No, I'm not late in posting this... But it's a LONG post!

No, I didn't forget to post Eli's birthday photos and no, I'm not late in Sissy's. The kids decided they wanted their pictures posted together. So I had to wait until after Sissy's birthday to post this.

So Eli is first... his birthday was August 16th. He got money from Grandma Connie that he spent on a lego set, that he insisted on putting together alone:

And a DS game, Lego Battles, from Mom and Dad:

And Nanny LaNelle gave him an awesome video game. He loves how the shark moves when he attacks things! And I love watching him play games with his "serious" face on:

I still haven't figured out this face, but he made this funny face while he was eating his ice cream... or more accurately, drinking his ice cream... (Eli stirs it until it's soup and then drinks it.)

I forgot to reverse these last two pictures while I was loading them, so the ice cream came before the cake, but here's Eli getting ready to blow out the candles. We faked him out... he thought I forgot to buy cake mix and frosting, but was trying to be so strong and not get upset because money for extras is still a little tight... He had requested cupcakes and it was a total God thing that they were on sale at Albertsons!

On the weekend of 16th, one of the traveling Vietnam Wall memorials was stopping in Seattle. And one of Eli's birthday wishes was for a Stay-cation, sooooo...... :) We went after church. It was awesome! And what made it better was that the kids didn't act bored once... well, except while we were driving around the cemetery finding a parking place.

I got this picture while Matt was explaining to the kids about each name and the symbol next to it:
My dad was drafted and the names of some of the people he served with are located on these center panels. I even met someone who knew my parents while we were there. It pays to look so much like my mom. Twice now since moving to Washington State, people have looked at me and have known me because of my resemblance to Mama.
The names are listed in the order they were taken from us, the first in 1959. The last name was from 1975. My daughter asked me to take this picture because she thought it was important to remember that people still miss those listed on that wall. Sometimes, my daughter amazes me with her insightfulness. She later asked me to pray for the family that left that rose.

After you left the area were the Wall was standing, there were a few tents set up to showcase some of our military history. In one tent, they had uniforms that spanned from Korea all the way to today. At one point, Sissy asked her dad to explain why the flag patch was backwards on the sleeve. Of course I had to take a picture of him giving her a history lesson.

The best of the day, other than Eli wanting to go to something I would enjoy on his birthday, was the simple fact that my children got the point. It didn't take much. My daughter's best friend Hong Ngoc is Vietnamese.

September 5th is Elizabeth's birthday. She got money, which for an 11 year old little girl was absolute heaven. And even though she knew she was going to get the cake she picked out (she was with us when we bought it) she didn't know I was going to get the candles that cost twice as much for two as one box of the regular ones. So we did a little blindfolding, twirling around and walking through the house:

Until, with one mighty puff:

We encourage the kids to give handmade gifts to each other on their birthdays... Well, Eli's gift to Sissy was a little play using one of the Cabbage Patch Kids and his Teddy Bear. Sissy laughed so hard she was snorting! It was adorable!

Just a little FYI about Teddy and Cora: Teddy was given to Eli by my grandparents. That Teddy Bear is truly irreplaceable, and I honestly think Eli would be devastated if something happened to Teddy. And if I remember correctly, Grandma Connie was the one who gave Cora to Sissy. Here, Eli is telling Cora that he'll protect her from the evil Teddy...

So much for protection:

Anyway, That was our birthday celebrations. I hope you enjoyed!

SMOOCHIES YA'LL!!!!