Happy Birthday!!!!

We have 4 birthdays in about a month- and then we have something of a hiatus until August. Eva(8) and Bekah(6) have birthdays just one week apart. The girls like to celebrate together. They have a theory that they get more presents that way! They share everything, so I don't know if it matters, much. Joe(17) and Jacob(14) have birthdays two weeks apart and they like their own celebration-no doubt about it- they get more food that way! Teenagers are funny about things like that!

Traditions.... as most of you already know, we have some unusaul traditions around here and these pictures illustrate a couple of them so well! Birthdays are a big deal for us- but just for family. No parties or anything like that. The birthday kids get to pick the menu for the day. And the type of cake they want. Then, I take them out for lunch at the restaurant of their choice. All that is pretty normal, I figure. But once the cake hits the table, things go awry. I am not at all sure how this started... but we sing "Happy Birthday" as loudly and as obnoxiously off-key as possible. The higher pitched the better! Now you know why no one outside of family is invited! As the children have gotten bigger the noise level has increased exponentially, and I'd just like to say that our windows and all other household glass is at risk of shattering! I think I was deaf for about an hour after that last one! And if you are wondering why the girls' cake is so covered with candles and Jacob's is so..not... well, I set out the proper amount of candles for the girls- 14- but before I knew it they had scarfed up the entire box of candles and I didn't have the heart to tell them to remove them from the cake and put them back! So I was out of candles when it came to Joe's birthday- he gladly settled for one votive candle, and I meant to get more, but forgot... so Jacob came up with the idea of the zippo... said he would save breath that way- not having to blow it out but just releasing the button. I thought that was a pretty good solution.