Party Time!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled WILW post to bring you a special edition of

"Birthday Bash 2011"

This year's party theme was "Minute to Win It"!  It was perfect for the crowd we had!

We had about 30 guests who each received a score card when we started. 

Each player chose a game (some games could accomodate 3-4 people).

Once everyone was stationed, we started the clock.  If they completed the task in 60 seconds, it got

circled on the score card.  Then everyone moved to another game. 

Junk in the Trunk--tie a tissue box full of ping pong balls around your waist.  Get all the balls out by shaking, wiggling, etc.

Egg Roll---Get an egg into the target by fanning it with a pizza box!

Candy Elevator--Tied 2 pencils together.  Contestants have to pull the strings and get 3 m&m's in their mouth!

Suck It Up--Use a straw to suck up M&M's and get them into a bowl!

Tilt-A-Cup--Stack 8 cups.  Bounce a ping pong ball and catch it in the cup.  Move bottom cup to top and continue process until all balls and cups are used!  (This was REALLY hard!)

Floatacious--Stack 5 empty soda cans in a plate floating in water!

A Bit Dicey--Stack 6 dice on a popsicle stick in your mouth!

Face the Cookie--get a cookie from forehead into mouth only using facial muscles!  (Hilarious to watch!)

Sticky Balls (we called it Sticky Marbles--Jr. High kids.  Ya know.)--Roll marbles from one end of the table and get it to stick to the double sided tape at the opposite end of the table.

Everyone worked up an appetite playing games so we had a yummy taco bar!

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Evan....

....and then to Rylee



All the kiddos got a plain cupcake and we set out different candy toppings.  They had one minute to decorated their cupcake however they wanted!

And of course.....presents!

Guests all went home with water bottle party favors with a goody bag attached. 

It was such an easy party to put together, and SOOO much fun!!!!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYLEE!!!

  Dear Rylee,

I cannot believe it has been 12 years already!  It seems like yesterday you were born, making me a Momma for the very first time.

Seriously kid, you had me at "hello"! 

We have been through so much together; some bad, but mostly good.  You have this special way of lighting up a room. Small children are drawn to your fun-loving, tender nature.  Old people are dazzled by your grace and nice manners.  I know you are going to do wonderful things with your life. 

You sure have done wonderful things for MY life.

You are smart, funny, gentle, athletic, beautiful and so much fun to be around. You enjoy doing nice things for others and helping when needed.   As you enter your pre-teen years, you are becoming a lovely young lady.  You amaze me with your quick wit and knowledge of mythology.  You think you are awesome because now you can sit in the front seat in the car.  I love to watch you run Cross Country and play volleyball, fine tuning your skills and striving to be your best.

I feel so very blessed to be your Momma.  I love watching you learn new things about yourself as you embark on this journey of self-discovery. 

You are a great big sister.  Evan loves you to the ends of the Earth, and I know your new little sister will too!



Please know that I will always be here for you and I promise to continue to love you unconditionally.  I will continue to learn from you and cherish every day together. 

I love you to the moon and back baby girl!

Have a wonderful, incredible, delightful 12th birthday! 

I love YOU! 

Love, Mommy

It's Almost Time.....

This is an exciting week around our house.  My 2 kiddos' birthdays are 10 days apart.  Rylee is August 8th and Evan is August 18.  For my sanity simplicity reasons, we always do 1 big bash the weekend between their birthdays.  We invite family and the kids invite their friends and we get it all done in one fell swoop! 

Since it's usually a big event, we go ALL out!  I work best with a theme (can't help it, it's my inner Girl Scout trying to come out!). 

In the past we have done a carnival (the entire yard was set up with carnival games that were awarded with tickets.  The garage was set up like a store and at the end of the party everyone cashed in their tickets for cool prizes instead of goody bags.  We played calliope music and served popcorn, sno cones, etc.  No creepy carnies were invited.)

 

Another year we had a big Bunco bash.  Complete with dice-shaped cakes!

 

Last year we had an outdoor movie night.  We started the party close to dusk, and had soft pretzels, popcorn, and nachos for our guests to enjoy during the movie.  Our backyard was full of lawn chairs and blankets and we set up a projector and large movie screen!  So fun!

This year's theme was a little harder to decide. 

