Screen Door Discovery

This guy just discovered how to open and close the screen door to outside.

I guess my days of hiding from him outside are over.....

Flutter By...for a Butterfly Party

She wanted pink, and butterflies for the birthday this year.  Lots of pink, and lots of butterflies!
Luckily I found that out early, and had plenty of time to collect butterfly stuff. And thankfully I found a TON at the dollar store!
The day started with pancakes, eggs, and strawberries on the special plate.

 The party was later in the evening and with cousins, family, and her two special friends, it was a houseful.  Perfect for the little one who loves being with her peeps!

 
 The little girls were first to get their face painted, and we did a small project with their footprints as a take home gift.  I also had some wooden butterflies for the older kids to decorate and take home if they wanted.
 
 

We ate hot dogs, watermelon and chips, and sang Happy Birthday to a little girl who could not stop wiggling in anticipation of ripping into the gifts! I don't think she did more then lick the pink glitter frosting off of the strawberry cupcake before she was ready to dive into the pile.

 Cannon and Brynn got to do some face painting fun too, after the littles had theirs all done!

She loves her dresses, her make believe world, and a good dance song. Everyday she amazes me with her opinions, her style, and her sassy sarcastic drama. Happy Birthday to my joyful one! It's been a sweet, funny, fast 4 years since you "wriggled" your way into the world! 
Daddy and I love you Maeve!

Happy Momma's Day

Here was my "interesting" gifts from the hubs and kids this year...
Yep. That's a gift certificate for a pedi (yay! thanks hubs), a pair of sunglasses, some bathroom deodorizer, and ant & roach killer....
Try to contain your jealousy people. 

Teacher Appreciation

Here's a little something for those hard workin' teachers who are pouring their lives into my kids.
It's been such a good year...for both of them!

Brynn has gained some ground in her battle with reading.  I totally give credit to her teacher.  She has gone above and beyond with working with her.
 
 
And Cannon had the interesting situation of a job share teachers.  He did great, even with two different teachers, with two totally different styles, and some of the problems that come with that. 

 Thanks Teachers!  You do a lot of work...and we are grateful!

Playing in the River

We let the kids play hooky from school last Friday and went off to the river.
This guy was tons of fun.
Tons, and tons, and tons of fun.

 The best purchase ever from a garage sale? This $5 K-Craft.  The kids love it, and we've totally gotten our $5 worth! 

 Treks even enjoyed the trip. He was super nervous while the kids were in the water, but he did like it when he got to eat every one's leftovers from lunch...

Outdoor Pets

I found this the other day.
Kinda sad.
We have a pair of birds that come back every year and build a nest above the window of our living room.
I love, love, love listening to them. 
They chirp away while they are building it, and then I get to hear the babies too when they hatch. 
I am hoping it was empty when it fell - I didn't find any egg shells...
Come back next year little birdies!!!

All Things Lego

We are all about Lego's here.
All. About. Lego's.

If they are not scattered on my kitchen table, they are on the kitchen counter.
If they are not on the kitchen counter, they are on the living room floor.
They are in the bathtub, garage, and bedroom too...of course.

I found this beauty at the Goodwill, and put it to good use.  A spot for everything right?

 
 
 
And this has got to be the 2nd favorite gift from the birthday week. (2nd because, of course, all the Lego stuff is 1st).  My little man, who shares a room with his two sisters, finally has a space all to himself. He hasn't called it his "man cave" yet, but I am not doubting that it is any different. 

Of course, lining the bed are these....

and these....

and if we look inside - we will find more of these.....

I love Lego's. 
I love them a lot. 
But I don't love stepping on them in the middle of the night with bare feet. 
Not. At. All. 

Its a Lego Ninjago Party

Tank turned 6, and wanted nothing more then a Lego Ninjago party. 
It's really all he thinks about...
 
The good news was there were TONS and TONS of ideas on the interweb.
The bad news was that you can't find a Lego Ninjago set ANYWHERE in our county.  No joke.  The closest store that sold anything remotely affordable was 30 minutes away.  And that nugget of info came from the Lego rep himself.  Ugh.

My original plan for the party was to have it on a Saturday, but the devastating news that the cousins would not be able to come changed the party to a Thursday night.  Random, but whatever.  Plan A involved me putting up some decorations, and the hubs doing some sort of ninja training course.  When we realized that I, er uhm, scheduled the party before he got off work, we moved on to Plan B which was renting a jumpy.  Then, we had to move on to Plan C when we realized that it was going to rain all day.  Plan C was "have no plan, cross your fingers, and hope that 37 people could find breathing room in our smallish house."
It worked fine.

I got the  requested chocolate and mint chip ice cream cake made and decorated, the party decorations up, the food prepped, and Cannon had a blast.






The kids made their own ninja headbands, practiced throwing ninja stars, guessed how many Lego's were in the jar, and played with all things Lego.

 





 
We ate ninja dogs (hot dogs), fruit salad, bell peppers, and blue "jay-llo" (because the blue ninja is named Jay...get it???), and ninja powered water.
 
I sent the kids home with a container of fortune cookies, and a ninjago zipper pull.  It was a bit pathetic of a goody bag, but I'm betting parents were happy that it wasn't full of junk right?

Cannon was sweaty and hot, and our house smelled faintly of sticky little kids for a few days afterwards.  He scored on the Lego stuff, and has been puttering away ever since putting together sets.  Actually, we both have.  (Don't say anything, but I'm pretty darn good at putting them together, and I actually secretly enjoy it...)
 
 We celebrated his "real" birthday in style.  He chose cinnamon rolls (I did them in the waffle maker....yummo!), and breakfast burritos "with NO POTATOES MOM!".

He had a tball game in the afternoon, and I attempted (and failed) to make ninja cupcakes for the team.

 
He would say this was his best birthday yet....I think he says that every year.

Happy Birthday to my buddy!  You are a pretty darn good conversationalist to anyone you meet (uhm hello...working on stranger danger), and we are blessed to have spent the last 6 years getting to know you better!  Thanks for the all the hours of talking and the hours of putting Lego sets together. Thank you for the sweet and random "I love you Mom", and the impulsive hugs that have taken me by surprise...but in a good way.
I love you bud!