joshua's 10th birthday party

it was pretty much the easiest birthday party ever. three of his friends came to our house for 30 minutes. we fed them chips and soda and subs and cupcakes...

then pat took all 4 of them to a college basketball game. and i took the younger 4 kids to Ikea (not sure who got the harder job!)

pat was super cool and let them go on the court after the game and shoot a free throw...AND waited in line for them to get autographs. he is so much more patient than i am.

 joshua had a BLAST.

and me? not sure you can call it a blast. but bailey was a HUGE help. and we earned these ice cream cones!

we drove an hour there and an hour home. we found (in the super confusing self-serve furniture section), loaded onto carts and into the car: 2 armchairs, 1 ottoman, and the covers for all 3 of them. i had packed them dinner to eat in the car. and they were ready for bed when we got home! whew!