handsful

Did ya’ll think I totally forgot we had a blog?

About 2 weeks ago, we hosted a birthday bash here for Marley, Payton, and Ethan and their friends.  I was going to blog about that…and, then remembered that I failed to blog pics from Lainey and Dylan’s party with THEIR friends a couple of weeks before that.

So, we’re going back in time a bit.

There’s a cool place in Charlotte called Bounce U, with lots of indoor bounce houses, slides, and climbing walls.  Perfect place for a bday party with 6 and 7 year olds!

This was a big hit…the kids climbed through layers of fabric straps (kinda like webs) inside this very tall structure, and then slid down a slide.  Out of all the kids there, Lainey, Dylan (prosthetic leg) and their friend Anna (born with spina bifida) were the only ones to make it to the top…several times!  So impressed with their “never give up” attitude!  (that’s Dylan at the top in the pic)

The cupcakes were Batman theme (the kids choice), so this was just right for the party :)

Marley joined in the fun, too!

Make a wish!

Batman mask…loved it!

Thanking her friends for her presents…

Everyone agreed, it was a fabulous place to “party” for your birthday!

Approximately two weeks later…the trips finally found a date where they WEREN’T busy, and we had their birthday party.

They started the evening with a neighborhood scavenger hunt…oddly enough, no pics of that.  They were divided into 3 teams with about 6 kids on each (Marley, Payton, and Ethan as a captain on each).  We drove them to a near-by neighborhood with a list of things they had to either find and bring back OR take a picture of on their phone.  They experienced some very friendly neighbors (all three teams came back with a t-shirt) and some very unfriendly ones (a couple of doors slammed in their faces).  In the end, EJ’s team won.

Once back home, they scarfed down 6 pizzas (the kitchen looked like this, or worse, the whole night) and then it was time for the game Marley planned…

We put out sheets to cover the floor, paired everyone up guy/girl (a couple of girls paired up because several guys said “no way” to this game), and broke out the make-up and blindfolds.

Girls blindfolded, guys endure the agony…

This next part we’ll call…”the guys revenge”

After filling a trashcan full of make-up stained baby wipes, it was time for…Cake!  As usual, EJ wanted a cookies and cream ice cream cake, Marley wanted a vanilla with buttercream frosting (that her and her friends made that day), and Payton wanted a warm apple dessert.   They requested a “group” bday song this year :)

M’s cake close-up…tie dye!

Anyone up for charades?

It was around this time (midnight or so?) that I was fading fast…Randy always takes the “night shift” with these late nights, so I bid everyone goodnight.  The kids split up into two groups…one watched a movie, while the other went down to the Shop and had an impromptu dance party.  In the morning, I was up early(ish) and put out a quick breakfast for everyone cause most of us were due to be extras at a movie set at 10am.  :)

So, with July gone, the 5 birthdays are over and done with.  The next family birthday will be Jack, the top dog around here.  He’ll be 11 in September…or 77, however you wanna look at it.

That title might be misleading.

We’re not celebrating 45 of anything…just 3 kids turning 15 :)

Warning:  I’m gonna sound like a mom here.

I can’t believe they’re 15?  I look back at pictures of them when they were babies (and Randy and I were bleery-eyed parents, who slightly acknowledged each other as we passed in the hall…), and wonder where the time went.  In some ways, those baby days were eons ago.  But, at the same time, it’s flown by…

With 5 birthdays so close together, we decided to do a combo-dinner for all of them.  But, how would we EVER get them to agree on ONE place?  Once we thought of a day trip to Boone (Randy’s idea, actually), having dinner at the Dan’l Boone Inn was easily agreed upon.  Nothing like having bowls and plates of delicious (healthy?  eh…) southern food placed in front of you, with promises of more if we just ask.  It’s hard to leave there hungry.  Impossible, really.

