Family Photo Session!

At the end of September, we had family pictures taken.  :-D 

We met the lovely Kristen of Kristen Clark Photography at a park near our house.  It had threatened to rain ALL DAY and during our session, but thankfully we made it through rain free. It did get dark on us pretty quickly...gotta love that about fall, right?  Wait, you don't love that? At least the kids can no longer say, "It's too liiiiiiiight out, we can't go to sleeeeeeep now-w-w!"  ;-)

There are so many good pics, it's hard to choose just a few to share with you!  Okay, forget it...I'm sharing most of them with you.

I think one is my favorite of all five of us:

And just as it was loading onto the page, I noticed an inscription on one of the bricks has the year 1912. Cool.

Then there's this beauty:

And these handsome guys:

But you also have to see them like this...

Marin insisted on bringing her rocking horse to sit on. She also insisted we carried it with us to all corners of the park.

Emory insisted on having his beepie with him. Photo props! :-P I do like having his ultimate lovey captured in the photo.

What you can't see in this picture, is Evander's blankie laying softly next to photographer Kristen. :-P

Look, Mom---I made this quilt!

Kids were being goofy:

Quilt!

Got some special Mommy and baby pics:

These guys are somethin' else. They certainly look like they're up to no good! :-P

They love each other. :-) <3

So now that you've seen all these...no one needs a picture Christmas card, right? :-P Seriously, I bought cards 75% off last year purposely saying in my head that I wasn't going to do a photo card in 2013. Of course, that was before we had professional photos taken. :-) 

I should, however, update my blog look since we are all two years older than the current pics that are up. :-P

Thanks for checking out our photos! 

Birthday, Minecraft Style!

In our You Tube Minecraft wanderings, we came across a parody of that gagnam-style song. Yeah, I don't even know what that song is...but I know enough to title my blog post with that in my head! :-P

Our weekend was full of celebrating Evander's birthday...Minecraft style! On Saturday, we confused the older generation with "Guess what this is?" when we held up various Minecraft mob heads and crafting recipes (some of you are probably confused as you read this :-P).  Sunday was a party with Evander's friends.  It was loud.  But, it was lots of fun!

For decorations, I made a creeper on the kitchen wall with scrapbook paper. I hung balloons from the ceiling (totally my thing!  Sooooo easy!) and taped Minecraft faces on them. I also put Evander's Halloween costume creeper head on the table!  We had cupcakes for the family party, and just stuck print outs of the mob heads in them. :-)

Super excited for his Lego Minecraft kit!

Evander also really loved this crystal-mining kit:

A creeper kept following us around!

And a blue-eyed boy had fun with a box:

I always get nervous for kid parties.  Will the kids have fun?  Will they think what we're doing is cool, or just stupid?  Will the kids get along?  Will I have enough for them to do and not be bored?

Evander had six friends over and the first thing we did was sat at the table and made Minecraft skins. Obviously, Minecraft is pixelated, so I spent the evening before cutting up lots and lots and lots of 1.5" squares...many in browns and creams, thinking they'd make their own faces...but everyone wanted green!  :-P  The boys really enjoyed this!  I was pleased.  It took us all about half an hour to complete.

Next, we played "Find the Diamonds."  Before the guests arrived, I hid print outs of redstone, lapis, emeralds and diamonds all throughout the yard.  Redstone and lapis were worth one point, emeralds three, and diamonds were worth five.  The boys paired up and and the winning team received a prize.

I was not quick enough to get ANYONE finding ANYTHING, so here's the one picture I got of a friend's hand retrieving an emerald! :-P

Then we played Pin the Tail on the Minecraft Pig.  I wondered if the boys would be too old for it, but they liked it.  I could not award a prize to a winner, though, since we had some cheaters!  Instead, I gave a prize to the friend who told us honestly that he could see under the blindfold....and then we adjusted it. :-)

We made slime, because there are slimes in Minecraft....but it was kind of chaotic and of course, messy...so no good pics from that.

Minecraft slime

There was a little bit of corn hole, that I disguised as enderman!  The boys had a lot of fun just playing with each other in the back yard. :-)

The birthday boy requested we listen to the Minecraft parody song---TNT---and there was some dancing going on!...

The cake at the friend party was a huge hit!  My mom ordered a personalized edible cake image and it arrived *just* in time. :-)

For the treat bags, I glued a picture of a Minecraft chest on a paper bag.

I know this time of year is always crazy with birthday parties for three children...and I know I certainly don't *have* to do it...but, I secretly like it a little bit. :-P I do hope that one year soon...maybe we can combine the boys' parties or do something special instead of a party?  Ha, that makes it sound like I don't like parties!  Thus  far, I have just strongly felt they should each have their own party time, with their own theme and their own friends. We'll see how I feel next year! :-P

BIRTHDAY QUESTIONNAIRE

Evander, Age 8

Nicknames: 

Eems

How old are you? 

Eight

What is your favorite color?

