Gangsta' C!

Have I ever mentioned that I'm married to one of the coolest guys on the planet?  Seriously, he is always surprising me and awing me with his many talents. 

(Not too mention I swoon regularly over his extremely good looks.)

Last weekend was Clint's work Christmas party.  At this party, he surprised his employees and also me with a little performance.

He's a master lip-sync-er, and those moves!  - Who Knew?!

He blew me away, and by the look of pure delight, the cat-calls, and all the smiling faces, the crowd liked it too.

Here's just a little sample of what you missed.

(There may or may not be a video of this entire performance on YouTube.

*wink, Wink*

If you find it *ahem* it may be best that we don't mention it.  It may embarrass my extremely humble husband.)

Nineteen

Over the weekend we celebrated #1's birthday.  He turned nineteen years old, and I'm still in shock.

Where did my baby boy go?

I love celebrating birthdays.  I always try to spend the day focusing on that person, what I love about them, what they add to our family, and how I've become better by having them in my life.

 This guy has taught me a lot!  Being the first born, he has been the guinea pig.  He's helped me to learn how to be a good mother.  He's also taught me patience, the importance of having trust, and what it means to unconditionally love someone.  I am and always will be forever grateful God trusts me enough to be his mother. 

 We usually do birthday parties around dinner time but this year due to #1's work schedule we ended up partying over an early lunch.  We had his favorite dinner - pork chops, rice, and broccoli (except I ran out of broccoli and forgot to buy some at the store so we had peas).

For his cake, he requested the same thing he has for the last 4 years - a BTS Cake.

 There were practical gifts, edible gifts, and one big gift. . . .

 a computer monitor to go with the new PC he's been saving up for and just bought himself.

Happy Birthday #1.

Fourth of July Weekend-Friday

We had a great 4th of July.

We woke up early and went to the Grand Parade-

 a Collins' family tradition since 1998 (our first year in the valley).

(This guy really is happy, he's just putting on his "model" pouty face)

 The parade was pretty slow going this year.  So there was lots of time for picture taking.

Plus we waited forever for Clint to join us.  He was working on getting our car out of the ditch he accidentally parked the front tire in.  Don't worry, he was able to finagle it out and all was well. 

Uncle Russell (Clint's youngest brother) joined us later in the day to party it up.

 Of course there was a game of basketball - in flip-flops!!!  (The Collins have an unwritten rule that there must be at least one game of basketball played at all get-togethers.  NO EXCEPTIONS!)

Fireworks, 

Lots of silliness

 and homemade ice cream while watching fireworks go off throughout the valley.

Happy Birthday America.