Camelot: Family Life

Showing posts with label Family Life. Show all posts

Ninja at my table

>> Thursday, July 24, 2014 – Family Life, Fun

A little ninja showed up at my table for lunch. He had to pull down his mask in order to eat his sandwich, but otherwise his identity was still protected.

A transformer named Bumble Bee appeared during a recent visit to Grandma's house.

Then Wonder Woman was created from an unraveled cardboard toilet paper tube covered in yellow paper and a red piece of ribbon cut into a star. I think this is promising to be an interesting summer!

I don't mind the super heroes around here. In the end, we all want to be a force for good and help the people around us. It doesn't hurt to have to throw in a few awesome acrobatic moves, either.

Have a great Thursday!

A Tiered Rose Birthday Cake

>> Saturday, July 19, 2014 – Family Life

This little sweetheart loves all things glittery, and all things that involve flying unicorns. So it seemed quite logical that she would request a tiered "wedding cake" for her birthday with a flying unicorn cake topper. Wow. Where do kids come up with these ideas?!?

After hearing her request, this is what I came up with. It is actually the first cake I have ever made using icing decorator tips. The boys have always been content with whatever I can make with a butter knife, whipped topping, and a few colored sprinkles, but I think this cake just raised the birthday standard around here. (Translation: more planning and work for the mama.)

"Ooooh, I love it!" she said. "But I thought it would be round."

In my defense, the word "round" had never come up in all the discussions about a tiered wedding-style cake. Obviously at this point, she just had to be happy with it...and she was.

This was my favorite photo from the family birthday party. It was the moment when she called out, "STOP, Daddy! Don't light the candles!!!" It turns out we needed to pause for a restroom break.

After singing Happy Birthday, and then Happy Birthday Cha-cha-cha, and then a Spanish version of Happy Birthday, she finally blew out the candles...which was a good thing because I was beginning to wonder how long it would take before Twilight Sparkle's tail would catch on fire. Fortunately no toy ponies were harmed during this birthday celebration.

Next step: digging in. Happy birthday, Sweetheart!

(Note: Twilight Sparkle and My Little Pony are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.)

Happy 4th of July!

>> Friday, July 4, 2014 – Family Life, Fun, Holiday

According to my children, today is the best day ever! They get lots of parade candy, they don't have to do chores, they get to eat hotdogs and melons, plus they get to stay up to watch fireworks. Yep, sounds pretty much like a perfect day!

Here they are, anxiously waiting for the parade to start.

This little guy was all excited about the tractors in the parade.

He gathered a few pieces of candy, but then he just wanted to eat a lollipop and watch all the fun.

The day was warm, and someone was handing out ice-pops instead of tossing candy. What a great idea!

After the parade, we stopped to watch a chainsaw artist. He really did some amazing work. I loved the two-tone look of this particular carving.

Here was an attempt to get a photo by a cool tree that had exposed, mossy roots. We had some red-white-and-blue coordination going on, which was nice.

Sometimes people are surprised at how many photos I take each month. I won't disclose the exact amount (ahem), but it is somewhere in the thousands. With kids, though, it can take tons of tries to get everyone looking, smiling, and in a decent position.

This is a more realistic version of the previous photo. The youngest was making a run for it and inadvertently took out his brother in the meantime. Our oldest was then thrown off balance and, well, it was like watching dominoes as everyone toppled over. Fortunately no one was hurt and our holiday ended with fantastic memories and fireworks.

Happy 4th of July!

Easter Egg Hunt

>> Monday, April 21, 2014 – Family Life, Holiday

"Grab a basket, kids. We're going on an adventure!"

My parents were here visiting, and we decided to do a quick Easter egg hunt in our own yard, just for fun. It was in the evening after school and work, so we had to be quick before daylight disappeared.

And they're off!

Grandma had done a good job of hiding the eggs up in trees, behind rocks, and nestled in the grass.

There were bright colored eggs, of course, but we threw in some camouflage eggs, too, just to make things interesting. The older children needed a challenge.

This little guy insisted on wearing his bright shiny boots for the special occasion.

The children did a good job of sticking together and helping the little ones fill their baskets.

What were they doing here? Comparing their Easter egg haul? Oh no. Not my boys. I found out later that they had been negotiating trades for the camouflage eggs.

Boys will be boys!

Apparently camouflage eggs were the prized find.

Never mind that they had exactly the same treats inside as all the other eggs.

Happiness is a full Easter basket.

Look at that smile...and he hadn't even figured out yet that there were treats inside the eggs.

Grandpa found a real bird's nest while helping the kids find Easter eggs.

The nest was empty from past seasons.

So the boys donated one of their eggs to fill it!

Happy Easter, everyone!

I hope your adventures were as fun as ours.

Just So Twirly

>> Monday, January 13, 2014 – Family Life

Our three-year-old son loves to do lessons. I think it makes him feel all grown up like the bigger kids who go to school.

He is starting to get pretty good at holding a pencil and drawing straight or curved lines.

On this particular page, the objective was to circle all of the gray objects. My little man seemed to be taking his time with this one. After a while he looked up and said, "Sorry, Mama. I got a little distracted by the mouse's tail...."

"It was just so twirly!"

Happy Anniversary, Darlin'

>> Monday, May 20, 2013 – Family Life, Scrapbook pages, Studio J

If my husband reads this post title, he won't know who I'm talking about. I always call him "Daddy," even when the kids aren't around. It has become a habit.

I do remember joking around once and calling him my "hunka-hunka burnin' love," after which he looked at me like I was an alien, and then he fell over laughing.

This month we are celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary. I've wanted to do something with these engagement photos for some time, but it seemed like a hard task since some were snapshots and some were more professional. The photos were also taken on three different occasions during our engagement. I finally figured out how to bring them all together by using Close To My Heart's Studio J online scrapbooking, which made it so easy, and I love, love, love how it turned out.

So, Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart. This one's for you!

The One-Lollipop Haircut...and other news

>> Monday, April 8, 2013 – Family Life

Our baby received his first haircut this weekend. Look at that face! He's probably wondering what in the world is goin' on?!?

We called it a "One-Lollipop Haircut." When the lollipop was done, so was the haircut.

This was his first-ever lollipop. He didn't quite know what to do with it.

Not bad for a One-Lollipop Haircut, don't you think?

What a charmer. He looks like such a little boy now. I'm not quite sure I'm ready for this. He is growing up way too fast!

In other news... Sometimes we do fancy braids, 'cause Grandma always does fancy braids, and we miss her.

This is a face that is saying, "Can I put on lipstick like you, Mama?"

Ack!!! Your baby brother is already growing up, looking like a little boy. You, little sweetie, will have to be at least 20 before lipstick is allowed.

Grandma and Grandpa have been on a church mission to Guam. They sent these fun outfits for us to wear: pink flowered shirts for the boys and dresses for the girls. I'm also wearing hand-crafted seashell jewelry from Guam. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!