Our Saturday - Monster Post with TONS of photos!!!

This is Tara's wonderful grandma Fuller. We all threw her a 90th birthday party this past Saturday. It was a wonderful fun filled day - which you will now get the photo commentary of... :)

Tara's mom Marsha, Fuller, and aunt Rhonda

Niece Macy excited about all the yummy cake.

Sister Bobbie Jo getting the punch out and ready.

Tara (who started the day off by making all the cakes) with niece Macy getting ready to serve cake and nephew Grant a bit impatient for a slice of his own.

Grant finally got his slice!!!

Step - dad Kevin taking pictures of the event.

Grandma Fuller with adoring youngest graddaughter Michelle.

And to entertain the kids, turtles were found in the courtyard of the retirement village.

The kids had a ball with these poor unsuspecting turtles. It became an afternoon of 'turtle games'. Who could stack the most turtles vertically, turtle races, which snacks would the turtles eat (yes they ate nuts as well as pillow mints), tossing mints at turtles and seeing who could get theirs closest at the end (you know, moving target). So, you get the idea...

"Turtle fighting" - totally fascinating to see who's turtle would stay in the sand the longest. Here are nephews Brendan, Trevor, Grant and niece Macy with Tara's cousins looking on.

Here is nephew Grant being a big man standing on the wood like the older kids did - big stuff - with the help of cousin(-in-law) Nicole


Here is Macy- after the party at Fuller's house. She was changing out of her party dress and didn't want the two or three of us in the house to see her, so she got behind the curtain in the picture window to change, not caring that everyone outside could see her...

Bobbie Jo (tara's sister) outside before dinner playing with Trevor, Macy,and Grant on the swingset, which our dog Mickey looking on.

In the kitchen, getting dinner ready, Uncle Dave, aunt Rhonda, and Grandma Fuller all laughing about Dave's shoes (I think his granddaughter gave them to him or something like that)

Here's a close up for you to enjoy!

After dinner, to entertain ourselves, someone decided to come up with an obsticle course. It started out as the younger generations, but we soon got the older involved. Here is Dan starting. It starts out by climbing the tire, swinging off with the rope, as shown below...

Dan

Kevin

Uncle Dave

Grant wanted his chance to try...

Then over to the monkey bars as shown here...and you had to shimmy across one level (depending on which 'class' you were in)

Nicole (class 3)

Rhonda (class 2)

Dan (class 3 and 4 - Class 1 was the lowest bar with only Macy and Grant, Class 2 is the next up and so on and so forth - higher number is harder bar)

Then over to the other side of the yard to the swingset, where you had to use the rope to get from one rock to the other. This is the only picture we got - when cousin Jenette helped Grant do his round.

Then over to the clothes line where you spin three times around one end, then run to the other end and spin another three times. From there you ran to the fence at the end of the yard. Here is Bobbie Jo spinning.

and Trevor (cousin Shannon is timing)

And after running to the fence (behind Kevin and down the side of the house to the front part) you ran and hopped over one flower bed, back over another, and then over another to make it all the way back to the tire to end it all. Here are some spectators/competetors - Fuller, aunt Rhonda, mom (marsha), and friend Ronda with Mickey.

Michelle and Grant playing in the yard, Nicole walking by.

Michelle - isn't she beautiful...

Grant needed a 'drink' of water after all was said and done (actually playing with water - his hand is int he cup)

Then, later that evening - not pictured here - we had the guys come to my house and move our piano out of the basement and into a truck to haul it over to my sister's house.

After the piano wa smoved, the cousins and Aunt Rhonda came over to play some games.

Here is Michelle, Chris, and Jenette.

And, here is Nicole, Shannon, and Aunt Rhonda.

They all came over and we had a great time. here we are playing two different 4 player games. Rhonda left about 10:30ish. The rest stayed until about 2:30 A.M. It was late and we were all exhausted, but it was a wonderful day.

Sunday, after church, we had family lunch at Rhonda's where the final results from the relay races were posted. Yes, they were all timed and everyone was given three runs (if they wanted to use them) with their fastest time being used. It was a wonderful weekend. I just love hanging out with the family!!

ON THE ADOPTION FRONT: I am still frustrated, but trying to enjoy myself and remind myself that which I already know - we have a wonderful loving God who is in control of all and has our best intrests in mind. My wonderful husband has been a huge comfort this evening for me. He is wonderful and I love him with all that I am! T