Richard and Colette BIRTHDAY!

The birthday twins are at it again!

Richard 37

Colette 13

Still happy to share their special day with each other!

Their birthday was Sunday.

So we went to church, had cupcakes,

and hit the road for our big Tennesee trip!

(MORE ON THAT LATER)

Luckily, we celebrated the day before!

Richard's sister Michelle treated us to

FUJI Hibachi Grill!

Always a family favorite.

They cook it for me,

clean it up for me,

and even throw it straight into our mouths!

    

Top bun twins!

Colette is at that lovely 13 years-old

where Britta wants to be EXACTLY like her.

(Michelle Seal, remember that? I NEVER did that!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

On the actual day of their birthdays,

we left on a 3 week trip to

TENNESSEE!

(more to come on that one, really)

These two are such incredible people. 

Let's start with Colette.

She is absolutely the sweetest girl.

She STILL gives the best hugs.

Even though she is anxiously awaiting her "growth spurt,"

she has grown quite a lot this year.

She has developed her own sense of style.

She collects as many hoodies and tennis shoes as she can afford.

Which is pretty easy since she just came off her first

SUMMER JOB!

She did some babysitting for a family on our street.

The mom works from home and needed some help

with her little kids during the day.

Colette made more money than she's ever seen.

She was saving up for a drum set,

to become a drummer for Parker's jazz trio.

However, after seeing the price tags

and comparing it to how many shoes she could buy instead...

we are all grateful that the drum thing fell through.

Especially Grandma!

She can barely take the piano and saxophone all day.

But Parker's dreams of creating a jazz trio with his siblings

hasn't died yet...

he's still trying to convince her.

Colette is a very strong girl, 

and she continues to develop her muscles by rock climbing.

She goes once a week to a rock gym owned by a family friend.

She is trying to mark off how many miles she has climbed.

She does well in school.

She is quiet and calm.

Her teachers have nothing but praise for her kindness

to everyone she is around.

Always doing her best to avoid drama,

she is learning how to pick just the right kind of friends.

She has darling friends that love coming over

to watch movies

and eat cookies.

They are all so nice.

I haven't met anyone yet who doesn't like her.

She has a beautiful smile,

a smart mind,

and a tender heart.

Late at night, I can see a glow in her room that tells me

she is still in the middle of a great book.

Or during the day,

she enjoys lying out on the hammock reading as well.

 A girl after my own heart.

She can binge watch like a boss too.

On our trip to Tennesee,

she was so excited she could finally watch 

PG-13 movies,

she probably watched 6 a day!

She and Cora have a secret handshake 

and several other inside jokes.

Babysitting comes naturally to her,

because she loves making kids laugh.

She and Richard are quite the pair.

Always making each other laugh

because they have the same kind of humor.

Speaking of Richard...

Simply put,

he's the best person I've ever known.

It's hard to tell you what he means to me,

and the kids as a father and husband.

I can just say that when we go on vacation with him

on a work trip,

there are days when he can be with us

and days that he can't.

When he isn't around, the kids all say,

"It just isn't the same without Dad."

If you know Richard,

you just know that everything is better when he is around.

Especially his own birthday.

That would be weird without him around.

Happy Birthday my darling TWINS!