Scotty's 5th Birthday-Pirate Party

November 2010
Scotty wanted to have a Pirate birthday party this year.  He had been talking about it as much and as long as he had talked about being a pirate for Halloween.  He had been anticipating his birthday for many, many months.  I searched stores and found a bunch of pirate stuff, got game ideas, and thought I had it all together.  I was given tips from a few people on how many people to invite and how many games to have.  I THOUGHT I was prepared.  Boy was I wrong!  I'll have to prepare twice as much next time and appoint helpers to help (instead of sit on the couch and watch me flounder--Derrick--!!)

First, as the kids arrived, I wanted to get pictures of them by the pirates chest.  Unfortunately, I was only able to get pictures of a few so here's one of Scotty with his buddy Logan.

(Scotty and Logan)

Also while waiting for kids to show up, we had pirate coloring pages ready for the kids to color and pirate hats and eye patches to put on.

(Saige, Colton, Soren, and Kendis)

Then the games began.  First they played pin the treasure chest on the map, then they played "walk the plank," and then we had a treasure hunt.  I had written out clues that led from one place in the house to another until they found the treasure chest.  Once they found the treasure chest, I went to divvy up the treasure and Derrick conducted this balloon game (cannonball bop.)  They had to keep hitting the balloons in the air and not let them hit the ground



(Cannonball Bop)



Then it was time for cake.

(almost time to sing!)



(blowing out the candles.  L-R: Jacob, Marlee, Salem, Colton, Rigley, Scotty, Kassidy, Kendis)

After the kids all had sugar in their tummies, it was time for presents!!  Could this little boy look any more excited for this part of his party??





(Scotty was spoiled by his friends and received many amazing gifts)



(Soren, Garret, Saige, Kassidy, and Eric watching Scotty unwrap presents)

After presents, the kids went to run around in the back yard while waiting for their parents.  If only I knew that running around in a yard full of rocks would have been the funnest part of the party for some of these kids, we would have done things a little differently!  Kaaryn also had the wonderful idea to get all of the kids who were still there together for a picture.



(Back L-R:  Rigley D, Rachel G, Saige S, Jacob G, Soren J.  Front:  Logan B, Marlee M, Colton S, Salem P, Scotty P, Kassidy B, Garret H, and Eric H.  Not pictured:  Kendis B and Kaybree B)

After the friends left, some of the relatives stayed for pizza and visiting and then unwrapping presents from mom, dad, and Korbin.  If we had known that Scotty would get so many great gifts from his friends and cousins, I don't think we would have got him so many presents.  

(So excited for Vaders Tie Fighter)

(Kaaryn, Salem, Matt, Kassidy, and Kaybree watching Scotty tear into presents)

(Our little family at Scotty's fun 5th birthday party)

Halloween and the BEST jack-'o-lantern EVER!!

We started hearing about Halloween and what Scotty wanted to be for Halloween in about March.  Seriously, he had been talking about wanting to be a pirate for Halloween for soooo long.  But before getting all dressed up on Halloween, we had to do some pumpkin carving.  I found some Star Wars stencils online and we decided to try them out.  Our first pumpkin was a total success.  We were (still are) pretty proud.  I think even Master Yoda himself would have been pleased!

 After such good results with Yoda, we decided to try for Vader.  I spent so long cutting the stencil and then tracing it onto the pumpkin.  Scotty spent time cleaning the pumpkin out.

 Then, we started cutting and soon realized that the Vader stencil was probably not meant for pumpkins.  It just had too many little skinny places that were caving in almost as soon as we started cutting.  At least Yoda worked out.

Derrick and I took the kids to the midnight madness Halloween event at Frys again this year but I failed to take pictures there.  They had some fun games set up and trick or treating throughout the store. 

But, Scotty still couldn't wait to get completely dressed up for the trunk or treat at the church.  He was so excited to have me draw a pirate's beard on him.

AAAaaaarrrgggghhhhhh Matey!

Korbin is a little too young to have any preference of what he wanted to be for Halloween so we brought out the "Dino"/Dragon costume that Scotty wore for Halloween when he was 2.

 There must be something crazy in that costume because it produced a very similar crying fit to this one we experienced when Scotty wore the costume.  

We went to the trunk or treat at the church on Saturday the 30th.  Scotty had a lot of fun and didn't care as much about how much candy he was getting as he did about seeing his friends and running around with them.  Korbin had fun shoving candy in his mouth as fast as he could for as long as we would let him.  His favorites were Tootsie Rolls.  Since Halloween was on Sunday we didn't take the kids trick or treating but let Scotty hand out candy to the trick or treaters in our neighborhood.  He had just as much fun and felt super important. 

End of July through mid October 2010

It seems as if I'm always playing catch up.  So, I thought I'd just bunch some events together and call it good. 

At the end of July we went to Willcox to hang out with my parents and my sisters and their families.  We took the kids to Apple Annie's Orchard to pick some peaches and apples.  The owner came by while we were starting to get the picking gear and told us we could sample the fruit while picking.  Scotty made sure he jumped on that right away.

