I actually spent Thursday night at my parents' house on my way back from working in Ohio for the weekend, and then helped get ready for the birthday party all day Friday.
Mom had already done a bit of decorating before I got there, including this cute little cart filled with pumpkins...which one of the cats promptly turned into a bed.
I helped clean the house and baked a pecan pie (Dad's request...though the pie failed to set up and was more like a pecan soup...), and we also made sure to get the gifts wrapped before Dad got home from work. I even had time to stop and get a couple of balloons (the pink one was for my Grandmom, who has the same birthday as Dad).
Speaking of Grandmom, here she is learning a little about how to use an iPad. And the scary thing? Sophie was helping to teach her! At not-quite-two-and-a -half she's scary good at it!
And of course anywhere that Sophie bug is, she's the center of attention, right? She had great fun "helping" Dad and Grandmom open their birthday gifts. Come to think of it, maybe that's why so many of my photos are blurry- the girl never stops moving!
See the hands? Moving!!!
Dad got a few new power tools for his birthday, and I'm going to make curtains for his home office as my gift to him just as soon as they figure out what color they're going to paint the walls.
Grandmom's gift was a new rice cooker (from my parents) and some new kitchen schtuff from IKEA from me.
Hey, here's one of just Dad! See, I didn't just take photos of Sophie. :)
Though she was rather adorable when she tried to carry all the gifts around- even the heavy ones!
And speaking of adorable- hi, Beth!
If you're wondering where the rest of my family was hanging out, they were over in the kitchen (my parents are in the middle of remodeling their kitchen, as well, and I really feel their pain right now as I work on mine). Jake drove home from college to come hang out with us, and I couldn't help snapping this photo of him with his father and grandfather.
Sophie eventually gave up on carrying the heavy tools around and instead made a game of hiding in the storage bag that came with them. In the process I discovered that a) yes, she does fit inside and b) no, she won't let me zip her up in it. And this is why I don't have kids of my own- they'd surely be taken away from me!
After my grandparents left for the evening, the real party got started. You see, I'd brought my X-Box, Kinect sensor, and the Star Wars Kinect game along with me, and we promptly booted it up and got to dancing. Or at least something approximating dancing...
I am totally not above posting embarrassing photos of myself here- even the ones shot from behind! And these just remind me of how much fun we were having- Tina and Mom laughed until they cried while watching us!
My brother totally kicks my rear at this game, by the way. So much so that Jake handed Beth a single to stick in Jon's belt.
We finally managed to talk Jake (who was a Guitar Hero prodigy back in the day) into getting in on the action.
And, oh, yes, I totally have video of this hilarity! I'm hiding it away for a future time when I really, really need to embarrass one of these guys.
Saturday morning I hung with the family just a bit more and even got to tag along with my brother and Sophie to Lowe's. That might not seem like a big event, but...
...I was more than happy to go since it was a chance to photograph Sophie in action at one of the kids' building workshops!
My brother is an amazingly talented woodworker (he builds cabinets and pretty much anything else you can think of in his spare time), and Sophie loves to "help" in the workshop at home. They've taken her to several of these kid-friendly events to let her get a little tool-time of her own in, and she loves them!
Though on this particular day she was more interested in the stickers that went on the box than in building the box itself.
And then just a couple more photos from back at the house (where Sophie made a "sandwich" for Dad using a set of felt burrito and taco ingredients) before I headed back home.
All in all a happy birthday weekend for Dad. And I'm quite excited to be seeing my family again soon for Thanksgiving!