Happy 60th Birthday Papa Wade

Last weekend we got to travel to St. Louis to celebrate Papa Wade's 60th birthday (insert exclamation point here... yes, it's still broken). We flew in on Friday and had dinner with my folks... thanks again mom for the delicious corned beef & cabbage. I think my mouth is still watering.

Saturday morning we woke up gradually (Owen only slept 40 minutes the day before so we let him snooze in). We packed the car and headed over to Papa Wade's house for the big birthday reveal. He didn't know we were coming in, and he also didn't know that Gaga Wade had a big birthday party planned for that night. It was great to have an entire day of celebration =)

Here's Owen having his morning milk and a nice snuggle with Papa Wade. I get a kick out of this picture. Owen is in his fleece jammies (I feel like I need to justify myself, but you all know that it's still in the low 40s in Seattle). Meanwhile, Papa is appropriately dressed for the 80 degree weather.

We soon stripped him down and let him enjoy the warm breeze of spring.... if you only get 3 days of spring, you should live it up right?

I think he had a blast playing on the porch. He kept walking to the porch door, standing on his tip toes, and trying to get out.

So the weather was gorgeous and the party was delightful. Gaga Wade invited about 30 people to feast and dine on amazing BBQ pork smoked by Uncle Bill & Aunt Bev Kinney (Gaga Wade's brother & sister-in-law). The food really was melt in your mouth.... I think Mike and I need to spend some time in Springfield to learn how to make some BBQ. We topped dinner off with this delicious and enormous cake from a place called 'Whipped Cream'.

I am ashamed at the lack of pictures I took at the party (and of the whole weekend for that matter), but here is a shot of the usual suspects: representatives from the Schusters, Borgmeyers, Wades, and Mulfords. We travel in a pack. Missing: the Coopers. They were at a wedding.

Look at this big and beautiful Baby Ava =) (And her gorgeous mama, too).

Growing up in Seattle, Owen is typically very offended by the sun. He pouts and shades his eyes when we walk on a sunny day. So, I thought I would get some sun glasses for our trip. I promise these are the appropriate size for his age, but his small (8th %tile) head makes them look like a part of a California Raisin costume.... does any one else remember the California Raisins??

We love every ounce of time we can spend with our family in St. Louis, and it is always SO SO hard to leave (especially anticipating 5ish hours of travel with a 15 month old).

However, we hope we'll not have to fly with Owen any more until he is much older because we are MOVING TO ST. LOUIS. We're ecstatic, thrilled, nervous, amazed, overwhelmed, etc...but mostly SO EXCITED. This has been in the works since about Valentine's Day. Mike received a call from the manager of his former group at Boeing St. Louis. He needed a great engineer, and he had Mike in mind. Mike still had to traverse the appropriate channels of big company hiring (job req, application, scary interview, etc), but he prepared well, worked hard and got himself a great job offer on Thursday. After lots and lots and lots of prayers and lots and lots and lots of discussions, Mike decided this is his next step in God's plan, and he gladly accepted the offer on Friday. We'll find out timing, start dates, etc next week, and at some point we'll get the ball rolling on how-to-get-out-of-this-crappy-real estate-investment we have. I asked Mike if we could please not tackle that last piece this weekend. My anxiety barometer is on overdrive, and it needs a little rest.

I've been desiring to write those words for a long time, and it feels very surreal. But we're already dreaming of a humid summer, Cardinal baseball, Fritz's ice cream, and the indescribable JOY that will accompany Owen being able to grow up knowing his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Praise the Lord (exclamation point).

Signing off with love and exhaustion, Heather