Say Cheese!

Just a few from her party Wednesday. From the left end of the table around to the right end:

Lawson, Morgan, Maddy, Sierra, Emma, Madeline, Alex, Maddie, Johnny, Ethan, Logan, Jayden, Abigail. We pretty much had the place to ourselves and I had great coupons to keep the coins flowing for hardly anything and lots of willing parents to lend a hand where needed. I was pleasantly surprised to see Alex spending individual time with each of her friends throughout the evening. It was a lot of fun to see her be the center of attention she is always striving for.

Happy 6th Birthday Alex!

It's the most CRAZIEST time of the year...

That's how the song should go.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX! Now she really is going to think that the 3rd is her birthday since I didn't type this yesterday. Yesterday she turned 6 but her party is today. She doesn't think she is really six until she blows out those 6 candles at her cake today. Yesterday we started the morning with her favorite breakfast (waffles), unwrapped her first present of the day (from Johnny), a chauffeured ride to school (she usually rides the bus) and rice crispy treats for her class. After school we went to Burger King for kid's meals and extra time on the slides then a new movie once we got home. Once Brad got home she opened her presents from us (art supplies galore) and we headed out to the Micron Christmas Party to see Santa, bounce, slide, swing, win prizes and much more. It's a Christmas carnival we take the kids to every year and it seems like it gets bigger every year and my feet are even more tired every year by the end of the night. Last year I tried to get Alex to go on this trampoline where they attach you to a harness and bungee chords and she turned it down flat. This year we walked past it to meet Brad and Johnny up the stairs for some dinner and she insisted on going on it right then and there. The line looked shorter than I had ever seen it so I decided to take the extra time and give her the opportunity that I was surprised she wanted to take. Well the line ended up being a whole lot longer than what I thought, kids were saving spots for their siblings and it wrapped around the side of the trampoline that I thought were just spectators. So 45 mins later it is Alex's turn and since she looks as big as the other kids that were asking to be rocketed up as high as possible they gave her the same experience. She was off of there in one minute when most turns lasted at least 5. Of course once Johnny saw her on it he wanted a turn too but since he isn't patient enough to wait in line I told him he'd have to wait until next year. I doubt the harness would've even fit around his waist. It was fun though and of course we stayed past bedtime and the kids were exhausted and cranky when we told them it was time to leave. Here's hoping they got enough sleep last night because there's no time for napping today. After lunch we are borrowing my sister in law's Suburban and piling some of her friends in and meeting others at Chuck E Cheese for her birthday party that I literally had nightmares about last night. Here's hoping it all goes smoothly and we won't have to do this again for a few more years.

But of course that didn't start the craziness. Alex finished off school before their break with a Feast Day for about 70 Kindergartners all dressed up as Pilgrims or Indians and lined up in the hall with piles of food on their plates that of course Alex (and most of the others) didn't eat. Good thing there was plenty of popcorn.

Then we hosted Thanksgiving at our house for the Day family with 11 adults and 9 kids (we missed you Bret and Jo!). So for a few days our house was the hub for the gatherings. 2 turkeys, 10 pounds of potatoes, 8 bottles of Martinellis, 6 cans of olives and 12 pies later our house is empty again and feels just a little bit bigger.

Hopefully if I get past today I will be able to get things back on track to finish my website work, photography work, Brad's birthday, Alex's friend's birthdays, Christmas shopping, Christmas cards, put up Christmas decorations, fold the mountain of laundry that has accumulated, catch up on dishes, clean the house, take Alex to see the Nutcracker (can't wait), get ready for my sister Sariah and Hunter to fly out for a two week visit (just booked her tickets last night, yeah!), and check off the dozen other things on my list. Hopefully I'll be able to make a few picture pages for our album and get another blog posted but if you don't hear from me for awhile have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Another Girl's Night

Our original intentions last night were to leave Johnny with a babysitter and Brad, Alex and I would go out to see a play together. We would really like to start including Johnny in these trips but past experience has shown that it usually ends up bad for both Johnny and us. Our neighbor kids were in a play of "Disney's 101 Dalmatians". We love supporting the youth in their extra curricular activities and show our kids all these options of what they could be doing some day. The babysitter had a little too much going on that night and so Brad ended up staying home with Johnny and we made it another "girl's night" out. When we got there, we bought a red licorice rope and found two seats in the middle of the room. We unwrapped our treat and she held onto one end while I had the other and Alex made me promise I wouldn't eat any until the play started. We laughed when Cruela bullied Horace and Jasper around, applauded as the puppies all joined in on the song and dance routines, loved it when one of the puppies bit Horace (one of our neighbors was playing Horace) on the rear and congratulated them when it was all over. It was short and sweet but full of lots of laughs, perfect for Alex's attention span. I have to admit I feel a little spoiled being blessed with this little "grown up" girl that I can hang out with at times like these. Last night we got home a little past bedtime and the first thing she did when she went upstairs was she snuck into Johnny's room, gave him a kiss and turned off his reading lamp. She's feeling pretty grown up these day and realizes that her actions are what earns her the right to do things like this with us (especially since she sees that Johnny's actions earn him the right to stay home). Looking forward to many more nights out with my girl. Maybe when she gets older she'll take me out on the town with her once in awhile (here's hoping).

:o)

100 Years of Magic

Disney on Ice came to Boise so Alex and I made a date out of it. First we stopped at Pizza Hut to use her "Book It" coupon she got last month for reading books at home. Then we headed downtown to see which Disney characters would show up on the ice. She was certain her favorite princess, Sleep Beauty, would be there and couldn't wait to see her. We parked a mile away and ran through the biting cold past all of the kids dressed as Princesses, Buz Light Years and Mr. Incredibles (Alex is wondering why she isn't wearing a costume) to the stadium where we purchased our overpriced popcorn and soda and ran past the other overpriced booths of Disney paraphernalia, up two flights of stairs to our balcony seats. I tried to keep Alex's attention away from her popcorn and the cheap (in quality, not in price) crowns all the other girls were wearing and on the characters skating on the ice. She was a little put out that her Dad's favorite princess, Bell, got to skate and sing for two whole songs (they are always in competition over which Disney princess is the best) and just about every other princess made an appearance except for Sleeping Beauty. Near the end as she's resting her head on my lap, trying not to fall asleep because it is way past her bed time, I'm thinking this is a bust and then she looks at me with a big smile on her face and says "Thank you for taking me to Disney on Ice, it's so awesome. You're the best Mom!" Then we skip to the car, make a quick get away before the parking lot gets packed and she passes out in the back seat before we hit the freeway. I realized that she is going to remember the time we spent together and the fun we did have and not remember any of the things that I thought made the night a downer. Thank heavens for the eyes of a child and good memories of us spending time together!

A Bribe

"Do a good job and let me take pictures of you in your costumes
and I'll take you to the big park and push you on the tire swing."