Cupcake Birthday Party

This year it was Bryn's turn to have her first ever birthday party with friends...she was a little excited!  She requested a cupcake-themed party, which excited me because cupcakes are fun and easy.  My mom and I sewed aprons for all the cupcake chefs.  My mom was a lifesaver.  My sewing machine quit working (apparently sewing machines need to be serviced more than once every ten years...who knew!) the weekend before the party so I was biting my nails waiting to get my machine back and start sewing.  It came back Tuesday night and Wednesday my mom came over and sewed aprons for a few hours.  Seriously, without her help, I would've had some pretty late nights getting those things done.  The aprons weren't difficult, but there were nine of them.  I think they turned out very cute.  Bryn helped pick out the fabric.

We had the party on our patio.  After the guests arrived, we played a game of musical chairs.  As each girl got "out" she received her apron.

I found the "Happy Birthday" banner and coordinating tablecloths, plates and napkins at Walmart for only 97 cents each.  I detest shopping at that store but occasionally they are good for something.

After everyone got an apron, the girls made pizza.  A simpler version of it.  We used buttermilk biscuits...you know, the ones in the refrigerated section that come in a tube.  The girls flattened them just using their fingers then dropped the biscuit into a muffin tin.  Then they spooned some spaghetti sauce onto it, sprinkled some cheese and added pepperoni.  I cut the pepperonis into fourths so they would fit on the biscuits.  The girls thought it was fun and it was an easy snack to serve.  We had the party right after school on Friday so, of course, they were hungry.  I had juice boxes for them and they happily munched on their creations.

The next activity was decorating the boxes they would take their cupcakes home in.  I bought the plain cardboard ones from JoAnns along with two pieces of scrapbook paper, one with birthday candles and one that had multiple lines of "Happy Birthday".  I cut the candles and words out so the girls could glue them to their boxes for decoration.  There were also markers to draw with and little foil pinwheels that I found on clearance for 25 cents.  

Then it was time for the main event...decorating cupcakes!  Bryn had a smile this big the whole time.

I baked 48 cupcakes so each girl could decorate and eat as many as she wanted and have enough to take home to her family.  I used white cake mix and colored one batch purple and the other pink.  There were four bags of frosting with tips to decorate with...pink, purple, blue and yellow.  As well as, gummy bears, fruit loops, sprinkles, mini-marshmallows, M&Ms and coconut, which I colored blue.  The girls made some pretty creative cupcakes!

Bryn opened her gifts then it was time for everyone to go home.  The cupcakes with the boxes and the aprons were the party favors.  I thought it was better than sending home lots of candy and cheap toys that break in a day.  Not that there wasn't a lot of sugar in the cupcakes, lol.

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Bryn's actual birthday was two weeks earlier. We celebrated as a family on her actual birthday.  Grandma and Grandpa House came over for a birthday lunch of lulus (noodles).  This year, Bryn told me I could make spaghetti sauce for whoever wanted some but she would be eating her noodles plain, like always.  

This year Bryn is into Legos, listening and dancing to music and creating stuff out of paper then taping it to her bedroom walls.  So she got a little bit of all of the above for her birthday.  (Looks like someone forgot to brush the birthday girl's hair.  Okay, I didn't forget.  It was a Saturday.  We don't do hair on Saturdays.  It's the one day Mom doesn't care what everyone looks like.  Dirty clothes are even permitted and I have no idea if anyone brushes their teeth on Saturdays. There, now you know one of my dirty little secrets.)

Bryn wanted a cupcake-shaped cake.  So I made cupcakes and shaped them into one giant cupcake as best as I could.  It looks a little like a bag of popcorn.  But it's a cupcake.  With a licorice candle on top and a Fruit-by-the-Foot flame on the candle.

Happy 7th Birthday! Brynners

Trampoline Park

For Easter the kids got gift certificates to Get Air trampoline park...or Get High as Justin likes to call it.  Seeing as how I dislike crowds, plus the fact that the idea of a ton of kids jumping on a trampoline at the same time doesn't sound like the safest thing in the world, I pulled the kids out of school early on a Friday to go to Get Air.  There were only four other people there, it was great!

 Nothing like doing flips into a pit of germs foam.

