Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Fun Dip . . . UGH!!!

Let me just be clear upfront--I loathe Fun Dip!  What is Fun Dip, you ask?  Well, it is basically a long thin Sweet Tart packaged with colored sugar "dip."  It seemed to be the only thing he received in his Valentine's bag from school.  I swear 75% of the class gave fun dip!


It is very messy and very green!


Yes, Jacob was proud of his "green-ness."

Mommy's little helper!


Julia's talented auntie made her this adorable apron for her birthday 
to match the one she made for mommy at Christmas.


The most important part of cooking is tasting of course.  And what better way than with your fingers?


A good cook always cleans up when she is finished!

Jacob turns 5!!

Jacob had a great 5th birthday party. He was able to have a few friends from preschool over to help celebrate with us. Jacob surprised us all with his choice of party themes--BUGS! Yes, he chose a bug party. I was certain he'd choose some sort of superhero party, so it came as quite a surprise when he told me he wanted a bug party. For Christmas, he received a Disney/Pixar cd that has the greatest hits from several big Pixar films, such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Incrediblex, Bug's Life, etc. He became quite encamped with the music from A Bug's Life, particularly a some called Time of Your Life. He loves that song and we all know how much music speaks to Jacob and inspires him. So, from that point on, it was nothing but bugs for our soon to be 5 year old.

Jamison & Jacob
Paige & Jacob
Nolan & Jacob

So, I found lots of packages of plastic bugs at the dollar store. (The dollar store is a great source for birthday parties, by the way.). We also found little fabric bags there that I wrote the kids' names on in glitter glue (I love glitter glue!). We had an indoor bug hunt (the weather was not great for outside hunting in mid-Feb) using our dollar store bags. The catch, though, was that the kids couldn't use their hands to pick up the bugs. They had to use sticks! It was really comical to watch the kids try to pick up the bugs only using the sticks. They were quite inventive I must say. James hid all the bugs before the party. He his them in some odd places and we had to redirect him many times, so James was able to point a few kids in various directions to locate elusive bugs. In addition to the bug hunt, we played "pin the bug on the monster," and made bug antennae. I found all the game ideas online (I love the Internet!).






Jacob chose lemon cake, which surprised me ae bit. He usually doesn't like cake and the fact that he was so insistent on lemon struck me as odd. Especially since every time I asked him prior it was dirt cake (crushed Oreos with chocolate pudding). But, I switched gears and made him Len cupcakes with partial gummy. Worms attached to them to make the cupcakes look like a caterpillar. I even put a face on the front cupcake.




Everyone had a great time. Jacob received some very generous gifts from all who attended.



All the kids huddled around the presents.  So much so, that was very difficult for me to see what was being opened.  It's funny how they do that.  I guess they don't want to miss any of the action!

New Bike!!!
Jacob opened the box with the helmet before we brought out the bike.  He was so cute.  He asked quite simply, "Does this come with a bike?"

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Julia's Birthday Party!


Our "fairy in training" party included decorating fairy wands and wings.


Julia's fairy friends had a great time.  Sophia is on the right and Anna is at the head of the table.  Sophia is a very girly girl who will only wear dresses (no pants).  Anna will only wear pants, very much not a girly girl.  Anna loved decorating the wings but wouldn't put them on.


Julia's finished wings!


Butterfly cupcakes!


YUM-OH!!


Julia asking Uncle Nathan to read her new Fancy Nancy book.


The grand finale of our fairy party--Julia's special present!


This photo does not truly capture the pure joy on Julia's face when she got on her new bike.  She was grinning from ear to ear when she saw this gift!


Julia's new princess castle tent.

Pinewood Derby


The official derby track!


Look at all the cars lined up ready to race!



James' car, which steadily came in third or fourth in each heat, is the blue car on the right.  It was modeled after the Pontiac Superbird (minus the gigantic spoiler).

Discovery Center



The Discovery Center is always fun!!


The big yellow disc is a source of constant amusement for everyone.  There is a second disc at the other end of the room.  Believe it or not, from this point you can actually hear whispers spoken from the other disc.


Just how does that ball stay in the air?


Look how strong I am, mom!

Julia' Big Girl Hair Cut

Julia's hair has driven me nuts for a long time.  I've trimmed it occasionally and it always seems to grow so strange--so many different lengths, it's crazy!!  I decided that it was time for someone who knows what they are doing to trim it for her.  So we took her to a hair salon.


Julia seemed to know right away what was going to happen, though she's never been to a hair salon in her life!  She climbed right up into the chair and just looked right at home.  When it was time for the hair dresser to get to work, Julia didn't seem bothered at all.  It was almost as if she was ready for it!


Julia loved looking at herself in the full length mirror in front of the chair.