Our big busy weekend

Our weekends aren't typically like this, for which I am very grateful! But this past weekend went something like this...

[Read at a frantic pace to get the full effect. Or...don't.]

Jason and Robert woke up at 6:00 a.m. so Jason could take Robert to help at the youth yard sale at our church. Jason came back home and got ready to go to a ceremony he had been invited to at the elementary school our church partners with. I was still blissfully asleep at this point and don't even know what time he left.

After I woke up, I began getting us ready: packing all of the things that would need to go into the van for the remainder of our day and making sure everyone was dressed appropriately (a bigger job than usual due to a certain child's stubborn refusal to understand English). Shortly before lunchtime, the kids and I went to the church to pick up Robert so he could take a shower, and we came back home to eat before leaving for Josiah's pre-game practice. Jason met us at the ballpark.


Josiah's baseball game was supposed to begin at 1:30 didn't start until 2:00. This wouldn't normally matter too much except for the fact that we were supposed to be in Athens at 4:00 for my Dad's 70th birthday party. We were pleasantly surprised that it was a quick game, because Jason and I were discussing what time we would need to pull Josiah out of the game...and we didn't even need to. Whew! So we got on the road and drove to the Athens area for the big birthday party. We didn't get there at 4:00, but we weren't terribly late, either.

Here are some of the family members with May birthdays who were part of the celebration:


After supper, there was time to eat birthday cake

I told him it was going on the blog anyway...He wasn't really this tired but was merely resistant to being photographed. ;)

Hang out and talk



Square dance for those who wanted to or were coerced



Chat some more



Play basketball




Do tricks with a basketball




nd twirl around with a hoola hoop.

This is our best guess as to what Robert will look like when he's all grown up: like my cousin Mike. I didn't realize how close the resemblance was until seeing the photos from Mike's childhood the night before he got married last year.

Gran'dad opened his present and commented on the number of hands. He may have even counted all the fingers just to be sure. ;)





We headed back home at a semi-reasonable time so we could be ready for church Sunday morning. I think all of us slept very well that night.

On Sunday afternoon, Robert participated in his first music recital. I was video-recording his performance since Jason couldn't be there because of a church-related meeting, so I didn't get a photo of him while performing. Here is a shot of him with his guitar teacher--there were technical difficulties with the music Robert wanted as accompaniment, and his teacher was briefly talking with him about what he needed to do until the music started.




He played the guitar part for Michael Jackson's song, "Beat It," in case you are wondering. And he played very well!

Robert also won the drawing contest to design the cover of the recital program:

"TJ's Music Academy."
Click on image to enlarge.

Josiah has been taking keyboard lessons since Christmas but he didn't want to participate in the recital. His reason? He thought he'd be too nervous to play in front of a lot of people. Can you imagine Josiah having stage fright for anything?! I don't think it's possible...

Next weekend, the only thing we have on the calendar is a wedding to attend on Saturday. Oh, and maybe a date!!