A Marine guy and his girlfriend played dodge-ball with our kids.  Bryn thought she'd be super-sneaky and cross enemy lines to steal balls.

Zander collected as many balls as his little arms could hold, then passed them out to the bigger kids who could actually throw them hard enough to reach the opposing team.

They tried a little basketball but the trampolines didn't give them quite enough height to make a basket.

Bryn made friends with a girl who works there and talked her into playing a game of tag.  Guess who got tired and quit the game first?  It wasn't the short one.

When our hour of jump time was up, we took four sweaty, worn out kids to the library and then to Soup Plantation for dinner.  We got there early enough to still pay lunch prices but late enough to tell the kids that this was dinner and there would be no food served at home so they'd better fill their bellies.  It was a nice family outing.  And I hope I scored "cool mom" points for taking them out of school to jump on giant trampolines!

Spring Break

It's a good thing I keep this blog because I have a terrible memory!  Spring break was only two weeks ago and I had to look at our pictures to remember what we did.  Mostly, we played with friends.  Sometimes whole families came over and the adults played card games while the kids ran around.  And sometimes the kids had friends over to play during the day.

We also had a Harry Potter movie marathon, watching one each night.  The last night the kids got to have a sleepover in the living room.  They thought that was going to be the highlight of spring break.  However, the next morning Kylie and Brayden decided that sleeping with younger kids who kick and roll made for a rather unpleasant night.  The Harry Potter theme occupied most of their play.  They made their own marauder's map, crafted wands, attended Hogwarts and popped into the kitchen for a round of butterbeer.

One day during the break we hiked the San Juan Loop Trail off of Ortega Highway.  It's a 2 mile hike and according to the Cleveland National Forest it is an "easy family friendly" trail.  Whoever wrote that never hiked with a five year old.  It was a rough trail for Zander's little legs.  Bryn did a little better and Kylie and Brayden had no problem.  The difficult part is all the rocks that are on the trail.  This isn't a smooth walk in the park.  Zander fell numerous times trying to maneuver the uneven terrain.

The first half of the hike we saw the not-so-pretty drought-resistant plants, weeds and rocks common in this area.  But it was still nice being outdoors, enjoying nature.

 

At about the halfway point there was a pond.  It's probably fed by a stream when it rains.  The kids took their shoes off, threw rocks and rested their weary feet for a bit.

As we continued, the scenery changed.  It became more of a forest, with trees and shade and more greenery.  The terrain evened out a little, too.

We were all glad when our car came into view.  Everyone had worked up an appetite so we headed to In-N-Out for lunch and milkshakes.  It's always nice to get back to nature and leave the distractions of life and technology behind for awhile.  But if you ever mention the word "hike" to Zander, he'll probably scream and run away.

Easter happened in the middle of spring break.  Since we went to church at 9a.m., the Easter bunny came while we were out.  A few pieces of chocolate melted in the warm sun but most of it survived. 

Yes, Zander is in his pajamas at one o'clock in the afternoon.  He'd wear pajamas all day long if he had his way.

I was totally on top of things this year and bought the kids' Easter basket goodies weeks in advance.  The only problem...I couldn't remember what I had bought or where I had stashed it all.  I did remember the books, sour spaghetti candy and "Do You Doodle?" sketch books for each kid.  I knew there was more though and it hit me later in the day that there were new water bottles for school hidden in the back of my van and gift certificates to Get Air Trampoline Park.  The water bottles magically appeared with lunch and the Get Air certificates were put inside an Easter egg.  It all worked out in the end.

This year we tried to be better about remembering the true meaning of Easter.  The week before, we hid one egg each night and inside was a scripture and correlating object relating to the Atonement and resurrection of Christ.  The kids looked forward to it each night.  Easter Sunday we made "Empty Tomb" Marshmallow Delights.  Each ingredient is symbolic of Christ's burial.  When they're baked, the marshmallow disappears (Christ's body is no longer in the tomb).  It was a cute and tasty object lesson.

Justin got a Groupon to Pole Position indoor go-kart raceway in his Easter basket.  Kids race free on Thursdays so we headed over there one night during spring break.  Only Kylie and Brayden are tall enough to drive a go-kart.  Bryn and Zander entertained themselves on the motorcycle video arcades.  I didn't even give them quarters.

