Highlight #4 - Peter's Birthday!

It's about time I blogged about this one! I really look forward to Peter's birthday because summer birthday parties are SOOOO fun for me to plan! This year Peter turned 6, and wanted an owl birthday party. Owls do have some amazing powers, but it took some serious brain storming and internet surfing to figure out how to pull this one off. It all worked out in the end.
I had a long time friend of mine come over and help me keep things organized. She's a great teacher, so she was well practiced and lots of help! As we waited for all the kids to come, we played a rousing game of "owl, owl, mouse" (aka duck, duck, goose).

While I was at my mom's house, she and her friend collected owl pellets for Peter's party, so they had real owl pellets to dissect! Isn't that cool?? It was a treasure hunt trying to uncover those little bones and such. Some kids found some cool stuff and insisted on keeping them in their bags. I wondered what their moms said when they came home with them.

Afterwards, they practiced their owl abilities and looked for pellets (or easter eggs). Inside they found lots of candy and plastic insects and small animals. It was fun watching them!

After doing such a good job on their hunt, as all owls do, they earned their owl costumes. I spent too much time sewing these things together, but they turned out sooo cute, I decided it was worth it.

I had another hunting game for them to play, and then they went inside where I had huge furniture boxes connected together. They all found a good "nesting" spot and listened to Renee read Owl Moon by Jane Yolen while I got the cake and ice cream ready. I love this book - the pictures are great and the story is classic!! Below are the owl cupcakes. Aren't they fun?!

Last of all were the presents to open. Peter really made out! He got balls, squirt guns, transformers, stuff to do outside, and other stuff. The pictures below are a couple of the presents.

This next one Becca made for him. He sleeps with it every night. It's gone camping with us twice, and is in need of a trip to the dry cleaners.


After all this excitement, you'd think that was enough, but no. Then he got a party at the family reunion as well. Everyone was so good to remember him, I was touched. We gave him a load of Bakugans, which he loved. It's always tricky getting the perfect present. Grandma gave him some weights, and now he thinks he is so tough now, and Grammy gave him a cute board game called Hoot Owl Hoot. Everyone was so generous, and he have had a ton of fun!
Peter is a great 6-year-old. He is a bundle of energy, eager to please and do the right thing. He loves rules and structure. He really likes to be tough (when it's convenient) and even looks forward to getting shots, so he can prove how tough he is. He loves the outdoors - hiking, climbing trees, and swinging on our swings. Peter is a great friend, and loves to meet new people. Just recently 1 of the few boys he knew in his 1st grade class moved to another class. I asked him if that made him sad a little. He looked at me perplexed and said, "Why Mom? I already knew him."
I am impressed with his eagerness to learn. Peter loves to read and memorize things. At church he takes great pride in knowing the answers. He loves to answer questions. When he asks me a question and I say, "I don't know." He says in dissatisfaction, "Just give it your best guess, Mom." He is a great big brother and a great example. As parents, Mike and I are soooo proud of him!

Highlight #3 - Reunions

This summer Mike and I's families both had reunions. Mike's was camping for the 4th of July weekend. Because we were camping, the shorter time, and a ton of kids running around, our arms were full and the thought of a camera didn't even surface our minds. Hence, we have no documentation of this grand reunion. However, it was a lot of fun. We celebrated 2 birthdays - Peter's and his cousin, attended another cousin's baptism, chased kids, went boating, cooked great food, and lit off and watched fireworks. Fun was had by all.
The reunion for my family lasted about 9 days. The evening before it happend Mike had a catastrophe at work. He worked a full 24 hours, and still couldn't resolve the issue. I had a sister that drove to our house so we could carpool together to my parent's house for the reunion. I was glad she had, because I ended up leaving without Mike, with the kids and Michelle. Mike's work paid for him to fly up a few days later, when the dust had settled a bit. Poor Mike, it was really stressful, but everything has worked out okay. Anyhow, the 10 hour ride with 3 kids in the car was a work-out in and of itself. Once we got there, it was fun to see everyone and be involved in all the happenings.

To begin, a lot of this (above picture) took place. These 2 little cousins were inseparable! They played and played and made the biggest messes. They would disappear for a while, and then resurface every now and then. One time we found them in Poppy's and Grammy's shower with all the matchbox cars at their feet. Those two.....

