The Top Ten Party

2012-02-05 2012, a photo by PorterFam98 on Flickr.

Elise wanted a friend party this year. I was kind of dragging my feet on it. So much work. But man was it worth it.

What a darling group of friends*. They were happy, friendly, interested, excited, funny, helpful, and smiley all night long. They thought every part of the party was great (or at least they acted like it).

Elise turned 10 so we picked her 10 favorite things and built a party around it.

Late night crafts and movie, lots of treats and snacks**, lots of blue, fun music (wish I had video of the girls dancing and posing), presents, photo booth, and a little soccer (well in the form of pin the soccer on Elise's head). 
*I am so so grateful that Elise is blessed with so many wonderful friends. Too many. I made her narrow her list down to a more manageable size. So many great girls her age. They are smart, talented in many different ways, cute, and good. I love it. Probably because their moms are all the same way. I'm so lucky.
**These girls must be growing. I popped 10 bags of popcorn, sliced 8 apples, ice cream sundaes, cupcakes, 2 bags of licorice, jars of other assorted candies, and drinks. There was no stopping them.

8 is Great!

Gavin is Great! And he is excited about being 8!
He can't wait for his baptism (which we are waiting a little longer for but it will be worth it).
This might be a first - but for once the one thing he wanted for his birthday was not an office supply or tool.
An ipod Touch. He had to pay for half of it so he has been saving his money and working hard. He was very, very happy that we made it happen for his birthday.

Gavin is easy to love for so many reasons. On the day of his birthday he was the VIP in his 2nd grade class. Each of the kids said something nice about Gavin. Sweetest thing to hear students talk so nicely about your kid. LOVED IT!
1 - So excited and happy about just about anything.
2 - Hard worker (at most things but not reading)
3 - Loves to help and be involved
4 - Loves details
5 - Tenderhearted
6 - overly organized (it doesn't always appear that way in his room but he has a method to his chaos)
7 - Wants to choose the right and wants to help those around him choose the right
8 - Loves to be with family

PS - He requested the oreo like whoopie pies. He did not want cake. I used this recipe. Loved it.

A Very Happy 3 Year Old

This little girl has been begging for her birthday for many months. All summer long she would tell complete strangers, "it's my birthday." She is smart. She figured out really fast that if she told her Aunt Monette that it was her birthday, she would get a little treat. She worked that one.

She loved all the attention today and knew all the details. Quite the birthday diva.

She was thrilled to have a party with her friends. Since she turned 3 on the 3rd it was her GOLDEN birthday so we went all gold.

Rather than cake we had pumpkin and chocolate whoopie pies. Oh my. Turns out she just wanted candy. Oh well.

The kids love hitting a pinata to pieces. It was full of gold chocolate coins, of course.

We love Quinn and are so grateful she is part of our family. She makes all of us happy (unless she is in Quinzilla mode - destroying some little project or thing that belongs to someone).

Quinn loves to pray. She she comes up with some great things to add to our family prayers. Today for example "Bless Teague to not be hit with a basketball." ?

Quinn loves her friends. She is very social. But we are working on sharing at the moment.

Quinn loves to watch shows.

Quinn is very concerned about anyone that is hurt - especially Kenyon.

Quinn really loves her brothers and sister and wants to be just as big. She thinks she can wrestle, play hide and seek, soccer, and scooter just like them. She doesn't mind being with me but she really loves to be with them. And they are good sports about having a little shadow. But watch out she might steal your candy or chapstick and not even be sad about it.

PS Thanks to Jane, Kristine, and Egan for all the party help. If you want lots of good party ideas on any theme - email Kristine. But she should start charging. Brilliant. Egan can design anything - she always saves the day on my invites. And Jane is an awesome photographer despite my really crappy lighting in my house. And she did lots of my errands. Hooray for being off track. :)

Happy Birthday Gavin Crew

It is hard to believe that the ONE and ONLY Gavin Crew is 7 years old today.

He has been SO EXCITED about his birthday. And I have been so nervous that I would not be able to pull off what he wanted. I didn't really know what he wanted to have happen today. And it is family party year so it isn't quite as fun as a friend party. 

Gavin only asked for one thing. And of course it was something that ONLY Gavin would ask for. And he knew exactly what it should be like.

A filing cabinet with wheels and a lock. A for real filing cabinet. I don't even know if his friends know what a filing cabinet is but he does. He said he saw it IKEA and knew he needed it for his important papers. 

Here is the expression when I brought it to him. Seriously crazy happy.

In past years for birthdays or Christmas he has asked for (and received):
vacuum
wheelbarrow
hand-truck/dolly
music stand
real tools
venus fly trap (the plant)

I really can't think of any toys he asked for. Although he does play with toys too. 

He loves to create and dream up projects. Especially when his Grandpa is around. He is guaranteed a trip to Home Depot. His favorite!

I love Gavin. He he is full of life and energy. He keeps things at our house going. He is persistent and curious. He is very helpful and a great little buddy to have around. He is always up for a good time. And he loves being with family. And he is a talker. Never a quiet moment with that kid.

