Birthday Girl!

Julia's big day finally arrived!! She has been planning it for quite some time.  She wanted to have a giraffe party so we got to work making one.  She also decided to have a friend party.  I have to say that by the end of her birthday I was exhausted! 

I should know that if you make a pinata for one child you will end up making one for the other.  Natalie has already put in her "order" for her birthday.  The giraffe pinata was quite the task, but it turned out cute and Julia loved it.  We had giraffes hanging and sitting all over the house!  Julia was so excited to open her presents.  She got a butterfly necklace, a sock monkey, a reading light, some scented nail polish and......

                    a GUINEA PIG!

Yes, it is true. After pleading and begging for months her parents gave in and got her, her very own guinea pig. 

The poor thing is a little traumatized and as you can see we don't know how to properly hold the little guy yet.

Lucy was a part of the action all day and was so darn cute.

The Party!

Jules is a very social girl and she is so cute to see with all her friends.  You could tell the girls have missed each other since school got out.  There was a lot of  hugging.  Julia has been planning for days what activities she wanted to have for her party.  The first thing on the agenda was a dance party. There were eight squealing girls singing Call me maybe at the top of their lungs.

Pin the tail on the giraffe

Opening presents....

Blowing out the candles

And their very own "U-top it ice cream bar"

Last but not least, the giraffe pinata.

Later that day Julia went to a birthday party for a girl in her class and all the same kids were there too.  It was one big day for birthday parties.  That evening we headed to Mitch's Alumni mile, then out to dinner with Laura (AKA birthday buddy!) Happy birthday Julia and Laura!!

Nine!

                 This guy is nine! 

Happy Birthday to my handsome man!  Cameron chose an Angry Bird theme for his party.  He didn't want to have a friend party, just his family but we had a good time, mainly because we know how to party!  He really wanted to have a pinata and after seeing Kierstin's pinata I was motivated to make him one.  I have never made one before so it was sort of an experiment but it turned out cute although it was a lot of work!  Cameron got an Angry Bird alarm clock, some ankle socks (that already have holes in them), whiffle balls, a water squirter, and a sprinkler.  His big gift was a bike but it looks like it might be a bit too big for him.  Hopefully it will be perfect size soon.

I saw a cute idea online to make these yellow bird party hats.  Thanks to everyone who wore them!

I can't believe that I have a kid that is nine and who is going into the fourth grade.  Time has gone by way too fast!!

We let the girls go first with the pinata because we knew when Cameron got a hold of it.  They wouldn't get a chance! 



Dad wearing the carnage....

Dance Recital

Natalie has been going to dance class every Thursday since last September.  It might be the cutest thing you have ever seen.  It is tap/ballet class and she has learned, suprisingly, a lot of things.  She really enjoyed it and last week they had their recital to finish up the year.  It was very cute.  I am so cheap instead of just buying the pictures I copied them with "proof" written on them.  HA.  She had two numbers in the recital one ballet and the other tap.  She loved the outfits and she LOVED how for her tap piece she got to wear a sparkly white cowboy hat and the best part is that she gets to keep them and wear them whenever the mood strikes her. 



Buried Alive in Paper

School is out.  I have mixed emotions.  Love the kids, love when I get to be with them, the fighting could drive me INSANE.  The end of the school year = papers. I am drowning in it all and I only have two kids in school.  Holy Cow!  I have spent the day sifting through it all and no matter how much I get rid of another pile appears.  On the upside, I have seen some cute artwork and writing that is so sweet. 

Hang on...it is birthday season starting tomorrow!!!

Happy Father's Day

Julia's gift to her dad- A self-portrait

Pinewood Derby

Cameron experienced his 1st Pinewood Derby on Tuesday night.  His car did alright, not first, not last, so in my book just perfect.  He also received his Wolf!!  Cam and I have been working hard this past year on his achievements and he was very excited to receive it. Along with his Wolf badge he earned a gold arrow point and 6 silver arrow points!  His Wolf pack is also working on the Leave No Trace Award which will finish up his time as a Wolf.  Yesterday I spent my time sewing on all the new badges on his uniform.  And for any of you who know my sewing abilities will know that it was an act of love.  It pretty much took me all afternoon and part of the evening. I am not going to lie, I HATE sewing, anyway....

WAY TO GO CAM!!

Trek Around the Trail

Our Stake's annual 5k/10k fun run!

 

Mitch did a nice job putting on this event.  It was his 2nd year doing it and he had a lot of fun. Julia and I ran the 5k together.  It was her 1st time running a 5k and after it was over she said that she "wasn't going to do that again!  It was waaay too long."  She also said her legs itched the whole time.  If I ever wondered if she is part Schvaneveldt then that would answer that! Cameron and Mitch both ran in the 5k and Cam did amazing and got a crazy good time of 23:17.  Mitch also had a Primary 1k that had a good turn out and the kids were sure cute.



Thanks to Becca and her blog for the pictures!!

Strep Throat

I have been deathly ill, I mean the kind where you lie in bed and wish you were dead.  All last week wasn't pretty.  I had the chills so badly I couldn't stop shaking that moved right on to a raging fever that would go to 104 degrees then back to freezing.  The culprit--strep throat but with another trip to the Urgent Care and some antibiotics, I feel like a whole new woman.  Thanks to my husband that stayed home and took the kids while I lay dead to the world for three days straight.  Somebody needs to tell my body that it is JUNE.  No more sickness, please!!

One of these things is not like the others

This girl is seriously delicious.  I could just eat her up.  She is so happy now that she can sit.  It really is the funnest age--she loves to sit and play with her toys and she can't move!  Lucy now can wave bye-bye, play patty cake, and clap.  I wish I could freeze her in time to stay this age, well minus the not sleeping through the night!

Fun with Grandpa

While Mitch and I went to the state track meet over Memorial Day weekend Cam spent sometime with his Grandpa Stuard fishing.  He was so excited!  He caught three Rainbow Trout and brought them home to eat.  His mom was a little less thrilled to have a fish in her fridge, but Cam's enthusiasm is contagious.  He also was able to sign off all the requirements for fishing in his cub scout book.

Grandpa also knows a man that boards horses. We went over to the man's house to feed the horses some carrots and the kids had a blast, but I think Cam's face tells it all:

Nominated...again

On Wednesday the kids had a school BBQ where all the parents and siblings can join the elementary kids for lunch.  Sounds like a nice idea.  It is absolutely crazy.  Most people bring their kids a special lunch like McDonalds, Subway or the like.  I feel with Cameron being in 3rd grade I have finally learned and not made the mistakes I have in the past, like buying lunch at the school and standing in line the whole time, going to McDonalds at the same time every other parent in the school is going for the same thing and being late.  Showing up right in time to find no place to park, showing up and having no where to sit in the lunch room...you get the idea.  I left an hour and a half early to go to Subway to beat the rush, left early to find a parking spot and get Lucy in the baby carrier so I would have my hands free, and got there to find a seat at the lunch tables.  It was actually not raining so they had the tables set up outside.  It was a nice OVERCAST day.  I felt a victory on my part. So imagine my horror when I got home and noticed this:

...Yeah, my baby is SUNBURNED!  I feel terrible.  Do you like how she was wearing a bow? 

Tomorrow is our Stake's fun run that Mitch is in charge of.  He is a little busy to say the least.  Last night he went to the store to pick up a few items for me while he was out.  This morning when getting the kids breakfast I realized that he didn't bring in any of the food he bought from the car.  You know, the milk.  Oops!  I think we might need to show things down a bit around here!!