Shane's Bug Bash

When we were at the store getting some stuff for Alexa's party and Shane saw bug stuff and decided he wanted to have a Bug Bash for his birthday.  Shane was so excited as we prepared for his birthday party.

 

The table was set and ready for the big day.  

We did a mid morning party so just did snacky, not so healthy food.  The kids had fun coming up with all kids of buggy food.  We had bug juice which was just green juice we put labels on.  The boys thought the juice was fun.  We had gummy worms and gummy dragon flies.  There was crushed oreos and gummy worms for dirt and worms.  There were grapes as beetles.  We took pretzel rods and rolled them in chocolate and sprinkles for our ants on a log. We also put gummy bugs in green jello for bugs in the grass.  Of course a party isn't complete without cupcakes, bug cupcakes of course.

We made bug jars for bug hunting and bug hunting kits for the boys to take home from the party.

Our birthday boy was ready for his friends to arrive

After the boys arrived and they ran around a little they decorated their bug catching visors. 

When they were working on their visors Eric went around and poked holes in the jars so their bugs could breathe after they caught them.

The bug hunters are ready!

Max wanted in on the action too.

And they were off.

 

The boys were all busy hunting for their bugs!  They each ended up with a jar of plastic bugs to take home.

Next we played "Bugs on a Leaf" which is the bug version of Musical Chairs.

Everyone then sat in a circle and played "Buzz, Buzz, Sting" which is the bug version of Duck, Duck, Goose.

Shane and his friends. 

It was time to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy and get some food. 

Shane was so cute and didn't know where look or what to do as everyone sang to him. 

"Make a wish birthday boy!"

It was time to dig into the buggy food!

We then gathered in the yard for Shane to open some presents.

We finished the party with a couple other games.  We played "Bug Are You Sleeping".  The kids would walk around the one in the middle and say "Bug are you sleeping?" The bug would answer "yes"!



When he would finally answer "no"! Everyone would scream and run and he the bug would try to tag someone to be the bug next.



We finished the morning with the game "Bug In A Web" The kids wrapped each other in toilet paper like a bug wrapped in a spider web and then raced across the yard and bag.  There were lots of giggles and smiles during this game.

We had a fun Bug Bash!

I can't believe my baby is 6.  Where has the time gone! 

Keeping It Real - Father's Day Photo Shoot

 So here it goes with a "Keeping It Real" Father's Day Photo Shoot.  One of my friends often commented on how in the world I got pictures with all three of my little ones actually sitting still and all looking at the camera.  I would say for the most part luck and it also helps when you take a ton of pictures.  Well then came Max which brings the kids count up to 4.

We had been working on some Father's Day stuff for Eric and I found these cute free tie printables and an idea for a cute shirt.  I thought to myself we could make those.  The girls and I had fun picking out fabric and making the shirts.  I dreamed up this idea of a photo collage that I wanted to put together.  The only problem was it didn't quite go as planned.  

 I had cut out the letters to spell DAD and thought I would have each of the girls hold a "D" and the boys hold the "A."  I wasn't even going to try to do the shot of all 4 together.  I was going to piece the 3 pictures together in a collage.  

You see Max is 2 and does NOT sit still for a second.  Yes, when we got him home he wasn't walking and would sit still and play for hours.  That has all changed now and he is making up for lost time.  The boy doesn't sit unless he is eating, sleeping or strapped in his stroller or his car seat. 

So if Max wasn't taking off, Shane was holding the letter crazy or one or both of them had a great expression on their face.  The kind of expression you don't want to put in a frame. 

Or Max would decided where he wanted to sit on his own which was typically not looking at the camera or next to his brother.

Change of plans.  The picture of the boys was not working out so we decided to try Alexa and Max together.  Hmmmm not exactly the look I was going for. 

After a couple tries we decided to move to .....

Plan 3 .... put the letters down and get a cute picture of them holding hands, walking on the bridge with their cute shirts on. It looks cute from the back but .....

the minute they turned around Max decided he didn't want to walk towards his crazy mom with the camera or hold hands with his sisters. He started to protest.

