Double Digits

We had the easiest friends' birthday party ever last Saturday. Eleven boys bowling, playing video games, eating pizza--two hours flew by!! I could hardly believe it was such a great success. Even the very novice bowlers enjoyed themselves. I had to bite my lip a few times, so I didn't full out laugh at some of the "performances".

One boy would grab his ball, run as fast as he could to the lane, then drop the ball straight down. I'm surprised he didn't smash his toes. Another (somewhat large) boy clumsily threw his ball with all he had half-way down the lane. I fully expected it to fall into the next lane over. Another boy refused to tie his bowling shoes.

The birthday boy got two strikes! I didn't catch either one on video, but here is a sampling of his "style".



For his class on Friday, I made camouflage cupcakes. Then for his family party, he picked out a Boston Creme cake. And for the friends' party he requested an ice cream cake. Talk about a sugar rush!! Birthdays are a big deal around here, and I'm pretty sure we overdid it. But ED was grateful. And they don't get friends' parties every year.

Catching Up

I've been neglecting the blog world lately due to an extra busy schedule, but I think I might just be back...

A couple weeks ago, I got to go to my family's Annual Girls Weekend. It was a blast! So great to get acquainted with our new sister-in-law, and reacquainted with the others. I didn't realize just how much I'd missed them until I was there. The last time I was able to attend was when ED was a baby. He will turn "the big one-oh" (as he calls it) on Saturday.

I remember my dad making a big deal of my 10th birthday. Double digits! I felt so important, and quite grown up. So, I've wanted to pass that along. We don't do friends parties every year, but turning double digits deserves a little more recognition. ED decided on a bowling party. It's going to be more expensive than other options, but it won't be at our house, and that fact alone makes it worth the extra expense! (And actually, it's quite a bit less expensive than other "fun" places.) The boys will eat pizza, play arcade games, and bowl, of course. All we have to do is show up with the cake and pay our money; the bowling alley will set up & clean up! ED's excited (and so am I, obviously)!

So, we made it through Halloween, but just barely. It's not the favorite holiday of the adults in our household. But, alas, we choose to go through pain for our children. For a couple years, I've wanted all the kids to dress up as bugs. This year the girls obliged. ED chose to be an exterminator. We modified the astronaut outfit to make him into Killer Small. All the girls had spots and antennae and wings. They were very cute! Unfortunately, you'll have to use your imagination because we didn't get any pictures.

This year, we painted our pumpkins.

















Even AE got into it. She was very intent. Of course, she tasted the paint, and ended up looking like a she got a really bad makeover with extra red lipstick!
In just a few minutes, the activity turned from meticulous painting to smothering the pumpkins in paint with both hands.

The Evolution of the Healing Thumb

A couple weeks ago, NE slammed her thumb in the back screen door--really hard! She had been crying anyway because I was making her come in, so it took a minute for me to realize that that's a real cry, not just whining!

She is one tough cookie. Of course, she didn't like it when Dad had to squeeze out the infection about a week after the event, but all in all has really been a trooper. There's still a bruise, but she doesn't seem to notice it at all anymore.

I wondered if this might cure her of her thumb-sucking habit, but she had no problem switching thumbs!

Just for you, Janet

Here is the fourth picture from the fourth folder in My Pictures:

From last January, nine month old AE. If I remember correctly, she was bouncing/dancing to some music during her mealtime. This isn't the best picture capturing that effect, but it's the fourth picture in the fourth folder, and those were the stipulations...

Family Hike

There is a park near us that has over 200 acres of mostly forested gorgeousness. We went exploring as a family for a couple hours the other day. It was a lot of fun! The kids all got along really well and went to bed happily exhausted that night. The weather was amazing for mid-October. Nearly all of us had shed our jackets within the first few minutes.

AM decided to wear her camo pants because then she'd blend in. Obviously, her older brother has rubbed off on her.

LL told her dad that if he saw any bugs, he needed to "die" them before they bit her. Then, because she just finished learning about fire safety at school, she told me (secretly in my ear) that she hopes our house doesn't "get fired" while we are gone. There are times I want to give our house the pink slip, but I'm pretty sure that's not what our five year old was talking about...

We came home with one of our backpacks filled with garbage the kids picked up along the way. ED even found a beer can. Oh, goody.

Family outings are great!
Exercise is great!
Autumn time is great!
Being secluded in nature is great!

Happy Fall!

Sacrifice, I Think

Tonight we were discussing the attributes of Christ. Many of the terms required definitions for the younger children.

The question was posed: "Who knows what 'sacrifice' means?"

LL (our barely five-year-old), who had been uncharacteristically silent thus far, started jumping up and down with her hand raised saying, "Oh! I know! I know what that means!" Of course she was called on. Unfortunately, neither Derrell nor I could hold in the laughter when she answered,

"Sacrifice is when you gather up all the bad guys, and throw them into some lava."

Our Favorite Four-letter Word

PASS

This is the result of Derrell's comprehensive exam.

PASS


PASS


PASS


This word could also be read as
RELIEF
GRATITUDE
SUCCESS
or HAPPINESS!!

Had he failed, his education would have been put back a year. Comprehensive exams are given only once a year, and you have to pass them before submitting the dissertation and completing the residency.

So...
All is well!
All is going according to plan.
This is somewhat of a surprise. Not that Derrell passed, because he worked too hard to fail, but that life is following a plan we made!

Tea Party for the Five Year Old

With her two older siblings, I was able to put off a "friends" party until age seven. Now that we aren't around cousins, though, I decided to give in to LL's pleas for a party. She chose the theme, and helped plan the whole thing. It was actually a great success!

Her checklist:

Wear dress-up dresses.

Eat tiny sandwiches and fruit.


Use tea cups.






Make parasols and top hats. (By this time, LL was partied out. I've now discovered that parties should be held in the morning.)









Open presents.

The "servers". AM invited a friend over to serve the guests. They dressed up, too, and had lots of fun!







A mother of one of the party-goers offered to stay and help. I couldn't have done it without her. In fact, I would have convinced LL to have her party away from the home if it wasn't for my friend "walking" me through the planning and carrying-out. Having a group of kids over for a couple hours shouldn't be that stressful, but it always is for me. I have other strengths, right? Thank you, Marcia!



And, then we had a family party after her requested meal of macaroni and cheese. Gourmet tastes, I know! If you'd like to click on the picture to enlarge it and admire the cake, I wouldn't mind. hee hee