Lay Off, It's My Birthday!

That is all.

The Dunk Tank

This was our last week of summer vacation. It rained for most of the week. And it's only 60 degrees outside. Which, I guess for August, isn't so bad, except I'm not quite ready for fall yet. Anyway, we tried to do some fun things this week like go to the beach on the one day it was dry and warm, play with friends and stay out of the wet weather. We were invited to our friends annual Back to School Carnival one afternoon and had a great time playing games and earning prizes.

The best part of the carnival, though, is the dunk tank. Especially since each kid gets a turn to dunk the hostess' dad. It's great fun had by all. Last year, by the end of the day (and maybe because he was tired of getting wet), he decided to let some of the kids who wanted to cool off give it a try. Kelsie got the courage and was dunked, clothes and all. This year, she came prepared. With her swimming suit under her clothes and a towel in her bag, she confidently (or at least was persuaded) climbed the ladder and sat on the little seat to wait out her fate. Brandon stepped up to the plate to have his sweet revenge, but unfortunately was unsuccessful in his objective. In the end, a much older boy (and one with better aim, I might add) did her in.

And I remembered to bring the camera.

Happy End of Summer and Back to School!

Love Day Dance

Ahhhh, love is in the air! Did you get bit by the Lovebug this year? We had such a fun Valentine's Day! We had our annual Family Valentine's Dance Saturday night and it was the best one we've had yet! Kelsie was excited to decorate the basement with streamers and balloons while the rest of us cleared the room of toys to create our dance floor and protect our feet! We began the night with homemade heart shaped pizza's for the kids to eat and then sent them on a little treasure hunt to find their box of Valentine cards and goodies. They had a great time running all over the house looking for the clues!

Our dance started as soon as the "tub of love" was found and we spent the next hour dancing away! Kelsie and Brandon really got into the dance this year, moving to the beat like never before. Wally taught Kelsie a few swing dance moves and that took our dance to a whole new level! We all contributed to our playlist which included everything from The Wiggles for Caleb to The Boys Are Back from HSM3 for Brandon. Our Valentine's dance wouldn't be complete without Kelsie and Wally's special song, Butterfly Kisses.

This is one of our favorite family traditions that we have. It's always fun, chaotic, and everything in between. We loved how Caleb would ride his new scooter through the dance floor, oblivious to anything that was going on, and how Brandon would take a break from dancing to play with his Bakugan's. Kelsie was as beautiful as ever and danced to every single song. We love our family and all the fun things we do together.

When the dance was over, and the kids all sugared up and in bed, Wally and I celebrated our Valentine's Day by making our own Chinese food take-out. My sister-in-law gave me her Kung Pao Chicken recipe, and I found a Fried Rice recipe online. We also made Moo Shu Noodles to go along with our meal and all the food turned out so yummy! We ate as much as we could (probably more than we should have eaten) and then talked for a while. It was such a fun, relaxing Valentine's day and I wouldn't have changed anything about it!

Happy Love Day!

TWO!

Caleb celebrated his 2nd birthday this week with friends, family, and more than enough parties! We can't believe that it has been two years already since Caleb has joined our family. We love his smiles and hugs and how he asks us to "hold you"! Caleb is so curious about the world around him and loves anything that moves: animals, cars, airplanes, balls, etc. He doesn't walk, he runs all over the place. He is a little chatterbox and is getting so articulate. We love this little guy so much! Happy Birthday Caleb!

Caleb's Race Track Cake

Happy Birthday To You!

Our fun new ramp for balls and cars!

The invitation I made for Caleb's party.

Whew!

Bike Ride at Harms Woods

We have had a really busy day today (I really can't believe that I'm sitting her blogging about it!). Brandon started soccer today and had a great time. He was so excited and couldn't wait, you should have seen how quickly he got his jobs done this morning! Once he was out on the field, he was such a ham! He almost scored a goal and when he was done, he announced as loudly as he could that he is the world's best soccer player. How's that for being humble?!

We also had a bike ride today with my cub scouts that I am in charge of at church. We met at a forest preserve not too far from our house and biked around for about an hour. It was so beautiful outside with all the colorful leaves and perfect weather. The boys (and girls) did a great job on the trails, and no one went home hurt. That is what I call a successful activity, folks.

After our bike ride, we came home, made pizza and then a few of Kelsie's friends from school came over for a High School Musical movie marathon in anticipation for the new movie coming out next week. We are almost through the first movie, getting ready to start the second and all the kids are on a sugar high and having a great time--I just heart rumors of a pillow fight, should I be worried?

These girls (and boy) are so cute!

All in all, I think it's been a pretty successful day, hopefully I'll be able to get everyone up and ready tomorrow morning in time for church!

A rare photo of the two of us together.

Girls Night Out Birthday Party

Kelsie had a G.N.O. Birthday Party to help celebrate her 8th birthday this year. We had so much fun with all the girls that came! We had a "pizza bar" where each girl was able to make her own pizza with whatever topping(s) she wanted (you have to have food for girls night out, right?!). We also had some frames for the girls to paint and decorate and then gave each girl her own cosmetic bag filled with girlie things. My friend, Khania, came and helped me give the girls a manicure and paint their nails and then they had fun playing Ghosts in the Graveyard and other fun games! The party was a huge success (Kelsie was a tad tired by the end of it) and we all had such a great time! There's nothing like a FUN Girl's Night Out!