Brendan's 6th Birthday

We celebrated Brendan's sixth birthday several times this year.  We had supper with Grandma and Grandpa (Brad's parents) before we headed to the cities (complete with several rounds of Brad accidentally breaking Brendan's new toy, some hysterical crying (Brendan, not Brad!) and Brad fixing it, only to repeat the process about ten minutes later!)  We celebrated Brendan's actual birthday day with my family in the cities with a race car-themed birthday and supper courtesy of Taco Bell (hmmmm...Taco Bell beat out mom's cooking...food for thought!) Earlier in the day, Brad and the kids came with me to radiation to see what it was like, followed by an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen and some playtime at the park. The next evening Brendan, Megan, Brad and I headed to Target Field to further celebrate by taking in a Twins game together.  It was pretty much the perfect evening, complete with a leaping baseball catch by Brad (more about that below.)  Brendan also was able to celebrate with Jill, Chuck and the kids in Madison before we settled in the cities for the summer, and with Jason, Tami and the kids when they came to visit and babysit the kids during radiation the following week.  Five times to celebrate turning six?  It definitely equals one happy six-year-old!

Celebrating Brendan's birthday at home with Grandma and Grandpa.

Brendan, blowing out his candles with Grandma and Grandpa.

Brendan has been asking for a headlamp since they got one for Brad at Christmas.  He was one happy cookie to get one for his birthday!  He and Megan hid in the closets at my grandparents house, testing it out.

 

I made a race car cake for Brendan, complete with "dirt"racetrack, mini race cars, and a six made out of construction cones.

Brendan, blowing out his candles while celebrating with my family.

Presents!

Brad, holding Alexa.

Me, getting a chance to snuggle with Alexa.

At a Twins game with two of our three kiddos.  It was a perfect evening...warm, but not hot, sun set enough to be able to see perfectly, really good seats, and the kids were in great moods.

Megan and I.  Brad and I hadn't been too sure about how she would be at the game, but she was wonderful.  Megan wasn't that interested in the game, but she people-watched, had a couple treats (french fries and ice cream for the girls!), and read some books when she got bored.  We had a great time!

Brad and Brendan (we call them "two peas in a pod.")  They sat glued to the game the whole time, although they took some time to enjoy treats too (nachos and ice cream for the boys!)

Meggers, with her (cleaned out) ice cream Twins helmet.

Brendan, showing off the Twins baseball he got from the gift stand.

Brad and I with the kiddos, after the game.

Right after this photo, Brad and Brendan were waving at the players as they left the field and one tossed a ball from the bullpen at Brendan.  The ball was thrown high and hard, and Brad had to do a backward flying leap in the air, over the first row of seats, to catch it.  His hat and sunglasses flew off, one of his shoes flew up into the air, and he landed flat on his back in the aisle behind the first row of seats.  There was a collective gasp from the people around us, and when Brad popped up, ball in hand (and a large scrape on his elbow to boot!) he received a round of applause...and a hug from a very happy Brendan.