Queen Quinn Turns 2

How did this happen? Our little sweet baby grew up to be a 2. And in a flash she will be 16. I'm scared. She is hilarious and trouble all in one. She is a sweet girl. We are so happy she is a part of our family. We pretty much want to squish her to pieces most the day. Sometimes because she is so cute we can't stand it and sometimes - well cause she is making us crazy. But that smile easily melts us.

I went with the owl theme for birthday. So many fun ideas out there.
Party Favors: Owl Bean Bags
and chocolate owl suckers  with flavored colored chocolates from Orson Gygi
Owl Cupcakes
Owl Pinata We thought it would be easy to break open. It is made out of cereal boxes and tape. Seriously easy but it would not give in. That thing had the life beat out of it and it held strong. So funny.
A true sugar fest for the Queen of Sweets - check out her tray.
We invited just a couple of her cute friends (that she talks about all the time) to join us for a little celebration. Boy, did she love all the attention.

Ten Years Old

Teague Upon Thames - one lucky kid who got to live in London for 6 months of his life.

How does it happen that your oldest child turns 10? 

I know that is what everyone thinks as their babies grow up but it is still pretty crazy.

Teague LOVES his birthday. He has been thinking about this day and counting down for months.

Teague in his Tiger look for a Jungle themed birthday party.

His favorite look for a couple of years - yellow boots. Didn't matter the season or temperature - he wore yellow rubber boots.

With his cousin Jackson at the Women's NCAA volleyball tournament in Long Beach to watch Aunt Egan play.With his cousin Max - he claims that going to Fiji with Max was the best thing in his life. He would travel the world if we could. 

We love our Teague.

1 - His smile - especially when his dimple shows.

2 - His interest in everything. He asks a ton of questions (which sometimes bugs) but he likes to know all the answers.

3 - He is super smart (I know I am his mother - but it is true - and scary. He definitely takes after his Dad. He  hears it once and knows it.)

4 - Very musically gifted - has a great ear and perfect pitch. He is a great pianist.

5 - He wants to try everything - karate, soccer, skateboarding, snowboarding, guitar, swimming, chess club, acting - you name it).

6 - He is tender-hearted and sensitive to how others feel.

7 - A good friend.

8 - Loves Quinn (Elise? well maybe not so much right now but it will come)

9 - Always tries to do the right thing.

10 - He gives me good hugs at the perfect times.

PS - How do we celebrate 10 years? Well he could have had a friend party but he opted for the $$. Sorry friends. But what he really wanted was an IPOD touch so he has been saving his money and collecting his birthday money and last night he made the big purchase. And today he is taking his first ski lesson. Should be a good day.

The 8 Year Old Party

Another party...I am kind of tired. But Elise was happy! It was actually a much easier party than Gavin's but not quite as fun. I should have done something here but I wan't up to it. So we went to Jump On It - a huge trampoline place. The girls seemed happy. I am grateful that Elise has such wonderful friends. She is very lucky.

Next weekend - another party. Sort of.

The Much Anticipated Lego Party

I completely copied all my ideas for this Lego Party. You can see what Stephmodo did here. Unfortunately, my other friend has a private blog. But she really deserves all the credit. She hooked me up with ideas and the coolest lego version of "Don't Eat Pete." That is a favorite game of Gavin's thanks to one of his great Primary teachers. I think it might have been a favorite of the day because it includes eating M&Ms as fast you possibly can.

The highlight of the party was probably building their own cars and racing them down the track that Kenyon built. They probably could have done that the whole time.
Gavin is lucky to have so many great friends.
I am grateful that I only do parties every other year.

Look Who's SIX Today!

Doesn't this picture of Quinn crack you up? She doesn't miss a thing. But this isn't about her.

So Gavin is SIX today. I can't believe it. He couldn't be happier to have a birthday and attention. His dinner of choice: Crepes. It is a favorite around here. Whip cream, nuttella, berries, syrup, powdered sugar. A total calorie FEST. So no cake today. We put the candles right into the crepe.

Gavin is definitely one of a kind. You all know that. But here are SIX Things that I LOVE about Gavin:

1) He is the family clown. He makes us all laugh.

2) He likes to be in charge. That isn't always great but it is part of him. He told us one night that he wants to be President of the World (forget the US). He also would like to be Bishop because he wants to pick everyone's jobs.

3) He is a homebody. He loves to be around family. He loves his friends too but he will usually not stay away too long before he comes back to check on us. He likes to know what is going on (part of being in charge).

4) He is really helpful (when he wants to be). He loves a good project. For Christmas, he got his own set of tools and he is always willing to get them for any task. He has also been very helpful on the details of the upcoming birthday party.

5) He is not shy. He will talk to anyone and tell them stories. Don't believe everything you hear. Yesterday he told the guy at Target, "My mom has a lot of money." Yep, I do.

6) He is the best buddy. I will be sad when he is at school all day. He talks my ear off and keeps my company. He has good ideas and loves to help.