They had the whole track to themselves.

That about sums up our spring break!  But, knowing my memory, there could be more that I'm forgetting.  I'm sure I'll find other spring break pictures a month from now stashed in some random file on the computer. 

Triathlete

I'm going to blame two weeks of spring break for my lack of blogging.  Yes, two weeks!  Why not have just one week of spring break and let us out a week earlier at the end of the year?  I think moms should be in charge of planning the school calendar.  Anyways...we did have a fun, albeit lengthy, spring break and I'll blog about that later.  A little more exciting is the Big Rock Triathlon Justin did in Perris today.  (Not Paris, France...that's where Bryn was hoping we were going:)

We woke the kids up at 5:45a.m. and made a stop at the doughnut store for breakfast before heading to Lake Perris.  It was a bit foggy but the weather was perfect for a race.  Justin has been training diligently for this event.  He has always enjoyed swimming and biking but running isn't his favorite.  (Too bad we can't be a team.  I'd gladly run but bikes scare me and I'm a weak swimmer.)  All those hours at the gym paid off and he did great in all three events.

The workout started with getting into that wetsuit...those things are not easy to get on.  Preparing for the race...he's already in the "zone" as you can see...

First up was a half-mile swim in the lake.  The fog made it almost impossible to see the swimmers.  We just waited for them to magically reappear out of the clouds.

His cheering section.

 Since there wasn't a huge number of participants, it was very easy to see Justin as he transitioned to each part of the race, which was really nice.  High-five for finishing the swim!

Now a lengthy jaunt in sand to get to the staging area, shed the wetsuit and hop on a bike.  

And he's off!

The bike ride was 12 miles long so we had a bit of a wait.  We snacked on yogurt and bananas and the kids scouted for sticks that made the best Harry Potter wands.  They didn't complain and happily cheered on the other participants.  This was the most mellow sporting event I've ever been to.  Hardly anyone was cheering, including the people running the event.  We got a few strange looks as we clapped for every single person that went by.  But a word of encouragement when you think you're going to die is a huge boost.  So we cheered.  And cast spells with our wands.

I feel like Justin should be blogging about his race.  He said there was a particularly brutal hill on the bike route but the downhill part was fun.  He got up to 36mph...and this is why bikes scare me!  He made it back safely,  thank goodness.

He even managed a smile as he changed shoes for the 5k run.

At this point, Justin said he was getting tired (can't imagine why!) but he kept putting one foot in front of the other and flew across the finish line!

Justin and his loyal fans.

 

The finishing times haven't been posted online yet, but Justin feels good about his performance overall.   I'm glad we were able to be there to support him.  It was fun cheering him on.  Awesome job, hon!!!

Pizza and a Tea Party

Tuesday night it was Bryn's turn to have me all to herself.  She wanted to use her gift certificate for a free kid's pizza making kit from Papa Murphy's and have a tea party in her bedroom.  Easy peasy!  I was a little rusty at pretend play but I managed to get into character with minimal coaching from the hostess.

Bryn was given the free pizza for being student of the month.  She's not a fan of being in front of the whole school but she did like hearing all the nice things her teacher said about her.  Oh, and the chocolate Teddy Grahams the PTA handed out afterwards.

 

"Bryn is being recognized for her citizenship.  Whenever I look out into the class, I see Bryn looking back at me, ready to learn.  She is an awesome listener and always has her school materials ready to go.  I especially like the way she is a good helper to friends in our classroom.  Bryn, these are the qualities that let me know I can count on you!  Keep up the great work!  Love, Ms. Han" 

Great job Brynners!  And thanks for the lovely tea party...we'll have to do it again soon!

Star Wars Birthday

Zander FINALLY got to celebrate his birthday on Saturday. It's so hard to patiently wait for your party, especially when it's such a fun Star Wars one! Normally, I let the kids choose what they want to eat for breakfast on their birthday but I forgot to ask Zander what he wanted on his actually birthday, which was Wednesday.  So when we were at the grocery store I let him pick out whatever cereal he wanted.  He chose Cookie Crisp because it came with a DVD.  He was happy.  Until he watched the DVD and found out it was a bunch of commercials.  At least he got to eat mini-cookies for breakfast.

