Birthday Bash (46)

Forty Six

Tim and Ada share a birthday and we often end up celebrating together.  This year the celebrating was done a Lagoon.  I'm pretty sure that isn't exactly what Tim would have chosen for the day's adventures.  However, he was really sweet and agreed to it because he knew that Ada wanted to go. It was also the last day that Sean, Josh and Tad would be in Utah so there were plenty of reasons to spend some time together.  Jarin brought a cake with candles so the first official birthday celebration was official and complete. Of course, we still had a few more chances to celebrate our favorite guy.

Shortly after everyone arrived, my parents said that they would take all the little kids so that the big kids and Adults could go on some rides alone.  Talk about amazing grandparents.  The ration was 6:2 which could have been rough, but they all had a fabulous time, in fact we finally had to call and track them down because they had completely lost track of time.  After being at the park several times this year and never making it out of kiddie land,  Tim and I finally got to go on the biggest attractions which was fun.  We are lightweights though because after on a few rides, we were ready for a rest.

Canibal

It Was Awesome

Jet Star II...Not so awesome...It just hurt!

Somehow these helicopters never get boring for my little ones.

Taking care of sister

Still the baby whisperer

Plenty of fun in Pioneer Village

Capturing true love.

Relaxing...Someone has to watch all of the kids go on rides.

Watching Sean try to avoid the waterfall on Rattlesnake Rapids may have been the most entertaining part of the day.  The kids had all begged him to got on the ride with them and were so excited when he agreed.  I offered him a poncho (yes, you really do get that wet), but I don't think he wanted to shatter his image as "cool Uncle Sean".  Somehow he managed to avoid most of the water. 

Luke got put in jail for refusing to wear a shirt....ok maybe he was just drying off from the ride and the kids love to play in the jail, but my explanation sounded much more exciting.  

Brothers!

Ruby loved her "Top of the World" perch.

The giant ferris wheel never disappoints....unless the teenagers next to you are spitting on people below.  Tim's old Lagoon experience kicked in and he did what he could to make sure the problem was taken care of.  I'm sure the people below were relieved. 

We are so lucky that Gavin likes to hang with us.

Last chance hugs for Tad.  It may have taken the little kids awhile to warm up to him, but by the time he left they were definitely all the best of buddies.

My mom really is the best birthday fairy.  On Sunday after their birthday, my mom made both Tim and Ada's favorite meals...roast, potatoes and gravy for Tim and Mexican spaghetti for Ada.  Of course they each got to request their favorite for dessert as well.  Tim wanted peanut butter cookies with Hershey Kisses and I was a little nervous to make the cookies for a birthday without having ever tried the recipe.  But after reading a lot of different options, I picked one that turned out amazing. The kids were thrilled to help with the wishes and candles 

We had one last chance to celebrate Tim's birthday when we spent the afternoon with the Whitesides at Cherry Hill.  Despite the fact that Gayle brought balloons and birthday cakes, I somehow missed all of the possible chances to document the festivities.  In fact, the only real photos I took that afternoon were of the kids and Aunt Jan's dog Paxton.  It was a great day at Cherry Hill and hopefully this shot will continue to remind us of all the fun we had celebrating Tim's birthday this year.

Santaquin Cherry Days

During the first weekend in August, Santaquin city has their city celebrations - technically titled Orchard Days but still called Cherry Days by most.  We love the festivities and usually try to be there for some of the activities - the fact that cousins and family are always there makes it even more fun. This year it ended up being a Broadbent homecoming with Sean and Craig and their families in town. During the weekend there was a lot of food, fun, candy, and plenty of playtime with the cousins.

After spending Friday afternoon playing at my parents house, we all headed out for the Santaquin Rodeo.  It was the first time for Tim, Taylor and Brycen and I think they were surprised at how much fun it was.  The kids have been to rodeos before, but this was the first year that they were old enough to really watch what was going on and they were fascinated.  For days after they both told me that they were going to be a cowboy when they grew up - Luke said he would try to stay on the jumping horse, and Ruby plans to ride her horse really fast.  By the time the rodeo was over, we were all exhausted, but stayed to watch the fireworks before finally heading home for the night.

 

Watching these babies during the National Anthem was so sweet

They loved the rodeo queens

 

Ruby clearly thought Josh was hysterical

Glow sticks for the win 

After a very short sleep, we rolled out and headed back to Santaquin for the parade.  Of course a quick stop at Payson Market was required for parade donuts - not enough sugar in the candy and popsicles they hand out.

Ada gets a little embarrassed when we scream for her on the clogging float
But secretly I think she loves it! 

We were able to get a picture of Grandma and Grandpa with almost all of their grandkids,
Just missing Jessica and Erika 

This was the first time we have all been together for a long time,
I am definitely blessed to have all of these brothers

Our family has always loved to spend time in Santaquin Canyon - I think it started with my grandparents who loved nothing more than heading up the canyon for a "hamburger fry". Once my mom found out that all of the family would together, her top priority became to have a new family picture taken.  The canyon was the perfect location - and it was beautiful.  Jami had a tough job to coordinate a shoot a lot of small children and strong personalities but she is always amazing and I can't wait to see how the pictures turned out.  While we waited our turn, I was glad that Tim thought to take some extra pictures - I love how happy we all look - must be the mountain influence.

 

We all worked so hard to get across the river without getting wet,
Which was funny because everyone ended up with their shoes off,
Standing in the middle of the stream.

As a reward for being patient with pictures, we had a fantastic BBQ and picnic lunch.  We then sat around for hours and talked while the kids played in the river.  It was so fun to watch their boat races and other imagined adventures.  By the time we left they were tired and filthy which is how all canyon adventures should end.  Cousins and the canyon made for a pretty perfect day.