Landon's Prehistoric Dig

We had some sand delivered and Landon had his first "Paleontologist" friend birthday party ever. And it was monumental!

The invites were wrapped in a sleeve map and punched circle.

The day of his birthday we hung this sign on the door and various wood stakes around the yard. Of course there were dinosaur (chalk) footprints as well.

He left for preschool in the morning carrying a bag with a treat inside for everyone in his class. I painted 60+ something of these. (I would have bought them at a bakery if I could have found them though!)

We tried to set the yard like a vintage dig site.(Ryan just came off a looong 24 hours with no sleep and he jumped right in to help me- such a good dad!) I started all the kids in the tent. They each were given a canvas hat and told that in order to be a "true dinosaur hunter" they had to learn how dinosaurs behaved and where they lived. That meant they needed to learn how dinosaurs stomped, what it was like to see a volcano erupt, needed to try to fly like a pterodactyls, and then they could dig like a Paleontologist.

I made these dino tails for the Dino Stomp station. (credits at end)

At the dig site we had a bucket full of different wooden paint brushes and shovels.

This was the happiest place of all. Kids skipped dinner and cake and even the jump castle to dig over and over again.

This volcano erupted coke and mentos- it was super easy to make (insulating foam from the hardware store and then spraypainted). It was a big hit and blew 15 plus feet each time.


The food buffet: Dino shaped nuggets kept warm in chaffing dish. Warmed bread sticks. Fruit, Veggie & Chip cups with Lava fruit punch and Ice Water.

Wooden Dinosaurs, leafy ferns, textured brown fabrics set the serving tables.

Costco cake with cut-out sugar cookie bones.

Treat bags. Something like 30. It seemed the perfect time for a dinosaur party at the dollar stores- there were hatch a dino egg toys and dinosaur hats. I bought dinosaur gliders and candies and filled little lab like bags with chocolate rocks that I labeled with stickers.

Tag that hung on the outside:

And sticker I applied to the outside to give it a more official feel.

I honestly could not have pulled any of this off if parents had not stayed and helped (I did not expect them too though!)- although I did hire 2 pre-teen girls to help and they were awesome. I kept warm "more gourmet" type pizzas and fruit inside for parents. I had one friend, Lisa, who came and grabbed all my fruit and vegetables early in the day to prep and portion them all ahead of time. She was such a lifesaver! Then I had another friend, Keisha, that stood in the kitchen and baked nuggets and bread sticks all night. I knew little sandy hands would need washed before dinner, and had planned for that with stepladders and disposable towels in my bathrooms, but the pediatrician, who's children were at the party, said, "Forget that! I'll soap them all up from the hose outside!"

It went off just as I had hoped- Landon had such a happy day! The rest of the kids in our family were so happy to be celebrating him, it makes all the preparation worthwhile.

credits:

invites: made by me!

dinosaur clipart- pc crafter

Harbor Freight- wooden dinosaurs on table

dinosaur tails- by Jessica
volcano- directions

birthday cake- family fun

chalk board food labels- etsy store: bradensgracewallart

custom birthday boy shirts- etsy store: PricelessKids'

Wobbly Eye Surgery

In August Jackson had eye surgery (Strabismus). Ryan and I noticed when he was about 18 months old in pictures that one of his eyes was not "straight on". He was refered to a specialist who followed him for the past 2 years. We tried patching, which was frusterating for him and then us. It slowly progressed to drifting on both eyes. Ryan, Tanner, and I saw it daily and frequently but for the most part people never noticed that his eyes were lazy. It was most apparent when he was looking at things in the distance or tired.

When we took him back for a 3 year check up, his symptoms had increased from mild to moderate. It was recommended to us to have the eye muscle surgery. We had one more pre-op appointment before sugery and I was hoping it would actually be something that we could hold off on. Our doctor was very frank and believed it was a necessary procedure. It was hard to commit to because it was not something that was easily noticable on Jackson. But we had noticed him tripping more and also knew reading and comprehension would be tougher if his eyes were not straight on.

He had the 2 hour surgery and an uncomfortable 24 hour recovery. He was back to normal after a week. Truly, I find it miraculous the things medicine and skilled doctors can do.

We prayed for the surgeons hands. Each child seemed to remember to ask for blessings on the doctors leading up to the surgery.

We had not mentioned the surgery at church and yet before I knew it Jackson's little friends brought over a candy bouquet and Joni and Lisa brought in meals- more like feasts!- so I could just take care of Jackson and nothing else. Such loving appreciated gestures!

As of right now, we still see drifting, but it's much much improved. We knew that there could possibly be another corrective surgery down the road. But, that's down the road.

