Christmas with the Stovers

 Merry CHRISTmas!  Today, we celebrated with my side of the family.  Katie and Sai drove up from Charlotte to spend some time with us.  We missed Andy (currently deployed to Qatar), but it was still a fun time together.

 Family Photo

 Jacob loves this book

 Mr. Sai plays with Emmaline's new puppets 

 Bangles from India (Ellie likes to call them "shingles")

 Fraggles

 Little House on the Prairie books 

Who doesn't need more Legos?!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Birthday Lunch at Red Robin

For Jacob's actual birthday, we went to the mall to spend some of the gift cards he got and then we ate lunch at Red Robin. He loves to eat there, but his one stipulation was that they NOT sing to him for his birthday. He did, however, want the sundae.

My Boys

Em playing Aunt Katie's ipod touch

Me, Katie, and Mom

Andy and Alora

Ellie trying to escape from Uncle Andy's hug

Yay! A sundae and no singing!

Andy didn't mind the singing though!

I was really impressed with Red Robin today. Once they found out that Andy was deploying tonight and would miss out on their Veteran's Day special on Friday, they gave him his meal for free. It was a nice gesture to show they appreciated his service to our country!

Andy Turns 26 (a few days early)!

My brother, Andy, turns 26 on Saturday, but since he deploys to Qatar tomorrow and won't be here for his actual birthday, we celebrated tonight at my parents' house. Mom made the family favorite, chicken pot pie, and then Andy's favorite cheesecake for dessert. Present time was fun, as well. We finished the evening off by watching episodes of Psych, one of our favorite t.v. shows.

Katie decorated for the party with monkey stuff, which has to do with Andy's nickname

The Kids Table: Emmaline, Jacob, Colton, and Ellie

Ellie and Papaw

Yay!

Monkey Cheesecake

Happy Birthday, Uncle Andy!

Jacob's 9th Birthday Party - Part Deux

The partying continued in the evening with our family party. We ate pizza, veggies, taco dip, and other yummy stuff. Then Jacob opened lots of presents. He is totally obsessed with camouflage and all things war-related, so many of the gifts revolved around that theme. After that, we ate cake and ice cream and then played with the toys Jacob got. It was a fun time celebrating Jacob Clarence. I still can't believe he is 9 years old!

A present for Jacob, Ellie, and Emmaline

The Green Machine

Emmaline enjoying her cake and ice cream

Jacob and Daddy

Me and my sweet boy...where did 9 years go?

Jacob's 9th Birthday Party - Part 1

At the beginning of the year, Nathan and some friends opened an Indonesian martial arts school. He teaches there two nights a week and Jacob and Ellie get to train there for free. It is definitely a win/win situation for our family because Nathan gets to do something he loves while the kids can get rid of some of their extra energy.

When we asked Jacob what he wanted to do for his birthday party, his immediate response was to have a party at Aegis. The school had never done anything like this before, but they were willing to give it a go. Nathan and Kim did an excellent job instructing the kids during the party. We could tell that everyone had a great time and they probably will sleep really well tonight.

During the party, the kids did an obstacle course, learned some martial arts moves, and played "roller ball tag".

I love this picture...you can almost hear his laughter!

It's not a party without food. We had veggies, cheeseballs, Gatorade, and of course, cupcakes and ice cream.

Time for presents

Sai turns 30!

Today, Katie's boyfriend, Sai, turned 30! He lives in North Carolina, but flew up to spend Thanksgiving with her. After she picked him up at the airport, she brought him back to Mom and Dad's house for a surprise party. He went to college in Massachusetts, so he is a big Boston Celtics fan. Katie ran with that theme which was evidenced in the mints, cake, posters, and balloons. We had a fun time celebrating a really great guy!

Emmaline gives Sai a birthday hug

He had never played "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" before (apparently, it's not popular in India...who knew?!), so guess what we did for a party game?!

Another Andy, Another Birthday

This time it is my nephew, Andy, and he turned 17 today. He is quite the soccer star, so of course the party was soccer-themed. We ate the best grilled pork chops and cheesy potatoes before the cake and presents. Andy has to be one of the most appreciative kids that I know. He was so polite, thanking each person after he opened their gift to him and then giving them a big hug. As an added bonus, my sister from California, Angel, was in town, so we got to visit with her during the party.

2 Thumbs-up for his soccer cupcakes

As you can tell by this sweet face, they were good!

Andy turns 25!

November is a busy month for birthdays in our family. Tonight we celebrated my little brother, Andy, who turned 25. We dined on Joe's Pizza and then ate his traditional birthday cheesecake made by Mom.

My sister, Dee, brought a fun game that we tried out tonight called "Find It". It is supposed to be for my nephew, Colton, but the adults monopolized the game trying to find all the hidden objects. Whoever invented this is a genius because it is fun, self-contained, and will occupy kids for a long time as they try to finish the list. I will definitely be looking for these for Jacob and Ellie for Christmas this year.

Ah, the long-awaited season 4 of Psych, the funniest show on tv

The Birthday Boy and his cheesecake

The kids didn't want cheesecake (crazy, I know!), so they opted for ice cream sundaes instead.

Emmaline loved hers!