The girls tried to convince him how fun it would be to hold hands and walk across the bridge.  

They decided to show him the river to try to distract him and then try again. 

No, not going to work! I think I forgot to mention it was a very humid, hot day.  Actually it was the hottest day we had had in June.  Yes, this crazy mom thought we could get some cute pictures for a collage for Father's Day in a matter of a couple of minutes. What was she thinking. 

Well, this look from my first born says it all !

She swooped in, picked Max up and started walking.  As she passed her crazy mom with the camera she said, "Mom, this is the worst idea you have ever had!"

The girls took off as I tried to get a decent picture of Shane with the letter "A."  I was trying not give up on my vision of the collage.  Well, out of 20+ shots the majority of them looked like this.  

As I walked with Shane off the bridge and towards the van.  My first born had a smile on her face again and ...

Max was very happy to be off and running where ever he pleased. 

I have no idea how ... but I actually got 3 somewhat decent pictures for the collage I dreamed up.  Yes out of the 100+ pictures I took I had about 4 keepers.  One of those was of the kids walking away from me.  So needless to say it wasn't our best afternoon out together taking pictures.  I am not sure how soon we will try that again! 

Happy Father's Day

The kids and I had fun preparing for Father's Day.  We had come across these free printable and decided to have a Tie Theme Father's Day. After church we sent Eric out for a run while we hung the banner, decorated the table and prepared the food.

Alexa and Emma secretly cut out all these ties and punched holes and strung them as our banner behind the table. 

We filled jars with dad's favorite candy added some little tie accents to them too. 

The kids and I made Eric's family's recipe of coffee cake  which is always a treat.  We also made an egg bake and fruit parfait.  We decorated daddy's plate with all little ties on tooth picks.

Daddy and his four little blessings.  The girls and I had fun making tie shirts for the big day and for a special gift for their daddy.

Max started to fade during brunch and we have the funniest video of him falling asleep.  He was out for the count.

The kids were so excited to make and give things to their dad.  Shane had worked hard all week on making multiple hearts for his dad with special pictures on them.

Alexa worked hard on a book for Eric with all the things she loves to do with him.  As you can see from her smile she was pretty proud as daddy read and looked at her book.

Emma had made something in school at the end of the year that she had tucked away.  I love those fill in the blank notes and hearing things from a child's perspective. My favorite part of her fill in the blank story about her dad was ... My dad is the most wonderful dad in the whole world.  He's as handsome as a king.  He weighs 100 pounds and he's 60 ft tall.  My dad is as strong as an elephant.  When he was in first grade he never got in trouble.  I wouldn't trade my dad for a little girl because he is special.

We finished up the morning by giving Eric a few gifts.  One was the this picture framed.  You can read about how the photo shoot for this little gift played out in another post. We had fun celebrating Eric and it was so much fun to have the kids participate in all the preparations.

I am so thankful for Eric and the daddy that he is to our four kids.  I love watching him with each of our kids and the way he interacts with them as individuals.  He often comes home after a long, exhausting day of running a business and digs a little deeper to put into the kids.  I know he could choose to come home and sit on the couch and check out but I am very thankful that he is active in not just being a dad but building a relationship with them.  He makes his rounds by taking them on dates.  The kids love their date time with daddy.  He graciously granted Emma's date request and went roller skating with her. He could have easily talked her into ice cream or a movie but I love that his dates with them are all about them. I think in her eyes her daddy hung the moon.  I love listening to the conversations they have at night when he tucks them in and says prayers.  I also love watching them giggle and laugh as most nights they wrestle on the family room floor.

 It was amazing to travel to China this past year with Eric and see a different side of Eric as he held Max for the first time, walked the streets of his home town, walked the halls of his orphanage, fed him his new son his bottle and rocked him to sleep.  Eric had such a tender heart and this huge sense of protection for his little boy.  In China and after we got home Eric was so purposeful in his bonding and attachment with Max.  It is something that he did and still does put time and energy into and his efforts have paid off.  His little boy lights up and screams with excitement when daddy gets home.  I am so thankful to be on this life journey with Eric and am thankful for the daddy that he is to our little blessings.