Sammy's 4th birthday party

We had Sammy's 4th birthday party today, despite a few hiccups. We had planned to have it at the dropzone as we usually do, but the weather was not ideal. We decided not to make our family drive that far for a rainy party. Then we found that many of the nearby park pavilions were booked. We found one that was not available...yet available. There was a sign on it saying it was booked, but nobody was there. So we held a paranoid fourth birthday party for our Sammy! Wooo, livin' on the edge!

Dan and Elijah ventured out to pick up Sammy's cake and balloons this morning. Sammy and I were preparing food and we missed Dan's call: "Uhhh, the hood just flew off the car, so it'll take us a bit longer to get home." Uhhm, WHAT?! The hood flew off the car? WHAT?! It took me five minutes to comprehend this. We have no idea how this happened. Whatever the cause, my sweet Big Red's hood laid in a ditch off the interstate for most of the day. After Sammy's party, Dan retrieved it. Classy, huh?! That's us...always full of unpredictability and strange/funny stories.

Sammy had a great party! He was given tons of love.

We have to work on his camera smile, though. :)

His bro has the camera smile down.

"Sammy, do a silly dance!"

This is my favorite photo from the day. These boys love each other!

Two months ago, Sammy requested a fire truck piñata for his birthday. Wish granted, sweet boy!

Sam and his cousin Miya had fun trying to shoot a Cow Gun into Dan's backside. :) "Do it, Sammy!" "Ok, I'm tryyyyying!"

I'm always so happy to capture photos of the boys and their cousins when we are all together. This one was the dud of the bunch, but somehow I love it!

Look at these adorable faces!

Sammy with his awesome Grandma and Grandpa!

The birthday boy with Mommy and Daddy!

Sammy has been so excited to tell everyone lately how "speedy" he is. He proved it to us all today!

With a non-functional car, Elijah's last week of school, Sam's birthday on Wednesday and preparing for a big road trip on Friday...I'm feeling super stressed. The only way I can get any sleep tonight is through prayer! We always get things done, and I have to keep that in mind. I asked Dan on our way home from Sammy's party tonight, "Is every family as crazy as ours?!" Without skipping a beat he said, "Absolutely not. But we have much more adventure than most!" I considered this for a minute and was suddenly satisfied. I remember going to that same lifeless place every day back when I worked at THAT place and being so depleted of life. Some days/weeks/months seem so insane for our family, but I prefer adventure over the alternative. We are a very blessed family!

Pray for my car and its hood, please! :) I hope you all have a great start to your week and thank you so much for peeking in.