Sunday, November 28, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Brother love
2002
Christmas 2007
Picture book love
Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
I'm so glad. I'm so glad to have our picture books loved on by yet another boy.
Friday, November 19, 2010
{this moment}
{this moment} - "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember." See SouleMama.com
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
The 8th Birthday - Nerf Edition
It's always risky planning a November birthday party outside, but we lucked out, and other than feeling a tad bit brisk, Charlie Brown had a wonderful 8th birthday party at one of our local parks. It was definitely better than having it at the house, which the boys had originally proposed. (Eight-year-olds, armed with Nerf guns, inside -- did they think I was crazy??)
I'm generally not great with theme parties, but I think we pulled this one off fairly well. I'm glad that not every possible children's theme has its own aisle at the Party Pig, but it meant that we had to come up with our own way to coordinate food, decorations, etc. We purchased simple blue and orange plates, napkins, and utensils and went with blue and orange snack foods since it was an afternoon party. Cheese cubes, carrots and tangerines balanced out the sugar from the blue jello jigglers and fruit roll-ups. Some blue and orange Capri Suns and a beautiful cake topped with strawberries and peaches from Mr. Natural rounded out the dining options.
Blue and orange bandanas wrapped around little Nerf pistols served as party favors, and the bandanas did double duty, serving as markers to divide the teams for battle. Unfortunately many of the party favor pistols were duds, but all the kids and adults who played were great about sharing the Nerf guns we'd brought from home.
Thanks to my amazingly talented and generous friend, Dreena, we brought our new hula hoops to distract and entertain anyone who didn't want to engage in warfare.
Blessed with beautiful weather, great friends and family, and a very charming birthday boy who was showered with presents that were perfect for him, we had a grand time!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
waterfalls, whirligigs, snap circuits and such
We also headed to Fort Worth for Lyman to attend a conference. We had the decadent experience of my brother agreeing to take the boys for a couple of nights. With Lyman and I having some time to ourselves, snuck out for our perfect geeky date of a movie, "The American," and a bookstore visit. We also had a great meal at Ferre Ristaurante e Bar.
Crazy October 2010
We had a great time. We saw deer, armadillos, sunrises and sunsets, went on hikes and rode our bikes. The boys' primary and most engrossing activity consisted of sharpening sticks and slaying prickly pear. It truly kept them busy for hours. We definitely want to revist the park in the summer when the pool is open, and definitely stay in the yurts again. (One of our friends checked out the yurts more recently. They were not as impressed with the park itself, but she's got some amazing photos you should check out.)
Finally we wrapped up with Halloween. Thankfully Lyman took charge of decorating the house, and our good friend invited us over to carve pumpkins at her house. She went above and beyond with creative decorating and dinner ideas for the party.
All the kids' pumpkins turned out great, but my children did have to be told that next year their jack-o-lanterns could not be carved as to suggest bullet holes. (I swear we're peace loving people!)
Hope everyone else is having a great fall!