So, we left that morning for Boone, and our first stop was the Mast General Store.  Love that place, and they have barrels and barrels of old fashioned candy.  Given I have a sweet tooth (or two), I have to restrain myself.  But, I did come away with a bag of jaw breakers and a couple of sugar daddys.  Yum.  The other kids chose a few favorites, and they we decided to attempt a trip to Linville Falls.

I say attempt, because it’s done nothing but rain lately and the skies looked a little angry.

We started down the trail, and noticed that everyone else seemed to be going the other direction.  Hmmm.

Payton had the camera, and was snapping pictures of everything.

This lone yellow leaf really spoke to him…

Dark clouds turned into thunder, and then some sprinkles.

Back to the van for us.  Just in time, too, it started raining hard.  We decided to bag the idea of sight seeing and head to the restaurant.

We had to wait outside, in line (typical for this place) and ended up meeting a family with 5 adopted children from China.  As we talked, we both realized that we follow each other’s blog.  Actually, hers was one of the first ones I ever followed, even before we were matched with Lainey.  Meeting them was one of those sweet God surprises.

No pictures of us eating.  I mean, who has time to take pictures when you’re eating salisbury steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, fried chicken, biscuits, baked apples, ham biscuits, corn, slaw, and a choice between three desserts?  Not us, that’s who.

After dinner, we walked…with difficulty…outside for some picture taking.

All the birthday kids.  Posing with a bear.  Of course.

They have a party with their friends planned in a couple of weeks.  They have no idea what they’re doing, but they keep telling me they’re working on it.  We’ll see.

Happy Birthday, Marley, Payton, and Ethan!  We love you!

July is basically birthday-palooza around here…Lainey and Dylan share a birthday on July 4th, and Marley, Payton, and Ethan share theirs on July 7th.

Let’s start with Lainey and Dylan

Present time…

Lainey had made her wishes known…she wanted a new game system.

Dylan was a puzzle, but knowing how much he loves watching Lainey play her old one, we got him one of his own.  Thank goodness for finding pre-owned game systems!

As you can see, they were a hit.

The rest of the 4th was spent getting ready to have our friends over for dessert and fireworks.

Before the pyromania began, Lainey and Dylan had some wishing to do…

Sugar cookie cake, decorated by Marley (with the assistance of me to write their names)

And, then it was boom time.

It sounded like a war zone all around us.  Guess that’s what happens when you live in the country…lots of land, means more room for fireworks.

And, what’s July 4th without sparklers?  Boring, I say.

Lainey and Dylan think it’s extra cool that their birthday is on an American holiday…

I mean, how many people can have a guaranteed firework display every year on their birthday?

God bless America…and, happy birthday to my Independence day babies.

As he does every year, today Randy caught up to MY age.

I married a younger man.  By 5 whole months.

Big daddy and his crew…sounds like a rap band.

And, no, I don’t know why the littles are making those faces.

Main dude and the crazies.

…hurry up and sing so I can eat this delicious chess pie that my wonderful wife made…

He had two pieces.

Happy Birthday, Randy.  I love you more with every year that passes.  :)

Abbey’s 17th birthday was on February 9th.

Her party was last night.

Don’t judge me, people.  Once she figured out what she wanted to do for her birthday, it was decided we should wait till the weather warmed up a bit.  Hence, the delay.

Itinerary?

Arrive, 6:00ish

The “Picture Scavenger Hunt” began at 7:30, with three teams of 5 kids (plus an adult driver) scrambling to their respective cars, lists of things to find in hand.  Randy had the whole thing planned out, with a long list of things like “police car” (1 pt), bald guy (2pts), urinal (ask Payton about that one…) (3 pts), and shoes on a power line (5pts).  I was a driver for one team, and it was SO. MUCH. FUN.  There’s nothing quite as freeing as running madly through Wal*art with a bunch of teenagers, looking for a guy with facial hair.  We had to have at least 1 team member in each picture, we weren’t allowed to use photos of things, and we had to be back by 9:45 or we’d be penalized.

person getting a haircut

traffic cone

silo

sandwich artist…he invited them behind the counter, made a sandwich, and gave it to them!

