Birthday Celebrations

June is a busy birthday month around here, as Lillian turned 8 on the 11th and Gabriel turned 5 on the 24th. Lillian had a great birthday on our vacation and enjoys being 8 very much.

Five is one of those birthdays that seems a huge milestone to me. It's the difference between being a little guy and a big guy. It's the difference between being a preschooler and a kindergartener. It's a big deal. Gabriel wanted only 2 things for his birthday and he's been talking about them for months. He wanted a Bible of his very own and he wanted a bow and arrow.
And that's just what he got! He's very excited because he's learning to read right now, and he's eager to read his very own Bible. He also loves shooting anything and everything with his new bow. I guess you can say he is well-armed, physically and spiritually.

As is the tradition in our family, Gustav takes the day off of work and we engage in some family fun. Lillian and Gabriel both wanted to try out Universal Studios, so we spent the day there. We had a great time (although it's no Disneyland!) and were thrilled that the heat wave broke just in time. It was only 80, as opposed to the 110 degree weather we had been having!

The hit ride of the day was most definitely the Jurassic Park ride. Gabriel went on it FIVE TIMES! It was all well and good but you get very wet. Very, very wet. And well, I guess that's how you know you've gotten older...when getting very, very wet on a ride is no longer enjoyable. But I was happy to get repeatedly drenched for my big five year old. Here's a picture of Gustav and the kids the first time through:

Speaking of getting wet, Kurt had a blast in the Curious George little kids play area. Here he is in the fountains. I actually have a video that I will share that is completely hysterical. Of course, seeing as his favorite pastimes at home are emptying the dog's water, splashing in the toilet, and spraying himself with any squirt bottle he can find, regardless of its contents, I should not have been surprised that he enjoyed splashing in the fountains so very much!

For those of you praying for my dad, he has a new pacemaker and is resting at home after being released from the hospital. We are sad that my parents had to cancel their trip out (they were scheduled to come today) but we are so thankful to the Great Physician for his healing hand!

I will put up that video of Kurt as well as pictures of our newest addition...our kitten, Sushi, very soon!