Happy Thanksgiving ~ Count your Blessings

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My son's 6th Birthday Party

My son's Birthday party was yesterday. He LOVES Indiana Jones, so he chose to have an Indiana Jones party. Not so easy to find decorations etc... for Indiana Jones though, that was a bit of a challenge, I was surprised. I ended up driving to another city just to get a couple of items. I made the invitations, they came out pretty cute if I do say so. I was able to find a Pinata, some napkins, a tablecloth, and a banner. My daughter and I made a sign to lead everyone into the backyard. We thought we'd have a scavenger hunt kind of a party. A couple of days before my husband was motivated to build the Lost Temple of Akator, what a cool Daddy he is! The bottom of it was a tunnel around and then the inner part could lead up to a door and they can slide down a slide from there. It's definitely a unique thing, the kids LOVED it. We have a trampoline and a 2 ropes in the trees. We also have a battery powered quad the kids had fun riding so they were kept busy. We had a couple of activities, we had a box of sand with prizes buried in it. The kids were given toilet paper and had to partner up and paper their buddy like a mummy. The Pinata took some time to break. The kids had to find the "Crystal skull" as in the latest Indiana Jones movie AKA a plastic skull pitcher that look an awful lot like the Crystal skull from the movie. It was snuck into the Temple of Akator and had glow sticks and treasures inside of it. The cake turned out really well, I made it myself and my son gave me praises when he first laid eyes on it. I was a little worried about actually cutting into the monstrosity but it went just fine. My son LOVED his party and I think his friends enjoyed it as well.

My son's first field trip

My son went on his first field trip this past week. We went to a dairy farm. It was a nice experience for the kids. They started off with a short teaching session about the cows, then we went on a hayride to tour the farm and learn more. They fed the goats, a horse and a bunny and hung out with a duck with a unique head. Then we had lunch and they went in a hay bail maze. After that it was time to leave.

School Fall Festival

My son's school had it's annual Fall Festival. It was a lot of fun for the kids. He wanted to climb and he made it all the way to the top! I was very proud of his persistance, awesome job! My daughter is at the age where she just wanted to hang out with her friends, wouldn't be caught in any of the bounce houses.... Quite a few of last years sixth graders were there to re-visit their old school or accompany their younger siblings.

My Baby turns 13!

My daughter turned 13, WOW a teenager I can't believe it! I know I am about a month behind in posting that. I had some technical difficulty with some pictures that were taken on our video camera for a previous post. I chose not to use them, we are camera snobs I guess, the quality didn't meet our expectations. For a video camera though it works great. So back to my daughter's Birthday, I would have loved to do a party since she was crossing over to teenage hood but she had ideas of her own. She wanted to go to the Mall with a friend and then her friend slept over. She had received some money and gift cards for her Birthday and it was burning a hole in her pocket. She loves clothes, and she's a smart shopper for the most part, looks to find the most for her money. She was very generous with her money and bought some things for her friend. I was proud of her and her generosity. The day after she and I went and got our nails done at a salon. She wanted zebra stripes and the lady did a pretty good job at granting her request. A few days before all of this was her actual Birthday. She asked for a Giant Birthday cookie, with red and green lettering. Peace signs are back in again and she really liked them so it seemed appropriate to decorate her cookie with them. We had close friends and family over to celebrate since her Birthday fell during the week this year. Side not on the cookie, I learned a big lesson about how much cookie dough to use and how close to the edge you shouldn't get, can you tell what may have happened?? Cookie was growing and falling off the cookie sheet. No problem though other than wasted cookie dough, I just cut the edges neatly and all was well. My oven however was a big mess.

The reality that she'll finish school in 5 years has hit us. Time goes so fast, you have to make it last and enjoy the journey. Once they are gone, that time can't be taken back. Before you know it your children are grown up and gone in the blink of an eye.

We are having struggles with boys right now. I'll say she has a healthy appreciation for the opposite sex and the feeling is mutual. There is so much attention though that it has become a big distraction. She knows she cannot date yet, however at this age they choose to pair up and call it "going out" even though they go no where together. A parent only has so much control with these things. They may talk on the phone but that's it. Oh it's only the beginning, we've already had talks about her not giving her heart away to every boy that comes along. Hang out in groups of friends, get to know a boy before you commit. We've talked about the gift she will give her husband on her wedding night... All seeds planted for what is to come. Most important, we pray, HARD!