Happy Birthday Austin!

Austin's birthday is this Saturday, so we decided to celebrate early by having a small family get together in Michigan with Austin's parents, sister and grandparents. We don't usually get together for birthdays but this one was a little special...or at least the present was.

Austin's mom made dinner and dessert at his request: Swiss chicken casserole, and pound cake. It was yummy! Here is a picture of the "birthday" cake.

Austin's grandparents came to the rescue with the perfect gift. We were in desperate need of a longer extension cord to reach the boat for sweeping, and they got a 150 foot one for Austin's birthday, complete with a reel. Hadley helped daddy open his present. She was fascinated with the bow on top!

The partygoers:

Austin got half of his winter ski pass from Shelby for his birthday. He's excited to hit the slopes again this year and spend some time with his little sister!

Is the suspense still there? Are you still wondering what the special birthday gift is? Does this picture provide a clue?

The special present is Rose-Hulman cornhole boards! Austin has been wanting Rose-Hulman cornhole boards for quite a while, so I bought some in June and then had to get a little sneaky in order to get them to his mom for her to paint. Whew, it was a bit of a challenge but we got it done, and they look AWESOME!!!

Austin loved the boards, and it was a great joint birthday present for me to give with his parents. I definitely could not have painted these boards like Kim. She's so talented, and I'm very lucky to have that talent in a mother-in-law!

...and some pictures of my little goofball horsing around with Grandpa and Aunt Shelby!