Oh my gosh – Sophie is 15!! I know – we can’t believe it either.
She kept it lowkey this year with a few friends sleeping over on Saturday and a family party on Sunday. We were happy to celebrate all things Sophie for the full weekend!
And the next weekend she got her last birthday present, which was getting her hair professionally dyed red. She’s been using box color for years and has very much wanted to make it permanent, so we finally did it and she loves it.
Happy Birthday sweet girl!
It’s official – Lauren is 12! Because her birthday falls between Christmas and New Year’s, when so many people are out of town, we typically do two birthday celebrations – one with the family on her actual birthday and one in January with all of her friends.
This year, Dave had planned to take her skiing, but the weather did not cooperate, so instead we just hung out locally and did all of her favorite things, which included a breakfast of giant chocolate chip pancakes at Hymies, going to Target, and eating chocolate cake 
Next up is her friend birthday celebration.
For Soph’s birthday this year we took her and a few friends to a restaurant called POD, which is on Penn’s campus in West Philly. It’s a restaurant that Dave and I frequented in college, then it closed for a bit, and now it’s back and has the same vibe. You can reserve a sort of private area called a pod, which is what we did for Soph and her friends. Dave, Lauren, my mom and I sat at a table far enough away so that we didn’t cramp their style, but we could still spy 
The next day we celebrated at home with a cake and family and her friend Jojo.
Well, it happened. Sophia is 13! We had a small family party for her on the big day, which was a Wednesday, and then she wanted to go to a Sixers game with her friends, so the following Saturday Dave took her and three friends to a game against the Celtics. The had a heartbreaking loss, but everyone had a good time anyway.
In November we all went down to St. Pete Florida to celebrate Dad’s 70th birthday. It was a nice warm break from the cold weather back home. We stayed in a resort right on the beach that had pools, a huge blowup slide on the beach, and activities for the kids like paddle boats and zip lines. It was a really nice, relaxing getaway and a fun celebration.
For Dad’s birthday dinner we went to a seafood restaurant that had a huge aquarium in the dining room.
I think Dad enjoyed the weekend having the whole family around and just chilling on the beach. Happy Birthday, dad! We love you!
My birthday was on a Friday this year and we spent it (big surprise) in Rock Hall. The kids had spent the previous week in Va. with my family and then drove up to spend the weekend with us.
On Friday night, Dave’s dad’s band, Unknown Legends, played at Waterman’s, so we all went there for dinner and to hear them. They’re pretty good and they even sang me happy birthday!
Afterward we went back to the house for some cake.
And we celebrated again the following night with the Townsends as well.
On March 2nd we celebrated Sophie’s 12th birthday! It was a Wednesday, so the Saturday before she had a slumber party with a few friends from school. We went out to Teppenyaki in our neighborhood, which was an idea that a lot of people had, because it was crazy crowded. We all smooshed around a table and were entertained and fed.
Then we headed back to our house where we set up an ice cream sundae bar and the kids watched movies in the livingroom – while Dave, Lauren, and I all watched Encanto in the basement.
I’m not sure what time they were all asleep, but I did need to come down at 2AM to tell them to be quite. There were some very tired kids in the morning.
On her actual birthday the Sharps came over for dinner and cake. She opened presents – a skateboard and fleece from the Sharps, crop hoodie and fluffy pillow cases from my parents, Lauren made her a wall clock, and we got her a VR set that she’s been asking for for ages.
There were a lot of things that happened in Sophie’s 11th year – she started middle school, she got braces, she joined the school theater group, she joined the Gender and Sexuality Alliance at school, she sang the national anthem at an Eagles game, she (just) started going to school without a mast required. We’re looking forward to all that will come in year 12!
On December 28th we celebrated Lauren’s 9th birthday! My family was still here, so we celebrated Lauren all day and then that night had a combined birthday celebration with Lauren and Ari, whose birthday is January 6th.
Lauren had an indoor climbing birthday at Philly Rock Gym. Since the party was on a Tuesday and between Christmas and New Years there were a lot of friends out of town. But even with a small crowd, Lauren had a great time.
That night the Sharps came over and we had pizza, chocolate cupcakes, and opened presents. Lauren’s favorite gift was moon bounce shoes from my mom.
Happy birthday to our sweet, funny, full of energy girl!
To celebrate her 96th birthday, Nana rented a beautiful waterfront house in Rock Hall (how convenient!) for the whole family. Between our house and the rented house we were able to have the whole group together. Some people were there for a whole week, and others just the weekend. We didn’t want to take the kids out of school (they’re far enough behind as it is), so we were part of the weekend crew.
It was a beautiful fall weekend and we spent a lot of it outside.
Lauren and Ari got a lot of time to play and love each other. The time together is never long enough for those two.
The great-grandkids also got in some good Gigi time.
We had a big Italian birthday dinner on Saturday night and I made an apple bourbon cake for dinner. It was a very happy and festive celebration!
We also got in some sailing. Dave captained two crews. On Saturday there was wind and they were able to do some sailing. Doug, Vicki, Carly, Chris, Julia, Maithili, Dad and Sophie went on that trip. And on Sunday there was little wind, but it was still beautiful, so Mom, Becky, Dan, Maithili, me and all the kids went. It was Ari’s first time on a boat and at first she was nervous, but eventually got comfortable, and event went up to the bow to sit with Sophie for a bit. We toured around the harbor and enjoyed some wine and snacks. It was lovely.
On Saturday right before the birthday dinner there was a beautiful rainbow that spanned the entire back of the house. Very fitting.
Happy 96th Birthday, Nana!!
Sticking with the low key theme that has been our theme for the last 18 months, Dave welcomed 42 with a small family birthday celebration. And, we didn’t even celebrate on this actual birthday as he had to be in Atlanta, so we had dinner, cake and presents on the Friday after. While his travel hasn’t started up fully yet, it’s begun in earnest with a few trips so far.
A week after his birthday, he ran in the Philly Distance Run, which is an annual 1/2 marathon through Center City and Fairmount. And he got a PR! This man makes 42 look good!