Happy Birthday Gavin Crew!

One Year Ago Today...

Can you guess what happened?

My little tiny baby has grown up and turned one. It is so fun and so sad at the same time. I miss that sweet little bundle. She is naught now. But she is full of personality and it cracks us all up. She makes things entertaining around here.

We are missing a few months. I think they got lost on my computer that crashed. (Kenyon please retrieve those files.)

Happy 1st Birthday

June 25, 2008 - Kenyon received a bone marrow transplant. His donor was his older brother, Brett. You can read about it here.

It was a LONG year. But it is over. The recovery is still a process - kind of a long one - but it is improving. He is still on a lot of immuno-suppressants which require us to be so careful. We do not want any set backs. :) But things are looking up.

We celebrated twice this week. I had a big surprise party for friends and my family on Monday night. We went to this great park and ate and played. But how sad - I didn't even take one picture of Kenyon at the party. He was happy though and we are grateful for all the support. We could not have survived this year without our friends/neighbors. We have been well cared for.

Tonight we had a family party. We went with the One Year Old theme. Very childish but fun. We are also very grateful for all the family love and support.

And how CUTE are those cupcakes. Check out how to make them here. My very talented niece, Lauren, made them.

Tulip Festival

Today for my birthday I had a little outing to the the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival. Actually the "festival" is over but the tulips are still going strong and will probably just get better. The weather was amazing. Warm and pleasant and the slightest hint of pink on your arms at the end of the day. I don't know how many times I have been to the gardens - too many times to count and every time the kids and I love it. Special thanks to Aimee and her kids for always being up for an adventure at the gardens. Once again - I took my camera and did not take any pictures. How lame can I be?

I also had one of my favorite lunches from Rumbi's - South Seas Chicken Salad. Thanks Sunni. She was so nice to bring me lunch - we couldn't leave because my new kitchen table came today. It is beautiful and I am so excited to finally have it.

Today was a good day - so many nice phone calls and visits and thoughtful little gifts. Last year I think I cried half the day. So no tears today was a huge improvement. I finished out the day with a yummy Golden Veggie H at Hires with my family and our friends the Weeks. Maybe being 34 won't be so bad.

I shouldn't forget to mention that my kids made me a cute little present out of scrap wood in the garage that they glued together. Then they helped themselves to my wrapping paper and ribbons and did quite the job wrapping it all up.

--Also - Happy 1st Anniversary Angie and Klane!

--Oh and we saw Karen and Alan Ashton (founders of Thanksgiving Point) ??? around Thanksgiving Point on those cool Segways. What is the proper adjective for what you do when you are on a Segway - gliding, rolling, scooting?

Help Someday Help

I have had so many projects. It is fun but super time consuming. I loved making this scalloped blanket. I got the pattern from a cool book called Bend-the-Rules of Sewing by Amy Carol. Thanks to another blog (thanks April) I saw this super cute floral fabric that can be found at JoAnns. I didn't think you could find anything super cute at JoAnn's so I was very happy. Then I found the orange polka dot from Amy Butler at Material Girls. I know it isn't very baby girlish but I liked it. I just gave it to a darling baby named Ava.

I tried another diaper bag with a few adjustments. I think it still needs a few more tweaks and next I think I just want to try a different shape altogether. But, I loved the texture of this fabric. I gave a friend of mine a diaper bag 3 years ago and she has used to to shreds. I noticed how worn it was the other day so I took her this one. It needed to be updated. The scary thing is that you don't want to impose a diaper bag on someone. Everyone is so particular about what they want to carry around.

The biggest and most stressful project of all is putting on an 8 year old birthday party. Magic themed. The birthday boy insisted that I MAKE magic capes. Who does that? I guess I do. They turned out good after a few tears and some stress. We had 9 crazy boys over and filled 2 hours with magic potions, tricks, games and food. I think everyone was happy. I was worn out.

Birthday Boy!

So today my first child turns 8! I am freaking out. I am not really ready for that. He is so excited. This is such a typical picture of him - always ducking out, trying to hide, or doing something silly. He has the cutest smile with the best dimple. I wish he would let me take his picture more often.

Yesterday he told me that he knows what he wants to be when he grows up. "Mom, I want to be a McDonalds Man when I grow up?" Oh really! Why? "They make $28 an hour!!" So there you have it...Teague the McDonalds Man. I think he has been inspired by his friends dad who is a McDonalds Man.

Today is also his first day of Cub Scouts and he couldn't be happier. Last night I sat down with him to study is Wolf Handbook (I don't know a single thing about scouting). He is ready to go - if he had his way we would have stayed up all night passing off as many things as possible. I let him get as far as memorizing the Cub Scout Promise. Go scouting!

To top the birthday celebration off, he is having a magic party and guess which crazy mom just made ELEVEN black and red capes? Yep, Me the crazy one. Who does that? Why couldn't we just go to classic skate and call it good?

I will post some pictures after the big event.

Anyway - Happy Birthday to My First Boy! I love him. He is funny, super smart, talented and very thoughtful.