Birthday celebration #2 of 2

 On Friday night we had a barbecue at the Brunsviks.  Their son Davik shares the same day with Joel, they both turned 17.  It was also Debbie Freeman's birthday so we had to have a party!  DeAnn had Cupcake Stef make the boys each a cake.  Joel's was a pizza...of course!  Stef did a great job!

 She even got a pizza hut box to put it in!  The cake was yummy!

 Davik's was a black dragon and it said Happy birthday in Chinese!  Stef is amazing!

 After our yummy dinner we played bunco!  Winieckes came too, because this is our group that always gets together and plays games.  We had a fun time!

 Joel and Davik's friend Garrett came (he's in the orange shirt) so we had a full house! 

 Gary Brunsvik was the master Bunco scorekeeper...It was all very fun!

Joel at the head table...happy birthday again!  And to Davik and Debbie too!



Birthday Celebration #1 of 2

 Joel's friends Mallory and Becca came over after school on his birthday.  They pre-arranged with me to decorate his room...and they got his other friend Devin to get Joel to go play basketball so he would be out of the house...good friends!

 You have never seen so many post-its!  They did his room up good!

 Besides funny, random thoughts and picures, they also labeled things for him too, like "mirror" "bed" "ceiling" "floor"...they spent a lot of time!

 They also left him a gift...they had fun (I think) and when Devin let them know they were on their way back, those girls flew out of here fast!  They didn't want to get caught!

 Joel was definitely surprised...

 It made him smile, then laugh as he started reading the post-its...

 I'm sure it will be a long while before he pulls them all down...I think he's still reading!

 At Seminary that morning, his teachers the Ounjians, gave him their Goliath Sword.  They knew how much he liked it!  Wasn't that sweet of them?  It is HUGE!  Can it cut pizza?  lol.  They also gave him a neat "Armour of God" coin...they have been awesome seminary teachers!

 Joel modeling the size of his sword...he is having a happy birthday!

 We had pizza for dinner (of course!  what else?) and Becca and Devin came (Mallory had somewhere else she needed to be) and Ashley joined us a bit later (I didn't get her picture! ugh!).  We missed Mario and Clark who couldn't make it...so Joel has a lot of leftover pizza!

 We had oreo ice cream cake...and we are not without pomp and circumstance...we threw in a candle and sang to him, then made him blow it out.  It's his official birthday after all...oh man, we forgot to have him hold up 17 fingers!  That's tradition!  This mom is getting old and forgetful!!  Sorry Joel!

 But she always remembers presents...

Of course, Mom doesn't know what kind of basketball to get...so he will be taking it back and we will get the "right" one.  :) He does love basketball!  Happy Birthday Joel!  We love you!  Another celebration coming up, with two other people that share his same birthdate...

Where does the time go?

This cute little guy, is suddenly a big guy!  Today he is 17 years old!  It was just yesterday he was this little shy thing, so sweet and smiley...and now, he is a tall, not-so-shy teenager!  I just cannot believe how fast the time has gone since he joined our family.  It really does seem like yesterday.  That was a blessed day back in 1995 and we were so happy to finally get him here!  His siblings were all so excited too!  Joel, you are a wonderful son and we are grateful to have you in our lives!  Happy Birthday!!  Hope your day is as wonderful as you are!  WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Eagle project part two...

And we're back!  The new mat arrived and once again friends responded quickly and were at the park ready to help!  This was the day after Easter...They had to clean the cement again...and make sure it was ready for the glue to be applied...

Devin...the lone sweeper... 

 Clif made it to town in time to help with phase two!  YAY!

 the guys spreading the glue...others will roll the mat...SLOWLY...

 Taylor, Tyler and Ryan going at it first...

 Logan helped with the glue also...Jake was there to help earn his arrow of light, so of course his sister Mallory got to help too!

 They took a turn at the glue as well...good job Jake!(and Mallory!)

 lots of measuring and keeping that huge roll going straight down the center...Scoutmaster Budge made sure everything was done properly! 

 Jacob helped sweep the grass...even the smallest can do something worthwhile...

 Tyler did the "steam" rolling...thanks to the McCauley's for letting us borrow their equipment!

 David liked testing out the mat, crab walking on it and just making sure it was all good!

 Then he raced Tyler and the roller!

 He had fun pushing the roller too...everyone helps!  There are no child labor laws in Eagle projects!

 Duncan helping trim the edges...

 Testing the poles to make sure everything fits properly where it should...

 Almost there!  All the poles are in and they look good!

 Jacob and Grandma had fun watching from the sidelines...don't let his face fool you, he was having fun!  Probably not as much fun as Grandma though!

Jacob showing off his stickers...we are done for the day!  If you look hard you WILL see Joel in some of the pictures.  He really was there working hard!  After the glue dries we will go back ONE MORE TIME and paint the lines...then the cricket team will be ready to play!!

Eagle Project part one...

Joel and Ryan scoping out the project, Jacob coming to check it out too!

Joel got a great Eagle Project lined up...thanks to his wonderful Scoutmaster Ryan Budge!  His project was to replace the Cricket Pitch (court) at Bicentennial Park.  We didn't even know such a thing existed at the park!  So Day One of the project was to tear off the old pad and get the cement underneath it cleaned up.  Also, to make the holes for the poles along the edge, by putting in PVC pipe and cementing it in...thankfully there were many hands to make the job easier!  We appreciate all who came to help!  It was while Amanda and the boys were here, so they got to have some fun too!  This was the day after our freezing zoo experience, so we were smarter and brought jackets this time!  It was a lovely day and we enjoyed watching Joel and all his helpers in action!

A few of our helpers...Amanda, Logan, Bradley, Bradley's sister and brother, and Jacob!

Pull! This is harder than it looks!  David is making sure they do it right!  Bro. and Sister Ounjian came out to help. They are Joel's seminary teachers!  Also more of his friends Devin, Nate, Ryan, Analise, Tyler, Taylor, Cobi, Bro. and Sister Call, and probably a few more I have forgotten!  Thank you ALL!

Lots of pulling and scraping...

Making score lines with a blade to ease the job along...

Shawn and Devin starting the holes for the poles...so fun for Shawn to come back and help...he was Joel's Scoutmaster until he moved...

David had more fun playing with Ashley's dogs and flying kites...he could have played at the park all day!

Almost to the halfway point!  

Jadob and Amanda helped me with the food...we brought muffins and brownie bites and water...the Clovis Cricket Captain (who was thrilled this was getting done!) brought pizza and soda!  If you see little "ghost" smears in the rest of the pictures, it's because Jacob had some pizza and then helped me with my camera.  :)

Almost there!  The end is in sight!

Loading up all the old stuff in Budge's trailer...

Shawn and Chad (the Young Men's president) helping clean up...so nice of Joel's leaders past and present to be there to help!

Scraping up the old cement glue...the holes are in, and we are ready for the next step!  We had to wait for the new pad to arrive...and then on another day more help would arrive and we would get it put in place!  It was a great day at the park and it was a big job, but thanks to all the helpers it went smoothly.