JANUARY 7th...Hailey - 13
JANUARY 8th...Ashlyn - 6
JANUARY 9th...Riley - 14
JANUARY 10th...Ty - 34
Every January we struggle and stress over birthday gifts. It is especially difficult right after Christmas. What can we give to those who have everything? How can we make things even? How can we give without breaking the bank? We wonder if there is one thing that we could give for each family member, sort of a 'one size fits all' type of gift. Sister-in-law, Susan, suggested we provide the birthday cake for the birthday person. We decided to give that a try. We started off taking Hailey and Riley to Sam's Club to pick out cakes. The out-of-towners got money in a card for a cake. Not original, but it is the thought that counts.
Here is the newest teenager in the family! On Saturday Hailey had a party with some of her friends. First they went ice skating at Central Park. Then had a scavenger hunt at Cache Valley Mall. Jill and Brandon had previously gone to the mall where they took 35 pictures of random things. They printed off the sheet and gave a copy to each person along with a digital camera for each team. The participants had to hunt all over the mall to find where each picture was taken. Then they had to capture the same thing on camera to prove they found it. They had a blast. 
Riley picked out a marble cake with buttercream filling and chocolate frosting. I told him I had considered taking some of the older grandkids to Angie's Restaurant to celebrate their birthdays so they could earn bragging rights to a bumper sticker that says, "I cleaned the sink at Angies." The 'sink' is a real sink filled with a huge ice cream sundae. It is usually shared by 4-6 people. He thought it was a great idea so he chose to go there to celebrate that afternoon with his family. That evening Kim and Bryan took Riley and one of his friends to a 'Monster Truck Jam' in Salt Lake. (What some rednecks!) Since Ashley was at Hailey's party and the others in SLC., we took Jayse and Brynlee to McDonald's to eat and play. Jayse could spend all night gaming on our PS3.ASHLYN
A birthday party to celebrate Ashlyn's 6th birthday was also held on Saturday at her home in American Fork. Ashlyn kept inviting people on her own so they ended up with 25 little kids! The main attraction was having a woman come share some animals with the children. These are the critters at 'Ashlyn's Animal Party': boa constrictor, tarantula, a bird similar to a toucan, hedge hog, chameleon, toad and rabbit. Cake and ice cream were served, presents were opened and the kids made some crafts to take home. Ashlyn received enough lipstick to last her a lifetime, but she has already opened every one of them. For Ashlyn's birthday dinner she chose to go to 'Chuck-A-Rama.' Grandpa Fred and Grandma Cassie had come up from Phoenix to join the festivities.
TY
For pictures and information on Ty's birthday, check out the Hawkin's Family Blog. Jodi had some live lobsters shipped from Maine along with some Maine blueberries. Friends took care of the kids and Jodi surprised Ty with a really neat, gourmet dinner at home. It looked good and a lot of fun.
ODDS 'N' ENDS
We were surprised to see that Brynlee's long hair had been cut. The new hairdo was cute but this picture doesn't do it justice as she was still in her pj's and hadn't had her hair done for the day. (You've got to see the back and side profile) Brynlee's hair will be sent to 'Locks of Love.'
The 2nd Monday of the month is always busy as that is the day for DUP meetings and Empty Nester's Family Home Evening. I was asked to host the DUP meeting at my house, as the one who was assigned was going out of town. For the light luncheon I served homemade clam chowder, homemade shredded sweet pork sandwiches, pickles, olives and carrot sticks and homemade mini cherry cheesecakes for dessert...kind of a weird menu, but they tasted okay. At FHE we had a variety of cheeses and crackers, salami and grapes. One cheese we really liked was called 'grilling cheese' and was fried on the stove. We'd never seen or tasted it before. It came from Idaho Falls.
Andrew had one test yesterday and another one today. He has a doctor's appointment on Friday to review the tests with him. It is expected that a surgery date will be set at that time. We are hopeful that the chemo and radiation have worked their magic!
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