remembering dad on memorial day 2014

For memorial day we met up with my sister Stephanie and her family to go visit my dad's grave.  We brought popcorn because it was his favorite snack.  I think he had popcorn every night. A funny story about popcorn, my dad usually had someone make him some microwave popcorn.  One evening no one else was home so he had to make his own.  He put the bag in the microwave and just pushed some buttons.  My Scott and Matt came to the house and found a 2 feet of smoke hovering from the ceiling, the microwave still cooking, a very pungent odor of burnt popcorn assaulting their noses, and my dad just sitting on the couch, chilling, watching a show.  Either he didn't notice or didn't care but it took a few days to get that smell out of the house.  Apparently he set the microwave for 30 minutes instead of 3 minutes.  

As we spent time at his grave I took note that I was totally at peace with the knowledge that he was in heaven and doing well.  

 I made sure to point out my other relatives that were rested in this cemetery as well.  I was finally able to give them proof that my grandfather not Great but regular grandfather was born in the 1800's and had 15 children.  They were impressed.

Zoo-rific June 2014

As summer comes, so do summer activities.  This particular day we decided to check out our local zoo.  I haven't been here in over 10 years and a lot has changed.  We just happened to choose a day with perfect zoo weather.  Not too hot we including the animals were dying and not too cold we had to bundle up.  While their newest attraction was not quite open yet we still had a good time.  The elephants were as cute as can be and the boy loved the reptile house more than I care to admit.  But the thing I enjoyed the most was watching Brennen watch the bird show.  He. Was. LOVING it!  They would do something funny and he would bust up laughing.  The birds would then do something cool like fly over our heads and he would ooh and Aah.   I could have watched him all day, he makes my heart smile.  

this gorilla kept giving Scott the stink eye. 

As we were checking out the polar bear exhibit which has a huge glass wall that goes beyond the water line, William was mesmerized and inched his way forward until, BAM! He smacked his face on the glass wall.  It was so funny because his immediate reaction was to feel his tooth and ask, "Did I chip another tooth?" (He had recently chipped his front tooth halfway off and had to get a crown put on.) After we reassured him he was fine we were able to enjoy the rest of the animals.

Brennen's reaction to the bird show

Pirate Day May 2014

I offered to volunteer in Brenny's class for pirate day because well you all know I have a not so secret obsession with pirates.  It was a lot of fun teaching them to gamble (actually it was a pieces of 8 game that resembled the dreidel game) along with a treasure hunt and walking the plank.  They even had a candy cannon that the kids went crazy for.  Now that I know a little more about this pirate day, I think I will make sure to volunteer every year.  Maybe even get my creative brain to come up with something fantabulous!

William the warrior May 2014

William and Brennen have both started Karate.  theirs is more jiu jitsu than traditional karate.  They more than love it.  Every day they ask if they can go, and truthfully if it weren't for my full schedule I would let them.  William had his first tournament and he chose to do it in swords. This surprised me a little, I thought for sure he was a grappler all the way.  However I do know that grappling is Brennen's forte so maybe that's what drove William to swords.  Then again it IS swords.  As he eagerly waited his turn I tried to learn the rules to this sport. William didn't need to know, he was confidant in his skills.  A little nervous perhaps but definitely excited.  As his level came up I was blown away.  This kids does know his stuff.  He smoked all his opponents and totally swept his entire division.  And when I say swept I mean he didn't let anyone even get a point with the exception of his last event.  He allowed his competitor 1 point then dominated the rest of the rounds. His brothers were so proud of him they were cheering so loud. Great Job William!! I guess buying all those swords at DI was worth the money.

Schools out May 2014

Well its that time of year again, The End of School.  I was so looking forward to this time.  I was done with nagging kids to get up, do their homework and the mess that follows all that school entails.  I was definitely ready for summers lazy days and lack of schedule.  My mom is an artist and with that artist mentality we rarely had a schedule.  I find myself following in that same category (artist type) I love the spontaneity of it all.  