Christmas lights…lit up

yellow truck…SO hard to find.  And, creativity in the photos gave extra points!

My team

After tallying points and having the usual birthday dinner of pizza, it was time for the next game.

“Property Puzzle Hunt” began around 11:30.  Randy took 16 gallon size bags, and put 3 identical pictures in each one.  He hid the bags all around our property, and when the teams found a bag, they were told to take 1 picture out.  After they found all 16, they were to come back to the house to try and match up the pictures to make words.  (i.e. picture of a robin, guy in a hoodie = Robin Hood).  Once all the photos were matched, they had to figure out the overall theme of all of the words.  Each team had 1 flashlight!  In the end, each team found about 12-13 pics, and with a little guidance and hints, they all came up with the correct theme of “Archery”.

Tallying all the points across both games, and it was MY team that won first place :)

The special Unbirthday Girl

The rest of the sleepless night was filled with lots of snacking, birthday cake, a movie, Wii games, and an impromptu dance party in the Shop.  I went to bed at 1:45, leaving Randy to take the night shift.  He stayed up mostly, dozing a little during the movie.  I got up at 7:30, and sent Randy to bed at 8:00.  Almost all the kids were still up, so I popped the baked french toast in the oven and did a little cleaning up.  Eventually, everyone was picked up and the house was quiet(er).

It’s now 9:22 pm Saturday night, and I realize that the amount of sleep I got last night wasn’t nearly enough.  And, when we should have rested, we didn’t.  We ran errands and then spent a good part of the day doing yard stuff.  It became clear I should just push through and stay busy, or I would do what ALL the kids did at some point during the day…sit down too long and fall dead asleep.  I have to wonder how the wake up for church is going to go tomorrow!

But, it was all worth it.  The party was a huge hit, the games were a ton of fun, and one of the guests said it was the best. party. ever.  Success.

Can’t believe that Abbey’s next party will be her 18th.

Goodnight, all…

Still can’t believe she’s 17 now.  Is it me, or does it sound so much older than 16?

This was the 3rd year that she chose a certain steakhouse for her bday dinner out.  We sat at the SAME table, and she sat in the SAME chair all three years.  Weird.  We brought the presents to the restaurant…Randy got her this on his last trip out to FL.

Check out the progression of excitement when she opened this one…

Tickets for her and a friend, to go see her favorite country singer Hunter Hayes.  Who just happens to be opening up for Carrie Underwood.  Floored is a good way to describe her reaction.

Chocolate cake here…

And, chocolate cake at home.  I made this, from scratch.

Did I mention it was four layers?  :)

She’s having her party with friends in March, when it warms up a bit.  She has a great plan…and, I bet I blog about it.

Glad your birthday was a blast, Abbey!  We love you!

Unfortunately the “something” isn’t very close to the 40, but it’s not TOO close to the 50.  That’s all I’m saying.

I’m a Christmas baby, born 1 week before Christmas Eve.  I used to hate it…especially when I was in college and had to study/take finals around my birthday.  Yuck!

And, it’s been a while since anyone was guilty of combining birthday and Christmas presents (gasp)…Randy learned long ago that doesn’t fly with me.  I mean, c’mon…

I got to choose my birthday dinner destination, as is usual with us.  Ever heard of the place with the huge porch and lots of rocking chairs in front?  Half shopping / half down-home, southern comfort food?  Yep, that’s where we went.

Afterwards, we made a stop at Wal-*art.  This, in itself, is crazy, since I truly despise the place.  But, stop we did and made a few purchases….vowing to never go again.  Like I always do.

Back home, and it was present time…

New winter coat!

Gloves that work with my touch-pad Iphone :)

Beautiful black cardigan sweater

A picture, just for me!

A goofy boy to look at.

Marley has in mind what she wants to get me, and Randy has taken her to two different places with no luck.  So, I’m still waitin’ on that one!

I’m one blessed mama…

And, a happy birthday girl.