Happy B-day Zach

Here is Zach opening up one of his gifts.

The hunting cake. This is pretty funny. I couldn't find a hunter type person anywhere. SO I ended having to buy an army guy with a machine gun. LOL. Then I super glued an orange hat on him. But I am pretty sure he would have to have a machine gun to take out that LARGE deer. I looked and looked for a regular four legged deer but at the last minute I saw this at Kmart. It worked. For the rocks I found this chocolate covered coal at Big Lots. It was perfect. As soon as I saw it I thought it looked like rocks. This was after looking and looking and thinking what I could use for rocks. The green is the grass and it is just icing. The water was some blue crystal candies I found. Zach loved it and it was a pretty easy cake to do. That is what I like.

Here is Zach lighting his own candles. The sign in the back is a large piece of cardboard I found and 'tried' painting with spray paint to make it look camoflauge. Does it even look like that? :)

Zach is chillin while we sing him Happy B-day.

Zach still waiting to blow out the candles.

His bow and arrow. He was so happy and this is all he really wanted for his birthday.

Here is Renee and Don. Nana was inside because Renee felt sorry for her being outside.

Renee talking with Mayah. She was like this the whole time. She was so loving and sweet with all the kids. She is amazing.

Here are the kids with Renee.



Don and his sister, Renee. She is a blast.

Zach opening up a present.

The funny happy birthday sign. I tried making it look camo.



Here is Zach doing his scavenger hunt. Funny look on his face.

Renee with Rachel.

Here is Renee and Don and Rachel. How do you like the window there? I couldn't think of anything else to make it look like a hunting theme so the kids brought down Zach's comforter. TOO FUNNY. So we hung it up where the curtain goes.

Zach is now 9. WOW. I can't believe how fast my kids are growing up. It just seems to pass by so quickly.

Don took the boys hunting for his birthday. They went out on Friday to the shooting range to site in his rifle. The boys were able to shoot (not the rifle). And they LOVED that. Then they came home and had lunch and set out to do some scouting before the big day. They took their sleeping bags, some food, camo clothes/boots. And they headed out on a cold and rainy day. They slept in the Expedition (seats taken out...ofcourse).

They got up early Saturday morning at 5:30 and instantly went out to hunt. They saw a few other hunters and talked to two of them. Neither of them had seen anything. They hiked quite a bit and didn't see a thing. BUMMER.

They got home at about 2ish and we were waiting for Don's sister to arrive. She was coming for the first time. It was my first time meeting her and she is AMAZING. She is very fun and she laughs ALOT. And our family LOVES that. She fit right in with our noisy crowd. They kids absolutely love her to death. In fact, my own sisters better step it up a bit because I think, she is now considered the favorite aunt. The kids hung on to her and didn't want her to go home. She did Rachel and Mayah's hair. She put make up on them. She did their toes and fingers with polish. She played games with them and was just super fun to be around. She only has one child so I am sure our energy was a bit overwhelming but you could never tell.

After she arrived we had pizza and then cake and icecream. I tried so hard to decorate and put together a hunting theme party. We just pretty much used things we already had around the house. It was fun. Caleb put together a scavenger hunt for Zach. And the younger kids found things from the toy box and wrapped them up for him. Most of the things were already his anyway. It was pretty funny when he opened them. There were pieces of paper under everyones plate that had a hunting item on it. Each person had to try and get the other people to guess what it was by giving small clues. We ran out of time but I also had planned to do a relay type game. We were going to break up into teams and have Caleb and Zach each put on their camo coveralls. Then with balloons each team had to try and see who could stuff the coveralls with the most balloons. That would have been fun. But after Zach opened his bow and arrow the night pretty much stopped with him playing with it and checking it out. Then it got dark. He was VERY HAPPY with that.

It was a fun night and I am so thankful for Zach. He is a wonderful addition to our family as well. There are alot of things that I love about Zach and some of them are that he really tries to be obedient. I remember when our bishop interviewed him for baptism and said he was the most prepared out of all those he interviewed. He is a happy go lucky kind of guy. He has his moments but for the most part he is fun to be around and kids like to be around him. He is a born leader. The kids in his class want to do what he is doing. He is always talking. It was such an eye opener for me. Caleb never talks. And Zach...well lets just say he has a lot of things to say. :) He likes to crack jokes and be the center of attention. Zach also loves the outdoors and has found a new love with his BB gun and now his bow and arrow. He is truly his father's child. He does well in school and is a straight A student.

I love you so much Zach and am so grateful you are a part of our family. Hope you had a super birthday.

We enjoyed our night and we were so grateful that Don's sister, Renee, was able to join us. Mayah kept forgetting her name and calling her Ranona. It was quite funny.

Thank you Renee for making this such a fun time. We are going to miss you and Rachel has already said, "I am never going to forget her". Thank you for spending time with the kids and bringing memories into our family. We love family and are grateful you had a chance to come. Love you.