zeppelin for twenty minutes and then butchered Bohemian Rhapsody.

I thought it was all fine.  (What do I know?)

That's James, second from the right.

And then Saturday morning was the party at John and Dannell's.  There was a feast and lots of racket, and people went sledding.

There were gifts.    That's my dad in the gray striped shirt. He and Mom are finally back from Florida.  They have the right. They were gone a month.

It felt like a lot longer.

 Tim and Kirsten:

 The college freshman and the college senior, both smiling.

 She's just playing around with his glasses.  They look good on her.

 It's cake time.

 Cheese!

 Ahh! I got him!  Fastest candle-blower-outer in the world.

Then there was a spontaneous sleepover.

Okay. 

 And here are a couple from tonight.  We had a party here so James could invite his friends, and the whole family was here too.

There was chicken divan and basketball.

It was outrageously loud and wild, even for us.  The babies were tired out from the sleepover, but that's okay.

Screaming is allowed.  Fighting is not encouraged, but is tolerated. 

Messes are ignored, though I admit a moment of concern when they told me babies were in my bed watching a movie and eating crackers, and a bottle of Ranch dressing was also involved.

???

!!!

Nothing. It ended up to be nothing.

This guy wanted to take a bath with the others, but the tub was crowded, and he was distracted by a video.

James?  Baby James?  Jimmy?

 

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart.

 

You have brought Dad and me so much happiness, and to the rest too, who reminisce about your gopher cheeks and mouse voice, your funny, bent thumb and the strange way you have of making everything look effortless.

 

I know it's not, but you make it look that way.

 

Seventeen years of loving James?

 

Lucky, lucky us.   love you forever, Mom, and Dad and Everybody