Great West Gym Fest

at the end of february, morgan and i flew up to northern idaho for a gymnastics meet.  {yes, i am that far behind on some posts and i am hoping to catch up this week!}

this is the meet the girls look forward to all year long. 

over the years it has turned into a mother/daughter weekend. it is never restful but it is always so much fun.

the morning we left spokane had received 12 inches of snow.  we flew into a winter wonderland with chilly windy temperatures.  someone may have forgotten her coat in the car. i guess that's what happens when you are out of the habit of wearing a coat in the winter.

our first stop after we left the airport was the mall.  the girls were anxious to shop and with the weekend being quite full we weren't sure we would get their any other day.

 we spent friday at the meet watching the upper levels compete.  as we were waiting to get into the meet we saw former olympic gymnast mohini bhardwaj.  the girls were excited to meet her and get their picture taken with her.  she is adorable.

 in between sessions we lunched at the hotel right on lake coeur d'alene.  

on friday evening most of the team and the coaches went out to dinner. it was nice to be together as a group that night. coach eduard was a great sport as the girls dressed him up after dinner.  

 morgan competed on saturday morning. we were up fairly early to make sure the girls had enough time to eat and get ready.  we had two moms who did hair and make up for the weekend.  the girls loved being all "bedazzled".  when i uploaded pictures i think morgan had taken 20 self portraits {some with friends} so i am thinking she liked her hair and make up.  it was a bit of a rough meet for morgan on beam but the rest of the events went pretty well.

 after the meet and awards we grabbed a quick lunch as the girls needed to get back to the hotel to catch the boat for an ice cream social.  during the ice cream social the girls get to meet some former olympic gymnasts, get autographs, and indulge in an ice cream sundae.

it was a little chilly on the boat that day.

 we spent saturday night watching the big show.  the top girls on each event from level 8, 9, and 10 compete. it is always impressive and the girls love it.

on sunday we flew home exhausted and fighting colds but it was worth it.  the girls are already looking forward to the meet next year.

Lego Birthday Party

last week we celebrated landon's seventh birthday.  my niece flew in on his birthday {best gift ever} so after picking her up we went to lunch and spent the afternoon at a local game center where we played mini golf, laser tag, and the kids got their fill of arcade games.

i waited to have landon's party until my niece was here so she could help me at the party.  i was so thankful for the extra set of hands.

here is how the lego party went down.

the invitation

it was super easy.  i took a picture of a lego mini fig in front of a lego base, uploaded it to picnik to add words, and then printed the pictures off at costco.  i added some white tag board with party information the the back.

the front:

the back:

the decorations

 birthday banner - i found some cool lego paper at joann's , used the template found here to trace the little mini figs, and then cut letters on my cricut

the birthday boy in his birthday shirt. i used the same template from the banner but enlarged it to make his shirt. 

hanging legos

 

 i pulled in some of the food to add color/decorations.

- i used a lego tub lined with a slow cooker liner and filled it with cheese balls. they were a hit!

- blue and red gatorade

- mason jars filled with legos were on the table and had red/blue balloons tied to them

the cake

i was hoping i would get off easy and landon would pick cupcakes but he wanted a lego cake.  i used three loaf pans to make the lego bricks and made a few cupcakes to be the nobs on top of the legos.  we decided to stack them to make them look more like a lego creation. the boy loved it!

the games

i split the kids up into three groups and they rotated between the three stations.  it worked out really well to be in smaller groups and rotate.

- lego search. i took pictures of lego pieces, printed them off in wallet size, and put them on a ring. the kids took their ring and searched our lego pile for their pieces.  i had a few different combinations on the rings so once they finished one set they could do another one.  some groups worked as a team and some worked individually

- sara knew i was doing a lego party for landon so she sent me this link a few weeks before his party.  i knew i had to do this for landon's party.  i found a mini fig ice tray, made some salt dough, and created these little guys.  it didn't take long to make a big batch of mini figs.  i think this was one of the favorite activities.  they loved painting them.  while the kids ate the paint dried and we sprayed them with a gloss finish right before the kids left.  

- tower build.  i set up a bucket of legos and the kids had 5 minutes to create the biggest tower they could in that amount of time.  we played it a few times.  the kids enjoyed seeing how tall their tower could get and what things they could use to make their tower the tallest like using doors/windows.

