Snow Days

These pictures were taken in January - they could have been taken on my birthday on April 9th. This has been spring without a spring. But, I'll avoid complaining - We did enjoy a snow day or two - well not Maddie Mae but Caroline especially did! And I am not sure what to say about Topher's get up.

Little Messes

My life is full of little messes. Namely 3 little ones. But it seems the littlest one is the biggest mess of them all.

Happy Birthday Topher!

This year Topher turned 6. It was his first birthday party with friends! He chose to have an Avengers themed birthday party. His birthday fell on a Saturday this year and we scheduled it for the 30th! I thought I was so smart - his birthday was at the tail-end of Spring Break and right before Easter. I thought if we invited 14 kids we would have about 4 show up (my kind of party).

 But, Maddie, Topher, and Caroline decided to get sick. We postponed the party and had a family party instead.

 I love how in all the following pictures there is something/someone sitting on Topher's presents.

What a pretty girl.

Topher got a bike for his birthday! And a helmet!

 After we all were feeling better we re-delivered invitations. (Notice the difference?!)

So, we had 14 kids at Topher's party, only one did not show up. It was work, but it was worth it; Topher had a blast. I don't know if I could or want to do it every year, but I am glad I did it for him this year!

Tyler drew all these! Totally why I married him - free party decorations!

Girls wanted to get dressed up as heroes too!

My mother-in-law, Pat, and I made all these the night before! So glad she helped!

Each cape has their first initial.

On the wall we had pin-the-hammar-on-Thor!

At the table the kids could make their own super hero masks.

Nope - not ambitious enough to make the cake! Go Wal-mart!

In the game we hid something in all the balloons. They had to pop them though to find a villian! What a mess!

The kids after they defeated the balloons.

We didn't plan on the kids having weapons. But we let them play the last 15 minutes of the party. They found all the weapons. We had enough for 14 kids to each have at least one weapon; many had more. Sad considering I only have 3 kids.

Love all the little heroes. Especially super-snow-white.

What a fun day!

Love

Love of a team (or I suppose more a childhood pastime and passion):
As a parent I suppose you have a right to brainwash your child. Tyler has done that with our children. There is no hope, they are 49er fans. So, this year we gathered at Tyler's brother's house to watch the Super Bowl (49ers vs. Ravens). And of course we were all decked out in red and gold. Sadly, we did not win but we enjoyed good food with wonderful company!

Love of a Family Tradition:
Another privilege of being a parent is choosing what traditions your family will continue with from your childhood and what new ones you will start with your family! I love the sugar cookies my mom made for Valentines and so I continue it on! I have so sweet and beautiful babies. I love them!

 Love of time well spent with Tyler:
Tyler and I have found enjoyment in working together on refinishing furniture. We do like the furniture, but I love the time in the evenings we get to spend talking and sanding or staining or painting. What fun it has been. Here are a few pictures of some of our most recent projects.

How they started.

Sanded - a lot of work!

First coat of stain.

Comparison of the original to our refinished one.

 And last of all - I realized that I have not yet posted a picture of my new hair - red!