Evan is turning 5 this year, so it's really the first year he has invited his little friends. 

To do a party that will entertain 5 year old boys AND 12 year old girls (PLUS aunts, uncles and grandparents) is a little tricky!

But we came up with a GREAT theme.  And it's gonna be awesome!  We are a little concerned about safety since my family is so stinkin' competitive, but it's gonna be a BLAST!!! 

I'm not gonna tell you what it is, because I only have 60 seconds left.

And because you might practice.

Any guesses?????

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday

Hey everybody!  Welcome to August. 

*sigh*

Although I do love fall, I am sad to see summer coming to an end.

Soon the kiddos will be in school, we will once again be governed by our crazy schedule, and it will be getting dark early.  These are things I do not love.

But what I AM lovin' this week:

I love, love, love this picture of my boy!  Last week we went to our fave waterpark and this is what 1 trip around the lazy river will do for a little guy who has been on the go all day!

On days like this, the boy needs his nap!  So I got the rough job of cruising around the lazy river for an hour while he slept.  Too bad I can't get paid for this, cuz I could seriously do nothing but watch this kid sleep for 8 hours straight!

No, this isn't the latest "As Seen on TV" gadget!  It is my beloved new KitchenAid Patty Maker!  I'll let you in on a little secret......I'm not a very good hamburger patty patter-outer.  Shhh......

So I picked up this little fella and now......

Voila!  Perfect patties every time!  The patty maker has different settings, you just choose if you want 1/4, 1/3, or 1/2 pound burgers, stuff in the beef, twist and out pops a perfect patty!  Slap that baby on the grill and you get summertime perfection!  I also made up a bunch for the freezer!

Have ya'll seen this show?  This is my new guilty pleasure.  It's like watching a train wreck....you know it's bad and you really shouldn't look but can't tear your eyes away.  The instructor is a harsh, neurotic control freak.  The moms are back stabbing nutcases who live vicariously through their daughters.  It's crazy to watch, yet there is a definite entertainment factor.  Check it out!

Fair Oaks Farm

This weekend we took the kiddos on a little road trip to Fair Oaks, Indiana. 

There is an awesome dairy farm there we like to visit.

It is a day full of fun and education all in one!

This photo is for Uncle Shawn!

There is a narrated bus tour that takes you through the farm, the barns, the nursery, the milking carousel, etc.   It is a completely self-sustained farm.  They grow all their own feed and everything the cows need.  They clean the barns 3 times daily and the manure is used to power the visitor's center and other buildings.

Babies in the nursery.  So cute!



The milking carousel is one of the craziest things you will ever see!  The barn holds 500 cows at a time.  They filter in 1 by 1, get on the carousel, and a technician hooks up the milking vacuum.  It takes 8 1/2 minutes to make a complete rotation and they are completely milked.  Then the cow just backs out of her spot, turns around, and returns to the barn!  They are brought in 3 times a day for milking.  Fair Oaks has 3 of these carousels.

Rylee climbing the magnet wall. 

Mrs. Cowmoon

Ready for the 3D/4D movie!

Outside is a play area that the kids LOVED!



Of course, Evan had to ride the train first!  He wasn't happy the engine was already full, but he rode up there on his second trip around!

This was like bouncing on a huge blob of jello!  It was really big!  Only problem was it was super hot on the feet!



Evan took advantage of the sprinkler system! 

String Cheese maze

Tractor races!

By far, the coolest attraction at Fair Oaks Farm is the birthing barn.  They birth 80-100 calves EVERY DAY.  They fill each stall with a momma in labor, and you just sit and watch.  They have a vet standing by so if she needs help they can assist the birth.  We sat in there for about an hour and watched 3 heifers give birth, and the last one had TWINS!!!  So cute!

*Warning:  Video is a little graphic*  The cow on the left had just given birth and was cleaning up her baby.  The cow on the right is about to deliver.  Poor momma is having some big contractions!  You can see the front hoofs emerging.

Even though is was super hot outside, we had an UDDERly aMOOOsing day at Fair Oaks!!!

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday

Wow!  Wednesday totally snuck up on me this week!  Not sure why, but my days are completely out of whack!

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday!

Our backyard patio.  I wish I could find a "before" picture of this space. 

Excuse the blinding sun in the pic! 

