Happy Birthday, Bro!

Well, we did our best to surprise my brother, Jeff, for his 40th birthday but we should have known better.  There's no pulling anything over on this guy!  But, the party was awesome even without the shock and awe we were hoping for.  April had reserved a party room at a Branson hotel that had an indoor pool and hot tub for all of us to enjoy.  It's been such a long time since Nicholas had gotten to do any swimming and he was definitely ready to get back in the water.....even if it was brutally cold.  Indoor pool - you'd think warm and comfortable - yeah, not so much.  After about 30 minutes of swimming, Nicholas had purple lips and his teeth were chattering non-stop.  It's crazy what kids will subject themselves to all in the name of fun.  But it was nothing that a little time in a "hot bath" (hot tub) couldn't fix.  On Saturday, Jake, Alli, and Kami all had basketball games so the whole family went out to watch and cheer them on.  I can still hear Nicholas chanting "GO ALLI!  GO ALLI!" and "DEFENSE" from the sidelines.  All that Thunder practice sure paid off.   Each of them won their games and I was so proud to watch them show off their skills on the court.  It was a great Hawkins weekend!

 Feigning surprise for our benefit:

 Gaming on Kami's pink Nintendo DS. 

 In the words of Lady Gaga, "Put your paws up, baby."