Zachary

Today is Zachary's 9th birthday!

Zachary is our 17th grandchild and 10th grandson.

He is an important part of our very large family.

And a very important part of this smaller family.

I wrote about Zachary for his birthday last year in this post and visiting there will show you links to all his previous posts.

And the links in THAT post will take you to many pictures and stories of how he's changed over the years

So I'll just post a few pictures here

 and talk a little about what's been going on in his life during the past year.   First of all, after a great school year, where his favorite subject was math and his least favorite was a tie between science and language arts, he's moving on to 4th grade in August!

His favorite sport is baseball and for the first time, he's played in or is still playing on three different teams.  The first one is his regular season team, the Marlins, where (for the first time again) he's playing with his best friend who also happens to be the best player in the league.  Zachary falls into the 'not too shabby' top ten in the league category!  And not surprisingly this team won the league championship and the post-season playoffs. 

He's also playing on the All-Star team and on a travel team.  Zachary loves baseball and he's really good at it.  He's one of the few kids to hit an over-the-fence homerun on the All-Star team.  He definitely plays with determination and focus.

He's also active in Cub Scouts and his car got first place in his pack for speed in the Pinewood Derby.

Of course, he and his family were in Gulf Shores with the big family over the holidays and Zachary enjoyed every moment.  (This water was really shallow but the wave was really big!)

 And I should mention that he loves both of their dogs although this picture only shows him with Charley.

So in addition to the information on his past year, Zachary also gave me a rundown on how he spent his birthday.  He spent some time playing with his friends, then he and his Nana went bowling where they each won a game.  Then when his Mom got home, they went to Taco Bell and then Zinga's for frozen yogurt and finished up the day watching A Dog's Purpose - a really good movie according to Zach but kind of sad.  And that's a glimpse into the life of our amazing, smart, and athletic Zachary!

We love him very much and we're very, very proud of him.  AND, we're wishing him the happiest birthday ever (which he pretty much had already) and an amazing year ahead!  Happy Birthday, Zachary!!

Jeremy

Today is Jeremy's 18th birthday!

Jeremy is our 9th grandchild and 6th grandson.

He is an important part of this large family,

an important part of this smaller, large family,

and, of course, a very important part of this family.

I wrote about Jeremy for his birthday last year in this post and visiting there will show you links to all his previous posts.

And the links in THAT post will take you to many pictures and stories of how he's changed over the years.

so I'll just post a few pictures here

and talk a little about what's been going on in his life during the past year - and there's a lot!

He started a new dream job last summer working at a golf course and he's continuing that this summer, he graduated from high school, got accepted into college, and then signed up for classes at Eastern Michigan University.

And he had his last high school marching band parade and concert

as well as his last high school golf match.

So there have been lots of changes for Jeremy and I know he's looking forward to lots more in the coming year.  In the meantime, he still enjoys fishing

playing guitar

and interacting with his six beloved nieces and nephews.

And I have to add that Jeremy is helpful (here he and his cousin, Evan, clean up after a large family dinner in Gulf Shores),

talented (here he and his cousin, Evan, perform a very entertaining skit using their most authentic British accents in Gulf Shores),

and easy-going.

But more than all that he's sensitive, kind, thoughtful, smart, and easily one of the nicest people you could ever meet.  We could not be more proud of him and we're wishing him the best birthday ever, but one only have as great at the many more to come!  We love you, Jeremy!  Happy Birthday!

Teresa

Today is Teresa's birthday!

Teresa is married to our 3rd child and first son (by 10 minutes), Dan.

She's a very important part of our large family

And of course a very important part of this smaller family.

I wrote about Teresa on her birthday last year in this post and visiting there will show you links to all her previous posts.

And the links in THAT post will take you to many pictures and stories of how she's changed over the years.

So I'll just post a few pictures here.

and talk a little about what's been going on in her life during the past year - and there's a lot!
First of all, she's moved - almost 2,000 miles from here - their much loved home in Colorado Springs.

to here - another much loved home

that has a special amenity that the last home didn't have and that she enjoys VERY much.  Especially the fish races where she laughs really hard the whole race.

She's currently training for two Disney half marathons and she's started crossfit which she absolutely loves!  And she's very much the swim mom right now with practices every day for Tessa and swim meets once a month.  Although she's not currently working outside the home which is an adjustment for her, she's traveling back and forth to Colorado Springs as much as possible to see her boys.  Because that's a big change too.  She's here and they're still there.  I know her hope is that they'll all be in the same area eventually.  And there's another change for her too.  After driving her beloved mini van for many years, she's got a new car that she loves.

And another perk in the past year is that her 'team' won the world series.

All in all, Teresa has had a busy year with lots of changes but she's very adaptable to change and she's very organized which really helps when lots of changes are happening.   They've visited many of the theme parks in the area and spent a weekend or two at the beach. 

And of course I have to add that Teresa is sweet, loving, considerate, and a lot of fun to be around.  She gets along well with her sisters-in-law and puts up with lots of teasing about her height but she is the best sport EVER!

We are so lucky that she is part of our family and that we get to call her a daughter!  What a blessing!  So Happy Birthday, Teresa!  We're hoping it's the best one ever but that it's only half as wonderful as the many more to come!