Here's his first big bite of his peach. 

 The kids:  Sydney, Susannah, Scotty, Kassidy, and Kaybree

 I didn't take any pictures of the BEST part of Apple Annie's.  The bakery/fudge shop.  YUM!  We just HAD to buy pies, apple bread, cherry butter and fudge.  I probably gained 5 pounds in 1 day!

At the end of August, I put Korbin in the exersaucer while I took a shower.  When I came out I found this.

 I just love sleeping babies!!  It reminds me of a picture of my sister Suzi when she was a baby when she fell asleep in a little wagon. 

Also at the end of August......Derrick's birthday.  I didn't take many pictures but we had a fun time.  Derrick's brother Matt and his family came from Tucson and picked up pizza on their way.  It was so nice of them to help make Derrick's birthday a little more fun/special!!

At the beginning of October, I went to Willcox again to see family but it also was Rex Allen Days.  We took the kids to the parade and the carnival.  I don't know that my kids really enjoyed the parade but Scotty had fun on the carnival rides! 

 

Korbin's 1st Birthday!!

I can't believe our baby boy is 1 year old. It went so fast. It seems as if he was just a tiny little guy a couple of months ago. It's so sad!

Korbin is a pretty good boy and is growing so fast. He's still a crawler and doesn't seem interested in trying to walk yet. He loves to say "Beow" at our cat over and over and it seems as if he is calling all of us "daddy" right now. There have been a couple of times when I have been counting at Scotty One, Two, ........and I swear it sounds like Korbin tries to say "three." He isn't really big into playing with toys right now. He loses interest in each toy about 30 seconds after he starts to play with it. He would crawl around with my cell phone all day though if I'd let him. He loves to "wrestle." He thinks it's so much fun. Derrick and Scotty like to call it "Baby Pile." He loves to watch Little Einsteins and developmental programs for baby. He loves: food, patty cake, clapping for himself, baths, following Scotty around, and so much more.

Now on to the small family birthday party we had last week.

Korbin was not interested in opening gifts at all. Didn't even want to play with the wrapping paper. He would just crawl away. Scotty unwrapped all of the gifts and would then hand them over to Korbin.

Here's the birthday boy surrounded by presents!

Daddy and Scotty tried and tried to get him to tear at the paper.

Yea!! It's my birthday!

The cake and cupcakes I made. (I'm loving owls right now.)





I think he liked the fire.

Korbin's first cupcake. Yummy!

We love you Korbin Dodge!! You're such a fun, adorable boy and we are so grateful to have you in our family.

Mothers Day

"In our society, we give motherhood plenty of lip service," says Oprah Winfrey. "We pat moms on the head, bring them flowers on Mother's Day, and honor them before crowds. But at the end of the day, we don't extend them the same respect we would a professor, a dentist, an accountant, or a judge.

"I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is. To create an environment that's stimulating and nurturing, to pass on a sense of responsibility to another human being, to raise a child capable of anything--I know for sure that few callings are more honorable. To play down mothering as small is to crack the very foundation on which greatness stands.

"The world can only value mothering to the extent that women everywhere stand and declare that it must be so. In our hands we hold the power to transform the perception of motherhood....We should no longer allow a mother to be defined as 'just a mom.' It is on her back that great nations are built." ("What I know for Sure," O, The Oprah magazine)

(Korbin and Scotty on Mother's Day)

Look at these adorable boys. I am so glad that I made the choice to be a mother.

I am so blessed to have them in my life.

I feel so blessed to be able to stay at home with them. While there are times it isn't easy, I'm so grateful that I do have that time with them.

This Mother's Day was great. How could it not be with little boys this cute?? Sure they're naughty sometimes but they are sweet and adorable enough to make up for it!!

Catching Up-- Easter and Alpine Trip

Easter

The past couple of Easters Scotty was able to go on a few Easter egg hunts each year. Well, living here in Casa Grande, I hadn't really heard of any. So, I asked some of the moms that came to play group at the park if they would be interested in doing one for play group.
We made the kids construction paper bunny ears.

Then they were ready to run off into the field to hunt the eggs.

After clearing the field of eggs, they sat in a group on the grass and started checking out their goods and filling up on candy.

On Easter we were able to go to dinner at Grandma Palmer's house. She gave each of the kids a Easter gift. Scotty was so excited about his Batman toys!

Scotty was most excited about getting to hunt for Easter eggs with his cousin Rigley.

All the grandkids sat with Grandma Palmer, Kerry, and Cierra for a picture.

Alpine

In May we were able to go visit my parents in Alpine again. The weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed our time there. Both Scotty and Korbin had fun with Grandma and Grandpa Hansen.

Daddy and Korbin loving the pines!

We went for a little hike to a small lake/pond near the girls camp. It was great to get some exercise in the cooler weather.

We had fun trying to skip rocks on the water. I don't think any of us were able to get any more than 3 skips but it was still fun.

We also took walks around the camp, cooked hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire, watched the funny little chipmunks and the various kinds of birds, and just sat around enjoying the weather and nature. It was wonderful!!