griffin games

Zach's school, Glendale Preparatory Academy, has a spring carnival called the Griffin Games so we took the boys.  Jimmy had a blast, but what kid hopped up on that much sugar and junk food wouldn't?

The students, of course, love seeing Zach's kids and then they really love sending them to jail.

Jimmy had fun with Bradana as usual.  They love chasing each other and pretending to be dragons.  Sometimes she just chases him to try to kiss him.  This picture was particularly appropriate because Bradonna had told her Dad that Jimmy was her prince.

My prince sure has a tiny head.

 And then it was Jimmy vs. Liam in the Bounce House Obstacle Course.

(okay, it was mostly Zach vs. Will)

It was hard to drag Jimmy away from this thing.

elmo day

I have no pictures of my own kids here, but I thought it was pretty hilarious so I should share it.  

My friend Jenny hired Elmo to come to her daughter Tess' birthday party, but Elmo had to cancel and so she rescheduled it for one of our Mom's Groups.  When Elmo came into the house Jimmy just looked at him and crawled into the other room.  He sort of snuck back in, but remained hidden and really wanted nothing to do with Elmo.  He wasn't actually scared like a lot of the kids, but just sort of weirded out.  I think he is just old enough to know that it obviously not the real Elmo and is also that he is slightly frightening.  Other kids were all about him and wanted to hug him. Tess was sort of in awe and shock, but she seemed excited so I guess it was all worth it.

And Suzanne is a nut so you gotta love her.

I pretty much only got good pictures of her kids. 

Here is Josephine looking pretty chill about it all.

Margaret on the other hand was hilarious! It was like she was so overwhelmed by her feelings and emotions that she kept switching from smiling to crying.  She just loves Elmo so much she doesn't know what to do with herself! Suz and I decided Elmo must be like a 2 year old's version of Justin Beiber.

And then just for good measure here are some cute babies.

last minute valentine's day

I love making Valentines, but I didn't really prepare for it this year.  When Jimmy woke up, he found out it was a holiday and was quite surprised.  We got out some stuff to make cards.  We knew people would be getting them late, but it is the thought that counts right?

Then we were very excited when Mimi stopped by to bring us cards.  So she helped Jimmy make a card for herself.

 And then she helped Jimmy make some more and they worked on his cutting skills because she is just a great Mimi.

 Jimmy was very proud of our finished products.  If you are really lucky you got one.  

(Or if you are Jack or Lucy, I still have them in my diaper bag for you and always forget).

Here are a few that I got pictures of before I put them in the mail:

My make-shift garland.

 I had Christmas Cards hanging on here until Valentines Day, so I just took those down and threw up some doilies Mimi gave us and some Vintage Valentines from last year.  

If I cared much about this holiday it would have been a lame one since we didn't do much, but since I don't it was great!

pterodactyl

Jimmy has been a pterodactyl for a week now--sometimes a nice one, sometimes a mean one, sometimes a baby one (who is always nice).  This little pterodactyl likes to fly everywhere (obviously), pop out of volcanoes, capture people, and hug his brother way too hard.  Just thought I would share.

In related news Jimmy is getting pretty good at writing.  His name is a breeze now, but he did this one just by looking at what I had written on another piece of paper.  He ran out of room at the bottom, but he did pretty well on the top one with the exceptions of a backwards L and a misplaced E that actually doesn't belong there at all, but was at the end of the word on the coloring page I was copying from.  Note to self (and anyone who cares) don't trust internet coloring pages if you want your kids to spell dinosaur names correctly.

groundhog 2011

This year we hosted our college's annual Phoenix Alumni Groundhog Party. We had one last year, but it was unofficial.  We wanted to start making the party a tradition at our house so we figured we should host the real deal.  Just like the old days, the night was kind of a blur.... okay not really, but this blurry picture does kind of capture the mood.

Angela made onesies for some of the future alumni.

Kolbe had one too, but he was sleepy so no picture.

Gus on the other hand took an evening nap and then decided to be a night owl and party like a rockstar.

We had a great turnout of old friends and some alumni we had never met before.  

We even had a member of the Board of Trustees--yeah, that's right, we were that official.  

It was a great way to connect to the good old University of Dallas.  We miss it so.

Gus liked the fire.

I see the resemblance to my family in this expression, especially Aunt Emily and Jack.

I guess it is those fat little cheeks.

The last guests of the night!

And lastly, I thought I should give a shout out to the biggest hit of the evening--not the Shiner Keg, but the $6 tub of Cheese Balls. The only reason there were any left is because I promised Jimmy I would save him a few.  We left these two to take the picture, and then quickly ate them.  Seriously, people were gluttons for these things. If people felt sick the next day is was not because of a hangover.  Next year I should buy five.

It was a great time. Hopefully we will get an even better turnout next year. Any takers?

auf wiedersehen schaefers

Our friends the Schaefers moved to Portland and so we had a going away party at Jenny's house for them back in February. Jessica and her daughter Sienna love the Sound of Music and after I shared this party with Jess one time, we kind of wanted to copy it.  She had thought of doing it for Sienna's birthday, but went with Mary Poppins instead so we surprised her by making her going away party have a Sound of Music theme.

Jimmy sported the lederhosen.

I tried to convince him to wear the Peter Pan hat we have, but he wanted the Irish one so badly I couldn't say no.
 And he looks like a little drunken German in all of my pictures.

My crafty little friend Suzanne made all the decorations.

Here is her adorable "Do-Re-Me" banner:

The  "Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings" Cakes:

And little kerchiefs made from old curtains (or scrap fabric, but we can pretend).

She made little bow-ties for the boys too, but I don't have pictures.

I was one of the "Girls in White Dresses With Blue Satin Sashes."

If I hadn't thought of it right before we left for the party, I would have tried to make all the other girls do it, too. 

 Suzanne would have surely gone along with it at least.

And, of course, the movie was on in the background.

The party was a really fun time and the kids all had fun running wild as usual.

Jenny has this awesome inflatable ball that the kids can roll around in:

And when the static makes their hair stand up it is pretty hilarious.

We had just cut Jimmy's hair so we could see all the long spots that Zach had missed.  

I guess next time we cut his hair we will rub it with a balloon to check our work.

We made a scrapbook for them with pages made by all their friends in Phoenix.

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of their kids Sienna and Jonah.

(Jess, send me some and I will add them)

But I did get one with Jess and the baby boy in her belly.

At the end of the party all the girls got up and sang our own version of "My Favorite Things" to help entice them back to Phoenix.  There is video of it which I am not about to post, because it is embarrassing and kind of awful, but Jess loved it and that is what we were going for.  It went something like this:

Swimming in sunshine and hiking on hills

Fun family friendships and borrowing drills

Camp trips and Mom's group with babies in swings

These are a few of our favorite things.

Zoo days and play dates and free culture passes

Craft fairs and art walks and fun swimming classes

Going to story time to our kids sing.

These are a few of our favorite things

When the rain pours

When the clouds bore

When you're feeling blue

Just simply remember your favorite place

And then you won't feel so bad

Remodeling projects and beautiful green lawns

Going to STA to hear Father John.

Sewing  and stitching some fabric with strings

These are a few of our favorite things

When the rain pours

When the clouds bore

When you're feeling blue

Just simply remember your favorite place

And then you won't feel so bad

......

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye

The sun has gone goodbye and so must you

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye....

Goodbye.