Such is everyday life in the Bicoy home.
But even for us, this weekend was a bit more frantic than most.
Consider the events of Sunday. We awakened early and headed downstairs to make breakfast. But today that was breakfast for 17 people!
In addition to our six children, Cari's parents are also visiting us from Green Bay. Then my cousin Thekla, her husband Kevin and their three sons stayed overnight on the way from San Diego to skiing in Brian Head, Utah. All those people made for a very busy breakfast...
Thekla's three boys are almost exactly the same age as our three boys, and we squeezed them all on the couch for a Bicoy-sized picture...
Bacon, eggs, pancakes, and more bacon. Exactly what Thekla and family needed before sitting on their rear ends for hours more of driving! Ah, nothing makes a road trip complete like a stomach full of greasy food.
We also just realized that Thekla is our Nalani. Thekla is the 5th of my Uncle Fred's six children -- three boys and three girls just like us.
Shortly after Thekla and her family hit the road, Cari headed off to a tea party with our little girls...
Our neighbor's daughter is the same age as Nalani, so she invited a whole collection of girls who got all dressed up for high tea...
But my girls have more taste than to wear hats like that for too long -- our nation fought a revolution so that American children would never have to wear ridiculous British hats. Ultimately, they found a style all their own...
And they sat down for quite a little tea party...
Of course, the illusion of a high society tea is ruined a bit when the hostess is a rather loud lady wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Oh well, the girls were having way too much fun to notice.
Ultimately, though, this is the birthday of our eldest daughter. But our son Kekoa couldn't quite figure out why on Alyssa's 16th birthday we put up signs saying "Sweet 76"...
As is our family's tradition, the birthday girl or boy gets to pick whatever they want for dinner. And since Cari's parents were visiting, we offered to take everyone out for Alyssa's birthday dinner.
We suggested a few different restaurants to no avail. We even offered to go to a buffet of Alyssa's choosing so that she could have a wide range of foods from which to sample.
But no, Alyssa apparently isn't into variety...
Yes, Alyssa picked fast food. In-N-Out Burger, to be precise. If you've ever been there, then you know this burger chain prides itself on ridiculous speed. That quick service is possible because they have only four menu options: hamburger, cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, and french fries.
That is totally it for food choices. Really.
But that's what Alyssa wanted, so that's what she got on her birthday.
Then again, she also got something she clearly didn't want on her birthday...
She wasn't too excited about following in her sister's footsteps and wearing her own hat -- in this case a birthday tiara -- even for a moment. But she did get the really big cookie she wanted for a cake...
Among her presents, Alyssa got that "really, really old" movie Sixteen Candles complete with a few new sets of women's underpants from her Aunty Chrissy (held up here by my lovely wife)...
But if you know the movie's story you have to wonder if this really is an appropriate gift for a sixteen year-old, but oh well.
Then again, speaking of strange gifts, the boys picked out a box of candy wrapped in jeans and shaped like a heart or butt, depending on your perspective. As Bretty put it, Alyssa really needs a butt, which had Alyssa bending over with laughter...
And lest anyone be embarrassed by a candy butt, David took care of that...
He made sure it was covered with Alyssa's new polka dot underwear.
Such is another birthday in the Bicoy home!
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