Happy Birthday Billy D!

Billy D, Birthday Boy!

Billy's 5th Birthday Party....

There were no fancy invites or hordes of friends. Just family and the birthday staples. It's what he wanted, or it's at least all he "actually" wanted. He made murmurs about having multiple styles of party like Emi has had, but he only wanted his cousins to come. How many parties can you throw for the same people in the same weekend? He only specified a couple things; a Toy Story 3 theme and Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Funny kid. In the long run he did have Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but I kinda failed on the theme. It didn't matter though, he didn't care. He had his cousins to play with and he was HAPPY.

The girls cheered quietly from the grand stands.

Travis had this great idea that we could let the kids decorate and launch their own rockets as the party fail-safe. Turns out it is expensive to buy a dozen rockets and a launcher, but Grandma Trisha (or Mama Tisha - as translated by Abi) came through with the ultimate solution. A Stomp Rocket! The kids loved it, still do, only now instead of trying to get it to launch higher and higher they have discovered they can aim it at each other.... kids.

The other boy birthday requirement is a pinata. Travis took Billy to pick out his own cake (slacker mom) and a pinata for his party. HE wanted the Toy Story 3 theme, but he returned with a Transformers pinata and a fire hydrant/doghouse cake....?

Take note of how the lovely ladies swing a bat and then how the boys get down to business!

1.

2.

CANDY!

The presents:

The Donkey. Pretty funny where all the tails (and one in particular) ended up!

The cake.

Happy Birthday Bubba! I just can't believe you're 5. ...

Love always, Mom.

~ *~ Christmas Card 2010 ~*~

Well, here it is! The final choice.

Peace ~ Joy ~ Love

in

2011.

Pumpkin Love

Love. A final farewell to the squash stars of my 2010 fall decorating....

Gobble, Gobble!

For this Thanksgiving Dinner we went back to the tried and true traditions. Travis' Aunt Pam and Uncle John hosted dinner and one of the kids barfed. As much as I like to say I am spontaneous there is something comforting about routine. We had a great time, even with the minor interruption of vomit.



The sweet girl who blessed us with the gift of throw-up in the car. Poor Emi. She was not feeling well when she woke up and I just blew it off as pre pre-teen drama. Then the poor kid barfed all over herself in the back of the car 100 yards from Pam and John's doorstep. Everyone was very gracious of course and we stayed for dinner. Emi had to borrow a shirt and was feeling back to herself before we even sat down to eat. Most importantly, no one else got sick. So, who knows, maybe it was nerves? She is the weak stomach in our family after all.

The munchkins enjoying a delicious dinner.

Last, but not least...Abi on seriously her 5th piece of Pam's chocolate pie. I think she ate half the pie all by herself.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010!

2010 ~ Christmas Card Out-takes!

So these are this years Christmas Card options. I must admit I used to silently panic over the whole photo shoot experience. We have tried it all different ways, professionals, friends and the ol' standby - me. None of those options made my stress level any easier to swallow, until... I discovered the Christmas Card Out Take blog entry. It has saved me! I almost look forward to it now. Sounds crazy, I know. However, these pictures, the ones that otherwise would have stressed me out and gone unnoticed into the trash have provided me such an unexpected comic relief. Now I get to post (and save for posterity) pictures that will always remind me of how hilarious it is to try and get three little kids to not only sit still (completely impossible for Billy), but also cooperate for a ridiculous amount of camera clicks. All for that one picture that you can maybe photoshop into being not great or even good, but hopefully at least presentable!

Billy really, truly cannot be still. I think he actually believes there are ants in his pants. His degree of wiggle fluctuates from twitchy fingers, to full on wiggly legs and then finally to....

...mentally departing this experience for one that must be way cooler in his head. He is a funny kid. We got up early one day while we were at the beach this last trip to try and get the dreaded picture in the morning light. As is plainly obvious, we didn't make it as early as I had hoped, but I am determined and one of these will be the featured 2010 photo.

Love the toes!

Here are the options....

perhaps this one?

or maybe this one?

Hmmm....

I was worried about how this years card would turn out without the creative genius of my sister. She opted to spend her time on her own cards this year (boo). I had better get one! But, I must say they arrived this afternoon and I am really happy. They aren't incredible and beautiful like when she does them, but they aren't mainstream either. They are perfect!

Merry Christmas!