This is a 10' x 10' area in our backyard.  When we bought our house, there was a nasty crab apple tree there surrounded by the ring of hostas.  We cut down the tree, but left the stump until we decided what we wanted to do with the space.  It sat that way for about 2 years.  Basically it was a weed bed with a tree stump in the middle.  Awesome.  So we had the stump dug out, moved the hostas back a few feet (those hostas have been there for 40 years!)  and had the patio put in.  Then the Hubs added his landscaping flair.  We LOVE this space!  We have had 2 different gazebos over the patio, but both have gotten ruined in storms.  Grrrr...

Here's another (not great quality) pic...(taken from the 2nd story window!)



I know this is totally ridiculous and I am embarassed to admit it...but I love Proactive!  For some reason, my skin thinks it is 13 again and I am having horrible breakouts.  Really?  I thought once you graduated high school you graduated acne treatments.  But Proactive really helps!

Amazon Kindle!  I have had my Kindle for close to a year and I love it so much!  I love how easy it is to download books.  And the screen technology is uh-mazing!  I can sit out on my patio in the sun and still read the screen no problemo!  Only downfall....I wish Kindle was supported by Library on the Go (since I am uber cheapo and hate to pay for books when I will only read them once!) 

What are ya'll lovin' this week???

My Girl.....Scout

Rylee has been in Girl Scouts since she started Kindergarten.  I got suckered into was asked to be a leader when she started her first year, and have had this troop ever since.  Over the years, we have made so many memories together through Girl Scouting!  Rylee has earned countless badges, worked on numerous service projects, gone on several awesome trips, sold boxes and boxes of cookies, and made sooo many new friends!

At the end of each year, our troop decides where to go for the end of the year trip.  We try to make it someplace fun, where none of the girls have ever been, and somewhat adventerous.  This year we went to the Ozarks for 3 days.  We took an 8 mile canoe trip!  It was so much fun!  Since we had 2 adults and 6 girls, we had to have one canoe with NO adult in it.  Yikes!  Rylee has the most canoeing experience, so she was the head of that boat, and the girl with her didn't even know what a canoe was until we put her in one!  These two amazed me in every way.  The maturity, teamwork and responsibility they demonstrated was like nothing else!  At the end of the day they were the only ones who hadn't tipped their boat (that's another story!) or crashed into anything!  Rylee was the ONLY person in our group who was dry after 6 hours on the river! 

This year was pretty special.  She finished her third year as a Junior Girl Scout, which allowed her to bridge to Cadette Girl Scouts. 

She earned her Bronze Award, which is the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can earn.  It is also the third highest honor one can earn as a Girl Scout.  (The highest is the Gold Award~think the female equivalency to the Eagle Scout)  This award was a 2 year undertaking.  It was a lot of researching, planning, and executing of a project that had to take at least 15 hours to complete. 

She went to Girl Scout camp this summer, too.  She has gone several times, but this year was a little more exciting for her.  She wanted to go to the LIT (Leader in Training) camp this year since she wants to be a camp counselor when she is old enough.  For the LIT camp, she had to fill out a 4 page application and get 3 letters of recommendation (from people NOT related!)  Once all the applications were in, they were reviewed and only 12 from the state were offered a spot in the camp.  And yep, my girl was one of them!  She was soooo excited!  She had a blast at camp!  She made a lot of new friends and made memories to last a lifetime!

Could only get 1/2 the tent since another mom kept sticking her hiney in my pic!

Patiently letting me take pics so I would leave!!!

Rylee & her cousin Samantha.  They are 2 months apart in age and were at camp at the same time! 

Apparently, when mom's not around it's OK to draw all over yourself!  No wonder she loves camp!

I am glad that Rylee wants to continue with Girl Scouts even though some of her friends are dropping out since it's not the "coolest" thing to do.  She is excited to begin working on her Silver Award and continue with service projects.  The lessons she is learning are invaluable and it is making her a better person.  And as long as she wants to continue, I will lead her through it!!!

Girl Scout Law:

I will do my best

To be Honest and Fair,

Friendly and Helpful,

Considerate and Caring,

Courageous and Strong, and

Responsible for what I Say and Do,

and to

Respect Myself and Others,

Respect Authority,

Use Resources Wisely,

Make the World a Better Place,

and be a Sister to Every Girl Scout.