William started his big day with a very special breakfast of cocoa krispies!
(one of his favorite cereals!)after decorating and getting the house ready for the party,
shawn came home early from work and we all went to see a movie...

unfortunately it wasn't as kid oriented as we had hoped...
but he loved the big popcorn, soda and candy we bought him.
so at least there was that!

so after the movie we took him to target to pick out a special birthday gift!
of course he picked bionicles!

as soon as the guest arived we played a very livily game of
" megatron, megatron - optimus!"
(duck, duck- goose)
and
" megatron says" (simon says)

Williams it!there was a pop the balloon game that didn't go that well.
but i think the kids had fun none the less.

then he opened his gifts!
he wasn't too surprised about this one...
as he had picked it out just hours before!

but he was really excited about his other toys!except for the monkey! LOLbut Ivy has lovingly adopted the poor little reject! lol

then it was cake time!

we had a decepticon shield birthday cake for him!
that i think turned out really well! :)make a wish!happy 5th birthday William!
we love you soooooooooo much!

A is for...

(i try and find objects and subjects my kids are interested in to help make an impact...)

we made these ...
A is for Apple and ANTS!

1)cut out and glue an apple onto paper then paint on the stem.
2) trace hands and then write an upper and lower case A on each.
3) then covered it with ANT stickers!)

Ivy LOVES bugs and anything crawly.

so we went in the back yard and went on an ANT HUNT!
** bring your camera, a magnifying glass or a jar so they can get a closer look.

WE FOUND SOME!
(click pic to enlarge)

can you think of another bug that starts with A?

ARACHNID!....
Yep we found some of those too!

When we came back inside we did an ABC connect the dot of an Arachnid!
which the kids then colored in.

we also made
marshmallow arachnids
out of:
big marshmallows
spaghetti sticks
M&M's

William is really fascinated by outer space right now
so we talked about ALIENS and Astronauts

he made up this story:

once there was a little alien named GoobAgoob, then down came an astronaut spaceship!! that was big and fat! with yellow and white lights! and 2 rockets on the wings. with fire coming out!

when the alien saw the space ship, he crushed it with his 4 small, strong hands.
but the astronaut flew out of the spaceship (that landed on the planet Mars)

So he flew to the transformers who came and helped the astronaut push the aliens off of Mars. then they flew away!

the end

then drew a picture to go along with it!then we played A build an alien friend game.

so class what have we learned?
A is for....?

so i took my first sewing class last month!!
and i didn't loose a finger or anything!

my dear friend Jolene gave me a free lesson! it was soo much fun! and i learned alot. it will be sad to move and not have her teach me more because i have decided its something i really want to get better at! but for those in the Portland area... i totally recommend her for any of your sewing school needs! she taught me some sewing basics as well as how to make a cute little bag, a pillow case and then i got to pick a project of my own!

Jolene helping me out!
she helped cut the fabric,
because i cant cut a straight line to save my life! lol so i picked a so called "easy pattern" (which really wasn't, )
but we had a fun time never the less! LOL and i think it turned out just adorable!

ivy was so excited about her new outfit, she wouldn't stand still!
it's really a thick strap tank top ,
but i put one of her long sleeves under it so she could stay warm!

on this particular morning William had gotten up very early,
which was fine cause i had trouble sleeping and was up any ways.

so to fight off some of the winter blues and pass the time, i decided to be a good mom,

and whipped up some snowman chocolate chip pancakes for him!
(when i say whipped up i really mean unfroze left over pancakes)
LOL!but either way, it was a lovely snuggle-fun morning with my little man. and i cherish the memories that we made in the wee hours of the day, and the special time spent, just the two of us, before every one else woke up. i LOVE him!

as a birthday present i wanted to go back to my dark hair,

so Shawn treated me to a spa day and watched the kids
while i got my hair cut and colored!
and i LOVE it!
i have been trying to figure out a new look,
now that i am 29 and all! (as i throw up just a little)
i really enjoy the Cleopatra eye liner look with the dark hair,
but can never seem to get it just right.(grrr)
and i have to say that watching a thirteen year old's tutorial on you-tube
about how to apply it was making me sick!
not only because it seems (in my humble opinion) an inappropriate look for a tween.
but also that she could do it so much better then me!
seriously.. flawless every time!
( i have decided she must have magic makeup)
any way.. this is my result!

Shawn and William decided they would have a father and son camp out

up at grandma Karen's house.

...so off they went!

the set up!

a tent, a fire, hot dogs, chips, s'mores, sodas!

you know... all the stuff to make for a great camp out!
they even encountered some wild life...

That obnoxious cat stole Will's hot dog!
which, made the cat happy ....
but not so much William! it all worked out in the end tho!no camp out is complete with out catching a few bugs!

it was too bad they got bored, bug bitten and rained out!
but i think they had some good times none the less!

for our 10 year anniversary, Shawn took the day off,

and we had a day of fun and adventure,
with the kids at enchanted forest!

walking along the fairytale trailthrough "the rabbit hole"
and in "the crazy house!"we went on some fun rides!...
the log ride was a favorite!

the wild train ride was fun
way up high!

bouncing around!
we pretty much tuckered those kids out!we ended the evening with pizza a movie and ice cream Sundays!
i love my husband
and
i love my kids
and
am soo lucky i am to have them to share the rest of my life with!