Finally, a lost tooth!

She was trying to make her teeth wiggly. She wanted to be counted on the "lost tooth" graph at school in kindergarten last year. She told me over and over that she had a loose one to no avail. The official loose tooth I twisted just a bit and it fell out. Her face was shocked and she was so happy. The toothfairy was coming!

(We made Tanner promise not to ruin it for her! He was threatened with loss of leggos and anything else he enjoys if he told her who the toothfairy was. He didn't tell her and played along with her great!)

Back to School

Tanner & Emma both go to the same school. Emma started 1st grade- it's her first year with full time day. Tanner started 4th grade. Landon missed the kindergarten cut-off by a few days. But, he seems like such a little guy and so we were okay with that. I got him into a motessori preschool that's full day, 5 days a week, and he loves it! I was going to start him just part time, but that was not what he wanted.



So, that officially takes me down to 2 kids home full time. Both in diapers. It's been a few years since I only had 2 home. As I go to the grocery store or run errands I feel like I am missing someone- but I won't complain, I am far more effective.

So, it's just Jacks and Charlotte and me. They like my protein smoothies and are pretty good about letting me run them in my jogger. Back to routine at our home- but I won't complain about that either.

Summer 2011 Wrap Up

Before school got out last spring, I was mildly thinking since I have been unhappy with our base school, that maybe I could homeschool. Then Summer hit full throttle. Trying to keep up with Summer workbooks and kids not wanting to do them was... trying. The last 2 weeks of Summer were full of "bored" phrases by my kids. School getting back in really was a happy day. Even for them.

Tanner had Cub Scout Day Camp for 3 days (which Ryan and I each went and chaperoned on different days), week long golf camp, he was able to go to the youth center and check himself into play or hang out with friends. There was a sno-cone stand he and a friend thought up, and I shaved ice on demand. He went on 2 field trips with the youth center, one to a ropes course and one to the big water park in Boise- which I am just not capable of managing with all them by myself.

The sprinklers from the communal grass behind us were played in almost daily. I sent them out to play in dry clothes and they came home wet. I learned to just put swimsuits on them. We had playdates, bike rides, and lots of popsicles. My water park was still a hit.

We went to the zoo and splash park in Boise. We went to our favorite Boise pool that has a great toddler pool. We had a day of horseback riding lessons.

We saw my sisters Summer and Melissa and their kids and Julie and Maddie when they all came to visit my mom. We saw Paul and Dee for the day. We saw Stephanie and kids in California when we visited for the wedding. We traveled down to Alpine, Utah for a super fast trip to stay at Kristi and Todd's and reunion with Ang & Jed- all our old Kentucky crowd. 2 years has gone by and still we miss our life there. My kids think our Kentucky crowd are cousins.

The Summer was full and busy. I loved having Ryan come home every day- I watched the clock. His energy was ready to play with them, when mine was long gone.

(I'm still cubmaster.)





At the zoo:

Black feet, sandy hair, skinned knees, sno cone stains, and sunburns. All deserved bath time every night. And I know, because everyone says so, that I will miss these days. I will miss them all home under my feet and all the messes they make. But I really liked them all tucked in to sleep everynight too. :)

Ryan goes on High Adventure

Otherwise known as scout camp. As the Young Men President it seems this past summer Ryan "vacationed" more with the scouts than our family. And let me tell you there was a smile on his face as he ripped out of the driveway to get there. For this outing they traveled half a day a away to get to the snake river. There they rafted down the white water and came home 3 days later.

Their trip had been postponed once for too fast and high of water. When they officially left, I was a bit nervous. I still try not to think about the wild things they did. I suppose it is typical of young scouts, but of a mid-something 30 year old, I'm not so sure. He kept telling me he was safe. And I believed him and my lectures of "you have 5 kids to support," and, "if you die and leave me I will dig you up and kill you again," must have resonated a bit. He did come home safe. I know that the boys had a good time.

And then I saw the video of the cliff they kept jumping off. And watched all the video Ryan took, as they were rafting the white water- and told him it probably would have been safest to hold on and not be pushing record. But he smiles every time he hits play to watch his boys.

The food was not good- they paid a company to go and manage all the details. Ryan would probably do that a little different next time. The boys were hungry before dinner one night and scavaged fresh berries.

And killed and ate a snake, only because he told them "if you kill it, you have to eat it." Waste not want not I guess.

"Riding the bull"

On a side note- as an adult I see how much work and effort goes into youth callings. I did not nearly appreciate my leaders enough. Mostly I never told them how grateful I was for what they did for me. And that their examples and testimony have left definite influence and direction in my life.