Sweet 16!

  My baby boy is 16 today. He is such a delight to have around. 

 He's always smiling.

 He's almost always in a good mood.

 He is so kind to all of his siblings.

 He loves to have fun.

And he has the cutest freckles ever!

Happy Birthday Blake!

Lucky #11

 Clint's favorite number is 11. He always tries to get number 11 for his sports jerseys.  He says it brings him good luck.

I think turning 11 is pretty lucky too.

 For Kami's 11th birthday the skies wished her a Happy Birthday with this gorgeous sunset. Pretty lucky-

And she was able to blow all the candles out on her cake -lucky as well.

and she got a new ipod and gave her old one to her little sis. - Lucky for both of them.

And let's not forget about us. We're really lucky to have such a kind, sweet, precious 11 year old.

Yep, I'd say number 11 is pretty great.

Eleven

Today Miss Kami turns 11 years old. 

Big Birthdays - Part 1

 Last November Clint and I both turned the BIG 4-0!

And since every big birthday needs a big celebration, we flew deep into the Heart of Texas for a weekend get-away.

Birthday Week- Part D (Clint's Birthday)

Our last day at Disneyland just happened to be Clint's birthday. 

What a way to spend your birthday!

   We spent the day riding our favorite rides from BOTH parks

And look who just happened to be in line for Small World during the Christmas parade. . . talk about luck!

 It was the perfect day and hopefully a perfect birthday for my perfect man.

Birthday Week 2016

This year, we celebrated birthday week a little differently.

Since this is #2's last year as a "teen", and Clint and I's last year before we hit the BIG 4-0, we decided to celebrate it big. . .

 in sunny CA!

This beauty got to spend her actual birthday surfing in the ocean and soaking up the sun.

We met up with Clint's brother, Stephen, and his family at the beach.

  My girls were so excited to get to play with their cousins, we could hardly contain them. 

  This was also they first time any of my children have been swimming in the ocean.

They kept saying, "It's so salty!"

 

But they loved every minute of it.

(If you look closely, you can see the Santa Monica Pier in the background.)

    

After our day at the beach, we ended the night at Stephen's house. His family was so sweet to feed us dinner. They even had a birthday cake complete with candles for #2.

 Although it was hard to top last years , I think this has been her favorite birthday yet.

I'm all for making this a yearly tradition! Clint, are you with me?


Read more about Righteous Traditions HERE

Happy 8th Birthday!

#6 turned 8 on the 18th of September. For her birthday, she had a couple requests:

1. Spaghetti for dinner. 

Lucky for me (or her) there was leftovers from the Homecoming Pasta Bar the night before. She got spaghetti and I didn't even have to cook it.

2. A ROUND frosted brownie "cake" (not square but round so it looks like a cake) topped with Shopkins (very similar to last year's cake), and a number 8 candle. Easy enough. . . 

Here's a little birthday video for your pleasure - You're welcome!

T-W-E-N-T-Y! 20!?

Yes, you read that right, on September 5th, my oldest turned 20 year old. 

I'm not going to lie. It seems surreal to have a 20 year old, but I'm so glad that I do.

I love this guy (or do I have to call him a man now???). He's super smart, he has the biggest heart, and he has a pretty sweet stache!

20 candles may not be enough to have the fire department on speed dial, but apparently they can be a bit challenging to blow out.

You can watch the video HERE (https://youtu.be/qBgF3gUsOKI)

Seventeen

Last Sunday, we celebrated #3's seventeenth birthday.

I sure love this kid. He's so easy-going, a hard worker, and he's always willing to help out.

#4's Birthday #14

 Gosh I love this kid!  I'm so glad to be his mama.

Monday we celebrated his 14th birthday!

 We celebrated in our typical way with a birthday dinner followed by cake and presents.
(More about our Family's Birthday Traditions HERE)

He chose Turkey and Stuffing Rollups for his dinner of choice, and BTS cake for his birthday cake.

This cake has become the unofficial/official birthday cake of the Collins' Family.

#2 was in charge of wrapping presents this year.  She did an awesome job wrapping this hockey stick.

She also got creative and wrapped a clue that send #4 on a scavenger hunt for his "BIG" gift.

It took him quite a while to find his gift which he wasn't very excited about, but we were sure entertained!

Look at that smile!  It's contagious. You can't help but smile too.

The BIG 1-4!

This baby-loving guy is celebrating his 14th birthday today.

Here he is 9 years ago holding baby #5.

Here he is today (well yesterday) holding his baby cousin with #5.

Besides being a baby whisperer, he loves to try new things. He always tries to do what is right. He seldom gets mad, and has a really easy-going manner that helps to keep the peace in our home.  He is super funny, and he loves to tease (it's how he says I loves you). We are so blessed to have him in our lives. 

Birthday Numero 9

 Yesterday we celebrated #5's 9th birthday!

 
As part of her birthday she wanted the whole family to go to Olive Garden.

SO we loaded up her gifts, her cake, and the whole family and took them to the Restaurant.

We don't go out to eat very often so she was on cloud 9 (plus I think her birthday had something to do with it too.) 

She was most excited to have the staff sing to her which is the opposite of me. I'd rather walk through fire than have the whole restaurnat looking at me while people sing "happy birthday" to me.