May Happenings

When we went to Scheel's for the Easter activity, Hayley noticed that they were doing a Mother's Day craft the next month.  She was all for going, and Jackson was pretty excited about he big truck photo opp that they had.

Also for Mother's Day, Jackson was pretty excited for cake.  When I left the kitchen for a minute in the middle of frosting the cake, this is what I came back to.

Also this May, Jeremy and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary!  We rode Trax up to City Creek and walked around and did some shopping, and then had dinner and ice cream at Culver's.  It was such a fun date, to celebrate a fun decade.

Looking forward to lots more fun times with this cute, little family of mine.

Easter Fun

We started out our festivities at the Breakfast with the Bunny at the Fitness Center.  Jackson has really warmed up to the bunny and characters in general in the last year or so.

Hayley was willing to sit with the bunny too.  Even though she told me she knew that the bunny was "really just a person in a suit."

 Next we headed downstairs to the egg hunt in Edutainment.  Hayley got a haul of candy.  So worth the $3.00 we paid.  And so much better than the outdoor egg hunt we attempted last year.

 

Jackson liked it too.  It was nice that there was so much candy it wasn't such a rush, and the kids could actually gather them on their own.

Two happy impressed kids.

Later that day we headed out to Scheel's.  They had more of a treasure hunt for eggs and other fun stuff (sports simulator tokens, ferris wheel tickets...) all around the store.  It was very fun, relaxed, and low key.

The Easter Bunny was awfully busy, because even after two appearances on Saturday, he still hid a few eggs and left baskets at our house for the kids.  Clothes for Jackson, swimsuits for Hayley.  Funny how that Easter Bunny knew exactly what they needed and didn't need... N-O-T Not more candy!

Hayley doesn't mind getting all dressed up, but this is as close as Jackson will get.  He is fully dressed with a smile though!

We also headed out to Grandma and Grandpa Bachman's before Jeremy had to head to work on Sunday, and to Grandma Heidi and Grandpa Bob's that evening for Sunday Dinner.  My mom does a hunt that even gets the adults involved, considering that the hides a golden egg with $20 to $50 in it.  I have never found it.  Egg hunts are not my forte, I guess.  But it was a very happy, very busy Easter!

March and April Catch-Up

 This is what Hayley does when no friends can play: Creates a stakeout.

So she doesn't miss it if any of them come home, or are suddenly able to play.

 

She decided to dress up as a "green librarian" (whatever that is) for St. Patrick's Day.  And she picked this book to read to us since it was about a garden and had a lot of green in it.

I thought we needed some fancy dessert for St. Patty's, complete with rainbows and shamrocks.

And a surprise inside!

Hayley was excited to see the (girl?) Easter Bunny.  Jackson was... indifferent. (But not crying, so that's improvement.)  I got in trouble for taking a picture with my own camera.  Oh well.

Jackson was telling me he was a walrus.

By the time I got the video going, he had moved on to other imaginary play.

And last but not least, Hayley just finished her first chapter book, Junie B. Jones: Monkey Business.

Just some background: Junie B.'s grandma tells her that her new little brother is the "cutest little monkey she's ever seen" and Junie B. takes it very literally, and tells all her school friends she has a "real, alive monkey" for a little brother.

I love listening to this girl read.  Her expression and the way that she thinks about what she reads is awesome!

Hayley is Seven!

Hayley really wanted to have a sleepover party this year.  After much begging and discussion, we agreed, but also wrote on the invitation that kids could just come and have a "late-over" if they wanted.  Lucky for us, we only ended up with one of Hayley's friends sleeping over, but everyone else that was invited was able to attend to the late-over.

They had so much fun!  They wove their own baskets:

And had a little treasure hunt:

Hayley had requested that my mom be a clown at her party.  Since my mom is a real trooper, she came up with a whole little comedy/magic act.

It was a hit!

There were also cupcakes and singing:

And then we watched the Lorax to end the late-over.
A fun time had by all!

Happy birthday Hayley!

Family Party

After a very fun late-over and sleepover, we threw Hayley a family party the next day.  It was fun to get all the cousins together to play, and all the adults together to talk.  Or play as well, as that suited some of them.

Aunt Anke has the kids hooked on having a pinata at each of their birthdays.  The only problem was the one this year was so heavy, it was hard to hang it anywhere.  That didn't stop the kids though.  We just put it on the floor and let them beat on it.  Jackson was in heaven with that much paper to rip. 

Hayley got so many fun gifts.  Apparently, she is one very loved little girl.

(Please notice the very fake "blowing out the candles" picture.  I wasn't quick enough with the camera to catch the real thing.)

Aunt Whitney had to work, but she brought Hayley over a special gift the night before:

And really, what's a family party without my family reminding me that my seven-year-old is a more experienced crafter than myself? :)

It's all in good fun, and it was a really fun birthday.  Here's to another great year, with another great girl!

To Tide You Over...

Hayley is seven.

She had a great birthday.

I will blog about it.

Eventually.

Not in the mood today.

In the meantime,

here are some funnies from Jackson:

At IKEA, Jackson walked away from the train table, and another little boy picked up the train he had been playing with.  Jackson came back to the train table a little later, saw the boy playing with it, and yelled at him, "Not share!  Go away, not friend!"  Yeah, instead we went away.

Jackson will ask to watch "Elmo Bird Show" (Sesame Street) but then for at least half of it, he will talk to the TV and say, "Stop that!  You're annoying!"  With the asking for it, it's kind of like a self inflicted punishment.

Rolls, Birds, Ducks, and Geese

So, it's not so much that I am behind on my blogging, but more that we haven't really done anything that exciting lately.  So much so, that I got out the camera to put some pictures with this post, and the only new ones on there are some randomness that Hayley took when I handed her my camera to stave off some boredom.  If you are also looking to conquer your own boredom, here are some funnies for you from my kids:

Hayley calls Tootsie Rolls "Titsie Rolls."

Jackson calls Big Bird "Elmo Bird."

And this little chat with Jackson the other day:
Me: "Look Jackson, there are some geese."
Jackson: "Those are not geese, they are ducks!"
Me: "No, I'm pretty sure they are geese."
Jackson: "THEY ARE NOT GEESE!  THEY ARE DUCKS!"
Me: "Hmm.  Looks like they are eating the grass."
Jackson: "Ducks do not eat the grass!"
Me: "Then maybe they are eating the snow."
Jackson: "Ducks do not eat snow!"
Me: "Okay, fine.  Then what do ducks eat?"
Jackson: "Um... um... hamburgers or something!"

Holy argumentative child of mine!