more birthday party pics

Max turns 4

What a wonderful day we had celebrating Max's 4th birthday! It started with a trip to the pancake house (a family favorite) where we enjoyed lots of yummy food. Then at 11:30 Max had a robot birthday party, complete with a robot cake, robot decorations and a make-your-own-robot project involving marshmallows & pretzel sticks. We had a great group of friends & family here & Max really had a great time. After everyone left we spent the rest of the day playing with all kinds of new toys. Max LOVES his legos and spent a lot of time designing his own robots with his magnetic robot set. He insisted on changing into his Wall-E shirt and sleeping on his new Star Wars sheets. I think he truly loved and spent time with each and every one of his gifts. He is so grateful in that way. We are blessed daily with this amazing little boy and it was wonderful to have a chance to really celebrate him.

Mr. Incredible meets the not-so-incredible pavement

Max was thrilled when we found a Mr. Incredible costume for 80% off at the party store. Since then he's worn it everywhere: Costco, the mall, the park...everywhere. After a great time playing at the park, Mr. Incredible took a pretty nasty fall and announced that he wanted the costume off and was "done with it". Thankfully, he's currently sitting on the couch in the same costume and, save for the swollen lip, seems to have forgotten about yesterday's events.

how life goes

Here's what we've been up to over the last couple weeks:

making forts:


spending time with good friends:

enjoying fresh berries at the farmer's market:

taking walks in the park:

hello and goodbye

At just about the exact moment we were walking in to the War Room for John's party, our friends Joy and Zak were welcoming their little girl into the world. Clover Constance came in just 3 hours, healthy and safe. A night of bittersweet goodbyes and joyful hellos; one life coming to an end, another just beginning. Welcome, little Clover. We can't wait to meet you.

a thank you...

Dear John,

Whew! You sure know how to throw a party! I am so grateful that you allowed me to be a part of such a wonderful night. It was truly a celebration. All those people gathered together out of love for you. I hope you felt that. I hope you'll take that feeling with you over the next few weeks and hold on tight, never forgetting just how much you mean to so many people. And I hope you know that we didn't come because of your cancer...we came because of you. Cancer was not the focus of the night, cancer wasn't the topic of discussion, no one cared about cancer...it was all about you. You are so much more than the disease that is taking you from us. You're a grandson, a brother, a husband, a friend, a son. You brought so many people together. Every time I turned around I heard people saying to each other, "Hey! I haven't seen you in years!" and "Let's not let so much time pass before we see each other again." You reminded us all how important it is to be present in each other's lives. Thank you John, for all that you are, for all that you do. So many people love you, including me. Never forget that my friend.

Love,
Marin

Picnic in the Park

After 8 years of employment, we finally made it to the Nintendo company picnic and it was insane! We had no idea what a huge production it was. TONS of food, drinks, a massage tent, henna, face painting, bounce houses, a rock climbing wall, games, prize giveaways, swimming and it's all free. We were super-impressed. Got to spend some time with Mark's co-workers Currin, James and Tom (in photo below) which was nice. Currin was even kind enough to have us over after the picnic to play some rock band. Mark is very blessed to work for such a great company.

Gus Face

Gus has a face, a really funny, scrunched-up, happy face that makes Mark and I laugh so hard. Check it out:

Halloween in July

Everyday is Halloween in our house these days. Max insists on being in some sort of costume for at least part of the day. He also found Gus' skeleton costume that I bought on clearance last year and begged me to put him in it. Funny kid.