16 Candles

Colby turned 16 yesterday. What a special day for the young man. We celebrated him in typical Reynolds form. You all know what that means; lots of noise, lots of messes, lots of food and cake, and the dog shredding the wrapping paper. Any differences were that this time we were hyped up because of the extremely goofy, Justin Beiber wrapping paper. Poor Colby was once told he looked like Beiber and he recently made mention of that, so of course we played the antagonists and purchased the wrapping paper on clearance, because obviously no one purchased it full price during the Christmas rush. Colby played along well and laughed in spite of himself at our choice of wrap. Even Samuel and Silas got into the fun and were nailing his package with their bows and arrows. Salt took a particular delight in shredding the paper as well. 

For a moment, I thought that was Jake!

Samuel is armed and Beiber has nowhere to hide..

Before the cake cutting ceremony the kids danced around and Colby tried to chase down his favorite dance partner, but Hazel would only dance one song with him and ran off in typical 18 month fashion.

"No more dancing, Colby!"

Silas drew pictures of the Avengers for Colby. Silas thinks Colby is an Avenger.

Colby loved his presents and was blessed by all the siblings. He had a package from Sherlock Holmes, a telescope, 5 crisp one dollar bills, a check, and a card from a Great Grandmother. How blessed he was.

What a Smile.
We topped it all off with Cooks Illustrated best yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting and 16 candles.

All of these festivities were the Birthday Eve celebrations, on his day we cleaned out the van and hired a sitter for anyone in diapers or pull ups. The rest of us went off to the local Italian Restaurant and met up with some of Colby's friends. We chased our hearty meals down with a bit of Hobbit and called it a night!

Colby, we adore you and are your biggest fans. You are blessed beyond words and have been shown such grace and favor from our precious Lord. May your 16th year be filled with new adventures and opportunities to be chiseled and shaped into an excellent man of God. Happy Birthday!