Photos of Zak's 18th b-day party

Here are photos I took at Zak's (Andrea's oldest son) birthday party on April 5, 2008. The party was held at Andrea's house. It was a suprise party for Zak.

The party started out as a party for Andrea's friends son Jack who was turning 5. That was the excuse Andrea gave Zak why he couldn't go anywhere or do anything that day. He had to help with the party for Jack. About an hour later everyone that was coming to surprise Zak was to show up at Andrea's.

Unfortunately when we got there, Zak was in the front yard & saw us. We told him we were just in the neighborhood & thought we would stop by & say hi (we live 1 1/2 hours away). But he bought our "just in the neighborhood" excuse. It wasn't until a few minutes later when Eric's family was also "just in the neighborhood" that Zak figured out something was fishy. So the surprise was spoiled.

The 2 parties were then combined & everyone had a good time. There were 2 bouncing houses, Zak's band played, Jamey BBQ'd hamburgers and hotdogs. And there were 2 birthday cakes. One for Zak & one for Jack. My son Brandon & Eric's son Cade were not able to attend. Brandon was sick & Cade had a track meet.

The photos:

Mike (my husband), Jesse (Mike's youngest son) & Jase (Eric's oldest son)















Simon (Andrea's 3rd son) & Dad















Mike, Dad & Mom















Me. I took this photo by holding camera out in front of me.


















Eric, Jodi, Taylor (Eric's youngest daughter) & Danica (she is lying across everyone & is Eric's oldest daughter)















Noah on guitar (Andrea's youngest) & Zak on drums (Andrea's oldest & the birthday boy)















Danica, Jeannette (Eric's wife) & Jase (Eric's oldest son)















Jamey (Andrea's husband)















Mom & Taylor (Eric's youngest daughter)















Zak the birthday boy (Andrea's oldest)















Andrea. The pic is blurry but it was the only picture I took of her that day. She was always in the kitchen getting the food ready, cutting cake, dishing up ice cream, etc.

Easter 2008

Here are some photos I took at Easter. I know I am about a month late posting them, but I am the world's best procrastinator. I didn't take any photos of my family for some reason. Probably because I didn't think to take photos until everyone was leaving.

I had Easter at my house again this year. The weather was perfect. Last year it was so cold & this year it was very warm. Mom, Dad & Jodi were able to come up for the day. Eric's family only lives about 15 minutes from me so they came too. Andrea's family was not able to come up as Jamey had a broken collarbone from a snowboarding accident & was in a lot of discomfort. Todd's family did not come as they live too far away. But we had a good time with the family we did have.

We cooked 2 hams so that we would have left overs. Easter is so much easier than Thanksgiving. You don't have to cook as much & the food you do cook is much easier to prepare & cook.

Jodi hid Easter eggs in the backyard for the kids to find. Even though the youngest kid is now 15 and the oldest is 24, they all had fun searching for the eggs.

What did the rest of you do for Easter?

Zak

The many faces of Zak.... As you can see the hair changes periodically (father, like son).

Eighteen already??

Today is Zak's 18th birthday! For those of you who don't know Zak, he is our oldest son, the first born but still my baby. I still can't believe it has been 18 years since he was born... I can remember it like it was yesterday. Really, I just can't believe how fast the time has flown by. If you were to see my boys, Zak is the one that looks most like me. Although in many other ways he is a lot like Jamey. He has grown into a handsome, talented young man right before our eyes. As the next year passes (hopefully not a quickly as the last 18) we will be savoring every second with our family. Once Zak turns 19 our life as we know it will never be the same. Of course it will be great & wonderful to send him off on his mission, but before he comes home we will be sending out our second son (Nate) on his mission - so life as a family of 6 will change once the boys all return from their missions. It's crazy to think we will be starting a new faze of our lives very soon. So as I said, this next year will be bitter/sweet as we enjoy our time together as a family. We are so proud of Zak & the man he is becoming, the choices he has made in life & continues to make - keep it up son!! We love you & Happy Birthday!