This was another ongoing project, with my 10-year-old nephew as the catalyst. Actually, he and his dad did 90% of the work. It sure was deep! Mike is standing on a little ledge inside the hole. It was probably 5 foot deep in all - which was huge for the kids! This is also one of the few shots of Peter. He was busy as well running around with his 3 boy cousins. That kid sure played hard!

Ahhhh - swimming. This was a lot of fun! Thank's to my mom's sweet friend who lent us her pool!

And of course, what would a trip to the country be without a horse-back ride? Elsie really liked this - doesn't her face show that?

My mom put together a rather involved obstacle coarse that involved water and swings. It was fun to watch the kids try to run through the pool. Mike, the last one to finish it up, added some extra moves. He reminds me of Superman!

Meanwhile, my dad put together a rather complex treasure hunt. He had these kids shooting BB guns, putting puzzles together, digging in the dirt while trying to dodge the sprinkler circle, and all sorts of stuff. It was a riot! The treasure at the end? ICE CREAM!

This is a picture of my nephew holding up his homemade "Title of Liberty". It relates to a Book of Mormon story during a time when there was a lot of feuding among the people. A man named Moroni "rent" his cloak and wrote on it all the things he felt were worth protecting, even to the extent of fighting for. So, the cousins got to tear an old shirt and write their personal beliefs they were willing to fight for as well. Way to go!

Apparently, when there happened to be down time, the cousins all banned together and shot Nerf guns at their defenseless Aunt Rachel, just as this picture shows! They weren't provoked or anything!

I had to include this picture because I thought it was hilarious as all 20 of us were trying to fish along a 50' long bank. It was a bit scary and tiresome - little kids flinin' poles, lines getting snagged, and no one was dressed warm enough for that cold morning. Not to mention a few slides and falls in the mud! Needless to say, the fishing only lasted 45 minutes or so. No fish were caught. Better luck next time!


Swing, batter batter, Swing! Grammy puts together a great pinata! Lots of toys and candy - we really appreciated them as distractions on the car ride home. Thanks mom!

Here's the frantic gathering of the loot!

And what would a family reunion be without cheesy matching tie-dye shirts and a photo at the end!!! It was great - thanks Mom and Dad for all the hard work and the wonderful hospitality. Can't wait for 2013!

Summer Highlight #2 - Hiking!

This summer, along with painting, we did a lot of hiking. Every week a good friend, Becca, and her 2 children, and me with my 3 children plus 1 extra we watched this summer, explored a new trail in the area. Peter found out he LOVES to hike! His friend, who went with us was always a lot of fun to have around. He would often bring a list of trees or birds or something he wanted to find along the way. They sure were explorers. Our outings often went like this, "Hey....Hey! Boys! Slow down! Hey, you guys need to stay where we can see you at all times! Thanks!"
Followed by, "Elsie, come on, you can do it! Those who hike the whole time get ice cream at the end! That's right, good job!"
It took some juggeling, but it definitely made some great memories, and I think Elsie even had fun as well. Becca is a great photographer, and sometimes she even brought her camera. She was always prepared and willing to carry a sleeping baby of mine. She was such a great help - I couldn't have done it without her! She sent me some pictures, and I was so glad because I had nothing.

This is Elsie in all her splendor! She's winding up and getting ready to throw a rock, and boy is it serious business! I love her expression and am so glad it's captured!

I couldn't decide which picture I liked better. He sure loves the duck hat Grammy bought for him! They both capture him in his element, don't they?

Annnd Kimball. He was mostly along for the ride on my back most of the time. Occasionally he got out to walk, throw rocks, or just get dirty, but often he was content to just hang out on my back. There were many a time he'd take a little nap as well.

Summer Highlight #1

One of the things we really focused on this summer was art. I bought a home based art class pdf file online at pineapplepaintbrush.com. We did a lot of it and the kids had a blast painting, learning about colors, lines and textures, and different paintings and artists. Peter is really fascinated with Vincent Van Gough (who isn't?) and loves Starry Night. I also have our rendition of a Jackson Pollock painting on an old sheet of ours hanging downstairs as a makeshift drape. We had a lot of fun and I hope you'll indulge me with all of these pictures.


