Brinley Turns Two!

Sunday was a rare day - one where friends who don't ever seem to get together all wound up at the same place at the same time.  Apparently all it takes is for one of their kids to have a birthday!

Brinley, basically our "adopted" granddaughter (she and her cousin Elizabeth are likely to be the ONLY grandDAUGHTERS we will have!) turned two this week and though she lives in Colorado, she (and her parents) were able to come "home" to Washington to celebrate.

Lucky for her I just happen to know the best cake decorator in the world - JENNY!  Which was also good for us since that meant a quick visit at gma and gpa's before heading over to the Churchills for the party.  Since the weather was so nice the boys got to take the Mustang out for a little drive in the sunshine.  Jax (now 3) has certainly improved since last year - he can actually steer!  And go in reverse!  (These are HUGE improvements over last year and make all of us adults watching far less nervous when he takes Shay along for a ride!!!)

Our window of opportunity for visiting here was short this weekend - only long enough to have Cathy & Dan  (Gerry's sister and brother-in-law) drop by to pick out some of our "former" kitchen cabinets.  (We've got to get the garage cleared out so that the new appliances can be delivered!)

There were TEN GU ALUMS!  I think we achieved "quorum"
 for an  official alumni meeting!

Then it was time to get over to the party.  The majority of adults in attendance were either Gonzaga grads or had financed said grads so the party started with a bit of commiseration (the Bulldogs had lost the night before) but with FIVE kids three and under (Jax was the old man of the gang!) things picked up speed in a hurry!  It was a lot like "parent orientation" day at a preschool!  

Youngest boy: Thatcher (on the right) is 6 MONTHS younger
than Shay (on the left!)

Not so much...

Having a good time...

Brinley & Jax in love...again!

Finally, after what must have seemed like an eternity to Brinley, it was time for CAKE!  Jenny really outdid herself once again - this was an adorable polka-dotted cake with the cutest elephant and a purple "zebra" design inside.  It was AMAZING!

After cake there were a few presents to open and with Jax supervising, Brinley got thru them fairly quickly and had just about 10 minutes left for some additional playtime before everyone had to hit the road.  The kids were sad but perked up a bit when they learned that we would be getting together again on Wednesday to visit the Children's Museum of Tacoma!

~later, tw