karyna

Happy 1st birthday Karyna!

Top ten faves:

1. Her eyes are beautiful - they look like marbles
2. She isn't afraid of Uncle Rick
3. Her coordination (and probable athletic ability)
4. She has unique forms of mobility (backwards on her head, on her toes at the pool...)
5. She LOVES to play in the pool
6. Her poker face - if she had a King high or a royal flush, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference
7. Her name results in fewer mispronunciations than Nayeli
8. She contends with Nayeli to see who inherited more of their parents' stubbornness (although they often try to blame Aunt Katie)
9. The way she likes to play with Reagan at church
10. She loves to smile at her Aunt Katie

garin

Happy 32nd birthday Garin!

Top ten faves:

1. He's sort of like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, except he doesn't do as many barrel rolls
2. His comedy routine at the beach house is legendary stuff
3. He actually thought it was fun to sit and watch Rick umpire a little league game
4. He is a snowmobiling fool
5. He is half responsible for making three super cute kids
6. He always makes sure we have tons of fun when we visit
7. He is talented enough to style his daughter's hair and paint her nails, how many dads can do that?
8. He always makes good baked potatoes
9. He's a pro at beach football
10. If we ever need someone to speak Icelandic, he's our man!

dennis

Happy 53rd Birthday Grandpa!

Top 10 Things we Like about Grandpa:

1. Tells great jokes (most of which he makes up himself (sometimes in church))
2. Has the entire payout card memorized for Acquire
3. Can't remember the difference between spades (shovels) and clubs (clovers), yet still wins at Euchre
4. Has been known to call his youngest son "Eric Dean," his youngest Daughter "Betty," and his daughter-in-law "Kathy."
5. Always up for a rousing game of whirley ball
6. Won numerous awards playing basketball in high school, but it's his historic football career that will live on forever
7. Has always been very supportive of his kids and grandkids
8. He would have won a gold medal had he performed the infamous "summer sausage sprint" in the olympics.
9. Loves to have fun
10. Made a great decision in choosing Mom over other candidates like Dawneta

aunt pat

Happy 55th Birthday Aunt Pat! (Yesterday)

Top Ten Faves:

1. Creative, especially when it comes to scrapbooking
2. Hosts FUN parties all the time
3. Makes super delicious taco dip and potato salad, among other things...
4. Always more than willing to baby-sit any of her grand nieces and nephews
5. Has a great husband and two fun sons
6. Always sends Rick job possibilities
7. Very supportive of extended family (i.e. sitting through numerous graduations, baby blessings, etc.)
8. Loves to play games with the family
9. Trusts Steve (and sometimes Chuck) to help her highlight her hair
10. She was Katie's first example of how to put makeup on while driving

allison

Happy almost-extremely Belated 30th Birthday Allison!


Top ten faves:

1. Makes killer enchiladas
2. Lives only a few minutes away
3. She's a great mom
4. First introduced us to Settlers of Catan
5. She is always up for a walk to the park
6. Teaches Nayeli to match her clothes (despite Katie's best efforts to teach her otherwise)
7. Loves to hang out with the fam
8. She is very supportive of Nick's career as a student
9. She competes with Rick as Bud's greatest suck-up
10. She makes tasty deserts

jeni

Happy Extremely Belated 30th Birthday Jeni!


Our favorite things about Jeni:

1. Her sense of humor
2. Never afraid to call 911
3. She's a great Mom
4. Embelishes news events to make them more interesting
5. Likes to play games with the family
6. Her bangs have been under control since approximately the 10th grade
7. Always gives thoughtful gifts
8. Her piano playing
9. She always looks great, and so do her kids
10. She doesn't live Argentina

molly

Happy belated 26th birthday Molly!!

