Ryan starts it off with a very cool 4th of July birthday. Sadly, we haven't spent his birthday with him since he left for the Army--so no photos of him.
Taylor is next and this year he turned 19. Jillian made him a cake based on one of his favorite beverages...Monster.
"Sitting in front of my candles while Mom insists on taking pictures....urgh."
Please give your grandparents a smile...
That very same day, Jake had an epic event at the YMCA pool. He passed the swim test! Woohoo! We all knew he could have passed it last year, but he was sure he could not. Several of the life guards remembered him from last season and knew he could do it. They tried to coax him and assure him that he could pass--all to no avail. He was petrified of jumping into the deep end. Finally, I showed him that I could touch the ground on one side of the rope (shallow end) as well as the other side which was still only 5 feet deep. We also had him practice treading water for 60 seconds, which was required for passing the test. I don't know if that is what did it, but the next day he announced that he was going to take the test. He marched into the pool area and confidently jumped in. Shortly afterwards, he was proudly sporting the green wrist band that gives him access to the entire pool. Yay! Since Mommy had uh...forgotten to take Taylor's original cake out of the oven on time, Jake got a cake, too.
A week later it was Jake's birthday and he wanted a turtle cake. Jillian had a picture of a turtle design that was actually made from cupcakes. So cute!
"Thanks, Jillian. I love my cake!"
Happy Birthday Ryan, Taylor and Jake!! We love you!
