Lots of Birthdays

September is a busy month for birthdays in our families. My mom’s birthday is on the 22nd, then my dad’s and Ben’s dad’s birthdays are both on the 25th. I love that they share the same birthday, nine years apart. Here are some pictures from our family get together after church last Sunday.

First – a bunch of Ben’s mom teaching Eli some basics on the piano. A few days after this, I heard Eli telling Charlie in there by the piano, “This is Middle C, Charlie!” It was really cute.

My Gram was watching me take pictures and thought I should come around to the other side to get a better angle. So I obliged.

Here's a video of Eli singing "Popcorn Popping" with some of the group -

Popcorn Popping with Seversons and Stuarts from Sarah on Vimeo.

Later, all of us hanging out in there with the kids being wild and jumping around.

After dinner, we had a cake with LOTS of candles for all of the birthday people to share -

“Happy Birthday to Grandma, Bumpa, New Papa…” (Eli calls his California grandparents New Grandma and Papa, which is funny since that’s what our 12-year-old niece used to call them when she was little).

My mom had baked this very complicated Martha Stewart chocolate cake recipe from the October 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living. It took her HOURS and in the end, we decided it was a delicious cake, but not worth all of that extra effort. Her regular chocolate cake recipe is great. My Gram made a raisin cream pie and put candles on there, which Eli had fun blowing out just for the heck of it.

Speaking of Gram, everything looks good with her health. She completed chemotherapy and radiation a few months ago and has gone back to her various doctors for checkups, and it looks like her salivary gland cancer is gone. She still doesn’t have her taste buds fully back and she is often pretty worn out, but I think Gram is amazing for everything she went through. She’s one tough 85-year-old.

The fancy chocolate cake :)

After lots of good food, some of us went on a short walk to throw rocks over the bridge. We walked through the golf course to get to the specific bridge that we like.

Eli got that Northwestern hat for free at the football game they attended the day before, so he was very into wearing this hat everywhere. I think he looked pretty funny with his hat tilted to the side. That was not our doing…

Cheryl, Davey, Larry, David -

Throwing rocks through the holes on the bridge -

Gangsta Eli -

I’m excited for the fall colors to appear soon on these trees!

Charlie and Larry -

Little boys and big sticks just seem to go together. Eli seems to always find sticks to carry home.

After we returned home from our walk, Ben’s parents left for their six-day road trip to Nauvoo, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minneapolis, then back home. They traveled 2,500 miles on that trip and followed the Mormon Trail for part of it.

Back at the house though, my family hung out for a little while longer before heading up north to their homes. Here’s my dad reading Cinderella to the boys (such a manly book, I know, but Eli loves it because he loves any kind of book).

Charlie had his blankie, so in popped his thumb…

Gram was working with Eli on this puzzle a little earlier -

Davey and my mom -

After Cinderella was over, Charlie looked at the pictures of Gus, while my dad read parts of “A Fortune Teller’s Guide to Names.” So funny that we have that book! I think my Gram gave it to us when we were pregnant with Charlie.

And here’s Eli being a wild man and climbing over the back of the couch. Which drives me crazy, but I hate these couches, so I secretly hope they will be mangled in a few years so we can replace them someday :)