Our favorite things about Molly:

1. Thanks to her, Katie's not the only one with man shoulders
2. Is great with the young women at church
3. Likes to play sports and gives female athletes a good name
4. Her great comebacks
5. Makes creative gifts
6. She's always up for a rousing game of loaded questions
7. She has the best hair in the family
8. She makes good desserts
9. She is fun to shop with and she finds great deals
10. She laughs at Rick's jokes

nick

Yes, I am late again... Happy belated 28th birthday!

Top 10 things we like about Nick:

1. He is a nerd and a jock at the same time
2. His fascination with Rick and leather pants
3. His new haircut
4. His assertiveness in raising money for cystic fibrosis
5. His dink shot and uncanny ability to slice the slice (sometimes thrice) in tennis
6. His fantasy football knowledge
7. He's the only one who really understands Dad's jokes
8. He's always up for a good board game
9. He's comfortable enough with his manhood to admit he likes Gilmore Girls
10. He introduced the Gospel to our family

nayeli

Happy 3rd Birthday Nayeli!

Top Ten:

1. Likes to be a bag lady
2. Can count in English and Spanish
3. Is no longer afraid of Uncle Rick
4. Gets excited about tissue paper
5. Her phenomenal memory
6. The way she runs
7. Has fun nicknames like "Ya-ya" and "Yeli"
8. Is a girly-girl and a tomboy all at the same time
9. Her blue eyes
10. Her love for Counting Crows

addison

Happy Belated 4th Birthday Addison!

Top Ten Faves:

1. She lives closer than Argentina!
2. Her beautiful smile
3. The way she could never remember Katie's name
4. She always dresses super cute
5. The funny games/tricks she always played with Grandpa
6. The way she "read" the Christmas book with Grandma
7. Even though we don't get to see her very often, she always likes to play with us
8. She looks so sophisticated in glasses
9. The way she plays with the boys
10. Her pretty sweet dance moves

ricky

Happy 26th Birthday to the World's Best Husband and Father!

Our Favorite Things:

1. Sense of humor - Rick always has some funny comment to make, normally when you least expect it!


2. Love of sports - Watching the Tigers or the Spartans is a fun pasttime, but he also loves to play sports, even with his ultra-competitive in-laws!


3. Intelligence - Dang, this man is smart!


4. Good looks - How do you think my daughter got so cute?!


5. Loves my family - Not just my immediate family, but the rest of my crazy family too. He enjoys the Miller gatherings, as well as traveling to NC every year to see the Firebaughs!


6. Great with kids - If you thought he was good with his nieces and nephews, you should see how much Baby R adores her daddy!


7. Wonderful husband - He works, goes to school, and works with the young men at church, yet he still makes time to do things for me and with me. Including a date night almost every week!


8. Musical ability - Did you know he can play the piano, the organ, the harmonica (really well), and can sing?


9. Faith - He has a strong testimony of the Gospel, and faith in our Savior.


10. Fun - He is just plain fun!

There are many more things I could list, but it would take hours. If you don't believe me, get to know him! We love you Ricky/Daddy!

laura

Happy 51st Birthday Laura/Mom/Grandma!

Some of our faves:

1. Wants what's best for her kids
2. Her laugh
3. Was everybody's favorite mom on field trips
4. Strong testimony
5. Only lives 45 minutes away
6. Likes to play games
7. Good Euchre partner
8. Good cook (raw and otherwise)
9. Takes good care of Dad/Dennis/Grandpa
10. Creative

dallas

Happy Belated 33rd Birthday Dallas!

Our favorite things about Dallas...

1. Funny
2. Takes good care of Amber
3. Likes to visit the Brooks family often
4. His impersonations of people in their ward
5. Plays well with the nieces/nephews
6. Always volunteers to clean up after meals
7. Name rhymes with "alice"
8. Likes to play sports with the family
9. He's good at playing his "twigs"
10. Lives closer than Idaho

birthdays

I swear that April and May are THE busiest months for birthdays! In honor of our favorite people on their birthdays, or a little late, we are going to make a top ten list for them. Oh, and I am not the best at looking at my calendar frequently, so if you want a top ten list for your birthday then remind me when it is near.