We read some great books too. While we talked about colors, we read Mouse Paint; Shapes - The Dot and It Looked Like Spilt Milk; and Lines - Harold's Purple Crayon. I also succored into buying several "Touch the Art" books by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo. I loved them. Some better than others, but the kids have really enjoyed looking through them.

This was a lot of fun, and thanks Jeff for letting us use your nice easel!

They're working hard on their masterpieces!




This is our Jackson Pollock masterpiece. It was soo fun to watch the kids just spill the paint out wherever they wanted. I would highly recommend this art project. Plus, it was a great way to get rid of my old paints I didn't want any more.

Okay, and I admit, I even got into it. And it was really fun, okay?

Learning about texture through Bubble Art! The kids loved this one as well. It made me a little nervous though. Those bubbles can still make fairly large puddles of muck, but how could I resist this face?

Oh, I even let Kimball try this art project. Not a good idea. He wasn't sure whether to blow or suck the straw. Needless to say, in 2 minutes there was a blue mouth and a call to poison control. Don't worry, watercolors are non-toxic. Whew.

This was a fun part of our summer, and we look forward to learning more about art and artists. I'm just not sure what to do with the piles of artwork I've got still lingering in my kitchen.

Kindergarten Graduation

Our wonderful school does a great Kindergarten Graduation. I know, I know, Peter has already started 1st grade, but I'm reminiscing, so bare with me. Here is a great picture of him.

Isn't he cute? They made those great hats, and stood on the stage and sang some classic songs. I loved hearing them sing a jazzy tune of "Humpty Dumpty" and when these kids sang "I'm Proud to Be an American" and the Star Spangled Banner, I nearly cried. I'm so proud of Peter and all he is learning. Congratulations!
I'll try to get some clips we took with our camera of them singing for Grammy and Poppy, but our computer is too slow, so I can't do it at home.

Our Past Time

A few shots at what the kids like to do during their free time. Now when you come over you can appreciate how clean the house is, no matter how dirty it looks. It could be worse!

When Kimball's not stuffing the toaster with spice packets, he's dragging it around like a pull toy. Needless to say, afterwards, I've got a lot of sweeping of toast crumbs. Funny kid!

Favorite thing for the kids to do while I'm cooking? Play in the food bins. Will anyone ever eat my house again? I only let them play in the foods that take at least 45 minutes to cook. At least they're entertained and I can get some dinner made. Yikes, now you know my secrets. I'm a desperate Mom sometimes.

I've got to watch this girl close. The paper doesn't stand a chance when she's got her skin to paint. I think she painted and washed her arm off at least 3 different times. At least she's an outside the box thinker, aye?

Easter

Now that we're entering Autumn, I thought I'd share a thing or two about our Spring. We've had a lot of fun these past 6 to 8 months, and it's too bad I haven't been willing to find the time to blog about them until now. These Easter pictures were sooooo cute, I had to post them. First, there's the preparation - decorating Easter eggs. It makes me very nervous to watch the kiddos wrecklessly drop their eggs into the dye - big splashes, broken eggs, stained tables, etc., etc., etc. Somehow though, it's still fun to watch, because they are sooo excited!


Another special treat.....our friends bought baby chicks this year. My kids loved holding these little guys.


We had a great time Easter-egg hunting and playing with basket toys. Kimball figured out the power of a good marshmallow chick, and boy did he hussel when he found out what was inside those plastic eggs. He held his own just fine this year, yes sireeeee!
We had an Easter egg hunt at our house with a couple friends. Thanks again Becca for the pictures!



Why aren't there any pictures of Peter and his friends? Because they were running tooooo fast! As kids get older, these hunts are all about getting to the next egg before the other guys. Okay, so it wasn't that intense of an egg hunt. There were plenty of eggs to go around.

Maybe you didn't get a good enough shot of how many this kids is holding. I've blocked out of my memory how we managed to get these away from him, but it sure made a great couple photos!

Elsie got fingernail polish in her basket. She was pretty excited!


Peter wanted a green light saber like Yoda's for Easter. Him and his dad had a lot of fun out on the lawn fighting. I was too afraid - Peter takes these light saber fights pretty serious!