- as a group we played lego creationary.  the kids stayed in their same teams and worked together to make something for the other teams to guess.

goodie bags/other details

 when i saw these lego builder passes i knew i had to make them for the party and joanna was kind enough to email me the template.  i put in the kids' names, printed them on cardstock, laminated them, and put them on a lanyard.  

for the goodie bags we printed lego bricks on card stock in red and blue and filled them with blue or red airheads and lego brick candy.  in the top of the box i put in a wallet sized photo similar to the invitation that said thanks for building some fun with me.  the girls got a lego clickits bracelet kit and the boys got either a lego creator helicopter or 4x4.

the birthday boy

 reading cards.. something made him giggle

excited about his cake...i am sure he is dreaming about the frosting. a boy after my own heart

some of the candles went out when the kids were singing and landon is definitely not happy about it

a little prep + whole bunch of fun and laughter = a very happy birthday boy

Finding Joy - Week 11

The joys:

* little girl pigtails and big girl pj's. oh i could eat her up!

* big JOY my niece hannah visiting for a week... eek! so much fun. as i catch up this week i will be sharing some of our fun adventures!

* landon's bed ready to be the guest bed for my niece hannah

* my boy creating a work space to do his school work on top of his desk.  

* finding one of mauryn's "kids" in the baby bed with a flashlight on... her "kid" was afraid of the dark :o)

* snuggled up together watching a movie on the ipod on a saturday morning letting us sleep a little longer. they were up super early excited for hannah's visit and landon's birthday.

* the birthday boy opening his birthday gifts

* blowing out candles on his birthday breakfast

* mini golf with my big kids on landon's birthday

* mauryn rocking the bonnet. she has found a love for little house on the prairie.

* playing just dance 2 with hannah

* a lego birthday party {post coming}

* one of our college kids gave landon his old football pads.  landon put them on with his jersey and was ready to play some football!

* new snack... popcorn, white chocolate, fritos, and m & m's.  the fritos add just the right amount of salty to the sweet. go make it. trust me, you won't be able to stop eating it. so good.

* finding self portraits on my camera

* my baby ready to take on the ski hill

* my boy ready to race.  yes, he is wearing purple gloves. he lost one of his and had to use his sisters old gloves.  a few years ago this would have bothered me that he was totally mismatched but now he didn't care and he was warm. joy in letting the little things go!

SEVEN!

seven.

really?  already?  

you are growing up far too fast my boy.

 your big brown eyes... they melt me.

your heart is so sensitive.  

you are inquisitive, active, competitive, and sometimes a little bit crazy but your soft side balances you.

you are most definitely an otter. life is one big party.  you are all about having fun.

you enjoy doing anything sports related or being outside.  riding your bike, shooting hoops, and playing catch are some of your favorite outdoor activities.

you also enjoy playing the wii, doing legos, playing card/board games, and watching tv.

you like to go to the rec center to play basketball or swim.

you like to ski in the winter and swim in the summer.

you love to be read to before bed. we are working our way through the chronicles of narnia... you are loving the stories.

you enjoy awanas, being with your friends, and learning your bible verses.

you will no longer let me give you a kiss in front of people and rarely can i hug you in public.  sometimes you will grab my hand as we walk through a parking lot but those moments are fleeting as well. {sigh}

when we are at home you still love to snuggle and sit on my lap. you will come up beside me to give me a squeeze or rub on my arm.

Happy Birthday Landon!  I love you sweet boy.  

Finding Joy - Week 10

this has been sitting in my drafts since tuesday. behind much..aah its been a busy week but here we go:

The joys:

* a weekend with nothing on our calendar... big JOY

* with nothing on the agenda we took the kids to see Yogi Bear at the dollar theater. they have been waiting since Christmas to see this movie.  

* pajama night at awanas

* our college kids were on spring break so we had a free sunday night.  as much as we love having them in our house each sunday night it was a nice treat to have a quiet sunday night.

* mauryn giving her dad a back rub. "breafe in, breafe out"

* mauryn's shoes of choice

* landon's wake up call... harley dog

* my boy finishing school diligently to earn a sticker on his work chart... almost to dinner at mcdonalds - his fav

* sunday brunch. we were given a gift card last year that was about to expire so we finally used it this past weekend.  what a treat.

* my boy helping to make dinner

* sunshine, warm weather, and bike ride

* my niece is coming to visit this weekend.  so excited to see her and glad she is choosing to spend her college spring break with us.

* i am going to attend my first blogging conference next fall. ticket is purchased.  so looking forward to spending a weekend with her, getting to meet her, and hanging out with her and her {and getting to hear them speak :o) }