This year Zander requested a Star Wars party with a pinata.  Did you know pinata's cost around $17?  For a paper mache form that the kids will beat to death and destroy.  I don't think so.  We made our own, way cooler, Death Star pinata for $1.  Yep.  A buck.  That was the cost of the punching balloon I bought.  Everything else I had on hand.

We mixed two parts water to one part flour for the paste and applied three coats of newspaper to the punching balloon, letting it dry completely in between coats.  I used a knife to cut out a four-inch hole a little above the equator of the Death Star.  That's how I took out the popped balloon and put the candy and streamers inside.  I didn't even have to buy candy.  I had some left over from Halloween and then I swiped the kids' Valentine's Day candy they brought home from school...shhhh, I don't think they've noticed it's missing yet.  It's been sitting in my pantry for over a month and they weren't eating it so, I recycled it.  I did buy Star Wars fruit snacks because that seemed fitting.

I tied a ribbon onto a long nail and poked it into the top of the pinata, then poked it out the other side and pulled the nail all the way through.  I inverted the circle that I had cut out and glued it back in place for the laser beam shooter thingy.  Next, I spray painted the whole thing with silver spray paint I had left over from another project.

After that dried, I taped off sections similar to the patterns on the Death Star.  I didn't get very detailed or put a ton of thought into this part.  I kept it simple.  I spray painted it black then removed the tape.  I think it's a pretty cool Death Star for a dollar.

It was a family party this year so the four kids took turns using their Jedi skills to destroy the Empire's Death Star.  "That's no moon, that's a space station!"

They also had to free Han Solo from being frozen in carbonite.  I printed out a picture of Han Solo and my mother-in-law laminated them.  I taped a quarter to Han's back to make him sink to the bottom of a bowl filled with water.  The bowls went into the freezer and poor Han was trapped!

It took the kids no time at all to throw the ice chunks on the ground and shatter them.  Next time, I'll give them small tools to slowly chip away at the ice so the activity lasts longer.

And off course, there was a pin the light saber on Yoda game.  Instead of drawing Yoda, I printed him out and glued him to poster board.  Everyone cheated by feeling the edges of the picture to find his hand and pin the light saber in exactly the right spot.  Now I know better for the next birthday!

Zander has been asking for a Skylander character called Eye Brawl for months.  He was so happy when he opened his Eye Brawl gift that he jumped up and gave us big hugs.  I think he was getting tired of smiling for pictures though...this looks more like a grimace than a happy birthday boy.

Though he was a bit of a stinker and didn't act very excited about his other gifts, he has since played with them all and is enjoying them.  When he opened the water bottle Kylie said, "Oh, it's a storm trooper."  Zander, the Star Wars buff, corrected her, "No, it's a bounty hunter."  Kid knows his Star Wars.

Our whole family really likes the card game from Aunt Kim.  It's called Ruckus and it's an easy, yet fun game for the whole family.  We've played several rounds.  Grandma Jake and Aunt Birdie even joined in the mayhem.

Last, but not least, cake time!  There are some super-cool Star Wars cakes online but my cake making skills are not high enough for most of them.  I decided I could handle a Millennium Falcon cake though.  I baked two 9-inch rounds and a 9x13.  I stacked the rounds and used the 9x13 to cut out the other pieces.

Zander has a big Millennium Falcon toy that I used as a reference for the design and I stole the satellite dish from it to put on the cake.  Brayden engineered the guns using a Lego brick and two frosted pretzels.  I never realized how many wires, boxes, gizmos and gadgets the Millennium Falcon had!

I think it was a pretty awesome cake.  Justin stuck blue candles in the back where the engine would be and Zander blew them out.

We also munched on Endor trail mix, light sabers (candy coated pretzels), Princess Leia buns (honey buns), thermal detonators (Whoppers) and Yoda soda (Squirt with pineapple sherbert [it was supposed to be lime sherbert so the soda would be green but I couldn't find any]).

Tomorrow I get to turn in Zander's kindergarten registration forms!  I already miss having a four year old.  I'm not ready to have all school-age children.  Happy Birthday Zander and have fun with all the five-year-old adventures that await you!  We love you!