So Very Busy ... So Behind on the Blog

Things have been insane here this past month. We have been so busy with birthday parties, school stuff, and snow, snow, snow! I'm going to try to catch up the blog -- probably by just posting lots of photos. That is, if anyone still reads this ...

Snow, Ice, Canceled Party, Sleepover

It has been one heck of a day! Woke up to icky, wet, rainy, sleeting, freezing weather and schools closed. Stu's work was one of the few places in town that was requiring employees to come in.
Conall began to get worried about his birthday party, scheduled for tomorrow. We'd talked a few days ago about the possibility of snow and ice and what that would mean. He had one small meltdown, but luckily Kanton came over to invite him to play. Then, they went with Kanton's parents to play with some of the kids up the street who have sleds. They got to sled up and down the hill and had a ball!
Stu and I watched the weather and waited, trying to decide what to do ... then it became obvious that the weather wasn't going to get better and was probably going to get worse. Stu's work sent everyone home early because the weather and road conditions were getting worse. We decided to reschedule the party for next weekend and start calling parents.
After playing next door for a few hours, the kids headed over here to play. The boys started asking if they could have a sleepover and after talking to Kanton's parents we agreed to give it a try. It really did help with the disappointment of the birthday party being rescheduled. The roads weren't too horrible yet, so Stu headed out for pizza and a movie.

Daddy got "special Hogwarts candles" -- they blow out, relight, blow out, etc.!

Conall still trying to blow those candles out and Kanton asking "could I get some of those for my birthday?"

The boys playing with Conall's early birthday gift -- a miniature air hockey game.

Later, Caitlin beat them all in every game she played.

The kids enjoyed pizza, ate some early birthday cake, watched a little of their movie, played for awhile and then were ready to put their PJ's on. Caitlin had a meltdown about wanting to join the boys for the sleepover, but otherwise things went smoothly.

The boys "read to each other," came and got me for a drink, got up to potty and generally stalled. Conall informed me that we could skip hugs and kisses tonight (sniff, sniff).  Kanton told me that he thought he'd stay for breakfast. He said "I've never eaten breakfast here before." We started talking about what Kanton liked to eat and he said "do you think I could have a menu?".

the surprise photo

posing for a photo of their "first sleepover"

A little later the boys came into Caitlin's room while I was rocking her and trying to calm her down. Conall said "Mommy, can ghosts really travel through walls?" I told him that they could in the stories. Conall started looking around and turning in circles, looking for the ghosts who were going to travel through walls. Then both boys asked "Are ghosts real?" I sent them to talk to daddy.

The boys convinced daddy to put sleeping bags and pillows on the floor and to let them sleep there. Then, they got daddy to tell them ghost stories for quite some time. Sometime after 9:30 they started to quiet down. We'll see if we make it through the entire night! I better get that menu ready just in case!

Party Animals

Kate, Conall and Caitlin's cousin, celebrated her 2nd birthday this weekend with a big outside party. The kids and the adults had a great time and the weather was beautiful! Here's some picks of the party animals!

the birthday girl with her Minnie ears

Caitlin

Caitlin playing with the dog, Joey, and his ball

Grands shot -- all the grandkids made it this year!

L to R: Tristan (Brooke's oldest), Conall, Kate (Megan's, the birthday girl), Na Na, Caitlin, Po Po, and baby Layton (Brooke's youngest)

Conall at the bottom of the bouncy house, or "Opa!"

baby Layton trying to steal Caitlin's sippy

the girls playing with bubbles

Caitlin letting Aunt Megan put a Minnie Mouse tattoo on her arm

Caitlin jumping with her mouth wide open and giggling!

the girls with their glares -- they were told to stop for the picture, so they glared at Stu for taking the picture!

Soccer Pizza Party

Conall's soccer team, the Cheetah Stars, had their end of the season pizza party last night at Razorback Pizza. They also got their medals and trophies. Conall was so excited that he wore his uniform jersey to the party. He wanted to wear his soccer cleats, but I wouldn't let him.

If you've ever been to Razorback Pizza, you know they have games for the kids to play (for money, of course). The kids went through all of the games and had a ton of fun hanging out with each other. They also all got to sit together in a large booth to eat, without the adults, which they thought was really cool.

At one point, Conall got up from his table and headed over to the waitresses's station. We saw him very matter-of-factly talking to a waitress and it appeared he was ordering something. Stu got up to see what he was doing and of course, Conall had just ordered an apple juice (we got him water) and two waitresses were working to get him one while he stood there and waited. Gee, there isn't anything shy about my boy! I guess I'm just lucky he didn't order a couple of more pizzas.

He was very excited about his medal and trophy (even though the coach spelled his name wrong). We got home from the party and he was tired. He was getting himself undressed and dressed for bed before we could even get Caitlin's bath drawn. He went to sleep almost immediately last night.

The team's table

Conall and his medal

Conall getting his trophy

Checking out the trophy -- the soccer ball actually spins

The team showing off their trophies

More Pictures on Site

Check out Jason and David's site at www.lifeintherock.com . Go to the Galleries tab and click on Caitlin's party. All of the pictures from the party are up now.

Photo With a Blanket

I was taking photos of the kids playing "party" while jumping on my bed the other day, when Conall asked me to take his photo. He kept insisting that I take his picture with him holding the blanket up to his face. I think he was trying to pose like he did in the professional print I have of him playing with his blanket. Silly boy!

My Party

Caitlin and I found a really cute princess hat at Target in the dollar bin. I told her it was a princess hat and that she could wear it at her birthday party. She wore it all through the store saying "party" and pointing at it. People would stop us and tell us how "cute" and "pretty" she is. Now she points at the hat and either says "party," "cute," or "pretty."

They had the hats in pink and lavender, so we got one of each. She wore one of them all afternoon around the house, carrying the other one with her. At one point, she and Conall climbed on our bed, jumped on it and then covered themselves up. The whole time Caitlin kept pointing at her hat and saying "party."