Yellow

What is your favorite animal?

Rabbit, cat, bee

What is your favorite book?

I don't really have favorite book...ummmm...Bad Kitty, Clifford books and my natural history book

What is your favorite TV show?

How It's Made, Tree House Masters, Pokemon

What is your favorite movie?

Ratatouille and Bee Movie

What is your favorite song?

Minecraft Parody and Eye of the Tiger

What is your favorite food?

Noodles, pineapple and pepperoni pizza

What is your favorite drink?
Milk and chocolate milk

What is your favorite breakfast food?

Frosted Mini Wheats

What is your favorite snack?

Peanut butter Daddy crackers

What is your favorite outfit?

Minecraft shirts

What is your favorite game?

Minecraft

What is your favorite toy?

Legos

Who is your best friend?

Cody, Aiden, Ricky, and more :-P

What is your favorite thing to do?

Watch TV, draw, write stories, play Minecraft, eat pizza

What is your favorite thing to do outside?

Race/running

What is your favorite holiday?

Halloween, Christmas and Easter

What do you like to take to bed with you at night?

Favorite blankie

Where is your favorite place to go?

To Wal Mart to get Pokemon cards

What is your favorite restaurant?

The pizza place---all of them!

Where do you want to go on vacation?

Maumee Bay, Arizona and Cedar Point

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Bee keeper, any type of scientist, president

What did you do on your birthday?
I went to school and I had a den meeting

Ninja Turtle Birthday Boy!

Our Emory boy had a birthday last week. Six....years....old.  I can't believe it. Maybe it's because he's the middle child that six hits me hard and makes me think (more than usual), "Where has time gone?!?!?"  I still think he should be three or something...but, he's my big successful kindergartner now.

Emory picked Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for his party theme a lonnnnnnnng time ago.  I know I've said it before, but these kids plan their parties and their Halloween costumes way in advance. I think Marin has her next three birthday themes picked. :-P

Last school year, Emory got to play with his good friend a lot while Marin and the friend's brother had preschool together. We'd switch off, which was awesome and super fun for the boys. The friend's mom would take Emory to a martial arts school and gym in our town on some mornings, and Emory loved it.  He wished to have his birthday party there.  The owners thankfully thought it was a great idea!

It really was the perfect place for a ninja-loving six year old to have his birthday party. :-)

The owners had an awesome obstacle course set up for the kids when they arrived.

I made ninja eye masks for the kids by cutting up old t-shirts...but they didn't stay on their heads very well.

Several other activities followed (none of which I orchestrated or led...which was awesome for this mom!) including Simon Says and dodge ball.  There was a ninja demonstration that had Emory wowed and the adults a little worried at one point about the sword that was utilized (it was dull...but still very hard, I'm sure). :-P  The children then got to practice with foam swords, and then did a balloon race.

At that point, an hour had passed, and I could not have asked for more!  It was great that the kids were active and entertained!

I stressed about making the birthday cake...for some reason I told my mom I would make it, even though normally I delegate that to her---errrr, she graciously volunteered!  I hate doing cakes.  That hate was reaffirmed, although it did turn out better than what I initially thought.

When we were in the van leaving for home, Emory said, "I loved my birthday, Mommy." Heart melted.  And, before he took a shower that night he said, "I had a great day, Mommy."  Heart melted again.

And now, the birthday questionnaire!  To view his answers from last year, click here.

BIRTHDAY QUESTIONNAIRE

Emory, Age 6

Nicknames: 

Emmer, Emerson, Emory Boy

How old are you? 

Six

What is your favorite color?

Red

What is your favorite animal?

Kitty!

What is your favorite book?

A kitty book and The Monster at the End of This Book

What is your favorite TV show?

Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Pokemon and Digimon

What is your favorite movie?

Toy Story 2

What is your favorite song?

"Do the muffin...shake shake the muffin...ah, ah ooooooo!"

What is your favorite food?

Ice cream and cheese pizza

What is your favorite drink?
Apple juice

What is your favorite breakfast food?

Bee cereal (Honey Nut Cheerios)

What is your favorite snack?

Chocolate and string cheese

What is your favorite outfit?

Pika!  Pika! (A reference to Pokemon, but definitely not to clothes)

What is your favorite game?

Donkey Kong on the Wii

What is your favorite toy?

Hero Factory 

Who is your best friend?

Gus, Clara, Cody, Trent, Donnie

What is your favorite thing to do?

Watch TV the whole day!  (ha)

What is your favorite thing to do outside?

Ride my bike

What is your favorite holiday?

My birthday!

What do you like to take to bed with you at night?

Cutest Lilo, Big Kitty and my beepie

Where is your favorite place to go?

Bumpa and Barbie's house

What is your favorite restaurant?

Pizza pizza!!!  

Where do you want to go on vacation?

Maumee Bay

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Stay with my mommy and daddy forever (Awwwwww...my sweet boy)

What did you do on your birthday?
I was a ninja on my birthday