Cody's Tricky Birthday!

Cody has been nine for one whole week so I better blog about all the fun we had.

In the morning I checked the mail for any birthday surprises. When I reached my hand in the mailbox I felt something weird and squishy like a sponge. It was a slice of chocolate cake made from some caulk and a sponge or foam or something with a letter taped to one side (from my sister, Aubrey, and Uncle Jordan). Cody loved it!

 Later that morning, the kids and I went swimming at our friend's pool. It was the first sunny, hot day of the week and Cody would rather swim than do just about anything else. Livy even wore her swimming suit and put her legs in the water for the first time this summer. Usually she just jumps on the trampoline and eats the snacks. 

When we got home from swimming it was almost time to open presents...

 The girls had gone with Steve the night before to pick out something for Cody. They had a blast at Toys 'R' Us checking everything out while I stayed home and played Battleship with Cody. Parental Note: If you ever want your kids to talk to you and be extra excited to do something with you just do it at the time they should be going to bed.  Steve and I both had a lot of fun hanging out with the kids.

 While waiting to open presents Livy kept grabbing Cody's head and giving him kisses on the forehead.

 It was a good thing the girls only had one day that they had to keep their present a secret. 

They were bursting with excitement.

 Lego Chima Speedorz! The girls are pro at choosing gifts. These are our first Chima Legos and they are lots of fun to race.

 You can tell that we saw the Lego movie the weekend before because while everyone was building Legos they were singing "Everything is awesome! Everything is cool when you're part of a team!"

 Grandpa Airplane and Grandma Tammy gave him a matching Bible to go with his Triple Combination and scripture case that he got last year for his baptism. He was excited! He had been talking to me about some of the scriptures he wanted to look up in the Bible to fulfill his Faith in God requirements just a few days earlier. Perfect!

 Photo credit: Livy

Nana and Bob got Cody a Allosaurus tooth cast...

 ...and three arrowheads.

 This was Cody's gift from mom and dad: rails for a bed. It represents the bed that Steve hasn't had time to make yet because he spent the whole summer preparing for and attending High Adventure. Cody was still excited :)

 As requested, we had a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake with a mint oreo layer in the middle.

It was the easiest cake to make and so delicious!

Grandma Tammy sent candles in her birthday package and told Cody they were "special"

Our kids had never seen trick candles before and they were pretty confused. It was funny!!

The two videos below show him after two or three minutes of trying to blow out the candles.

Random Summer Stuff (Mostly Phone Pictures)

Cody went to a friend's house one afternoon and Kylee and I had some girl time while Livy napped. We made cards and Kylee really got into it. She made 8 cards in no time. Here is one of her original designs she asked me to model.

 Steve went on High Adventure with the scouts the week before Cody's birthday. All of the guys grew out their facial hair for their survival themed week. I was actually surprised at how much hair Steve can grow.

 He didn't win the contest for the most hair, but I really don't think that's a bad thing. If I liked hairy I would have dated a gorilla.

 Before Steve left on High Adventure he finished my birthday present: a gallery wall with our family and a few of our favorite places. 

Top Row: DC temple, family photo, kids playing on the grass, Delicate Arch

Bottom Row: Steve and Tiffany, Kindness Begins with Me, the kids, Pittsburgh bridge, and the SLC temple.

All pictures taken by Steve and printable by me.

Cody's gummy bear teeth (selfie taken while the rest of us were outside). 

Parental Note: if your kids ever ask to borrow your phone to take a picture. Always say yes! You'll get the funniest videos and pictures out of it.

Livy and Daddy get special time together on Wednesdays when I take Cody and Kylee to piano lessons. Usually Livy says she wants to play Legos and Steve builds her something cool.

 We had great luck on Saturday at the mall finding clothes for Kylee Growing-Like-A-Weed Cramer. We spent three hours there and the kids did amazing! Cody read an entire novel and Livy kept herself entertained trying on clothes and shoes.

 Steve found the girls quietly reading together in Liv's crib the other morning. I love when they do this!

Once a year Steve's work (APL) has a "Friends and Family Day" and it's the only day that we are allowed to go to his office. They have cool demonstrations going on around campus with robots and other inventions. The demos are cool, but mostly the kids like to go because Steve has a giant white board in his office with tons of different colors of markers. This year we had to go straight to piano lessons from APL so Livy got to ride home in Steve's car. She LOVES riding in Dad's car.

 "Dad, can you put the windows down?"

And then she just soaked up the wind the whole way home.

On their way home they started talking about bikes. Steve asked her if she wanted to go to a bike store. Steve said they had so much fun trying out bikes and checking everything out. This girl is so much fun.