At our school end of school means the schools dance festival.  It was very funny to notice the different reactions the member of my family had about it.  The kids were actually pretty excited,  Ellie even wanted to be checked out of school to come see it.  I told her I was not that nice of a mom.  Scott just happened to have that day off so I dragged him with me.  He was less than impressed with the "big deal" all the parents made it out to be. He couldn't get over how many parents were there just to "watch some silly dance".  I think it all has to do with his upbringing.  I think subconsciously he was jealous.  His parents were never very supportive in many things.  When he was graduating with his doctorate from  Dental School I called his mom to see if she would be willing to fly down to come see him graduate.  I was offering to pay for all her travel expenses.  She declined.  To this day it still makes me mad/sad, that she couldn't get herself to come see her only son graduate.  I will stop right there so I don't get further into it and incriminate myself.

Back to current day.  I was happy to be there.  I love my children and I love to dance, so for me this was a win win.  

William thought he was so cool.  His class did a beach boys number and he did it full out.  This was Brennen's second year and he was so cute to watch.  We situated ourselves right in front  of him to get the best view and as soon as he saw us he just smiled from ear to ear. So we check off another year of growth.  Lets just hope I can keep their minds and bodies entertained during the summer.

Secret Agent Party May 2014

For Brennen's 7th birthday I talked him into a secret agent party.  This was something I know was right up my ally. I made the cake in the morning to which I am claiming as an epic fail.  It is very frustrating when you think you have certain supplies only to find out they are lost, ruined, or all gone courtesy of your very craft child. So I had to settle but oh well it still tasted fine.

This party was a little closer to my $50 budget but still under so that makes me happy.  It did take a little bit of planning and preparation ahead of time.  And by that I mean about an hour before the party started I set things up.

The invitations

When our guests first arrived we had to "scan" them to be sure they could enter our secure facility.

As we were waiting for people to arrive I had them all make their ID's and receive their official eye wear.

 The first training exercise was the art of disguise.  As you know a spy must be an expert in disguising himself to blend in.  For this I had 2 suitcases filled with different articles from the dress ups.  I split the group in 2 teams and we did the race where everyone must put on 3 items from the suitcases and run back to tag their teammate.  The first group to get through all their trainees won.  After this I handed out mustaches to everyone showing they passes this training exercise.

 Next we honed their shooting skills.  I set up 2 life sized targets with 2 Nerf guns.  They had to hit the bulls eye within their 3 allotted shots.  After a few practice rounds and the final exam they got their weapons.
I found some squirt guns that when spray painted black looked just like the real thing. (only smaller) the boys were more than happy to receive these.

 The favorite training session was the lasers.  I strung red curling ribbon up, down, over, under, and across my canning kitchen downstairs.  I then turned off all the lights and set flashing lights around.  They had to make it to one side and flip the switch (light switch) to deactivate the bombs (the flashing lights) then make it back safely without touching any of the lasers.  I had a little device buzz when they touched one of the lasers. In reality the kids could have done this game over and over again. I let everyone do it twice.

After the lasers it was time to put their smarts to test.  I placed a bunch of these bags all around outside with clues inside them to see how well they could decipher the clues and find the stolen jewels.  The first bag had sand in it.  So the headed to the sandbox.  There they found an apple which led them to the orchard and so on and so forth to where they were finally lead to the jewels hiding place. (I found the jewels in the Easter clearance)

Last skill of all was to cut the correct wire to the bomb.  I had each kid do a small obstacle course to get to the bomb (a pinata) and "cut" (pull) the correct wire.  This actually worked out perfectly because everyone got to pull a wire before it went off.  It was a really fun birthday party.  One I wouldn't mind doing again someday.  The only thing I might change would be to get rid of the birthday kids siblings before the party.  It really doesn't matter how many times we talk about it or prepare my children there is always one that turns into a green eyes monster.

William the hip hopper May 2014

 I signed William up for a Hip Hop class this year hoping against hope that one of my children would love dance.  He was quite reluctant at first, it was different and so it didn't come easy to him but I had him stick it out.  As the weeks went by he got a little better and didn't complain so much. The time of the recital came and he was actually stoked.  He practiced hard and was ready to show us what he learned.  Sadly I only got part of it on video, even with a backup.  I  was using my iphone and Scott had the camera.  My stupid iphone didn't have enough memory left (A major flaw in the iphone by the way) and apparently Scott accidentally hit the wrong button during recording.  I wish I had gotten it all because he was so proud of himself.  After the recital he begged me to sign him up for the next session.  I was really happy with this announcement, and best of all Scott is completely supportive of my efforts to try to culture my boys.