pirate paarrrty

for logan's fifth birthday he wanted a pirate party. we decided that turning five was a pretty big deal so we let him have his first friend party. logan LOVES all his cousins and they were the first ones to make the list. since he has so many cousins and they all live close he actually only ended up with 3 friends! but we had to have a cut-off and i think 16 kids was plenty!

grandpa great dressed up as a pirate!

we planned several activities for the kids to keep them busy!

when they first came in they decorated pirate loot bags and pirate spy glasses 

there was lot of yummy pirate food to snack on like cannon balls (whoppers), fish and chips (potato chips and gold fish), pirate swords (licorice), and parrot food (popcorn). there was also dead man's punch if you were thirsty

of course no pirate party is complete without pirate games...

walk the plank

"x" marks the spot

peg leg race

and of course, sword fighting

then there was the pinata

and finally cake and presents

logan had an "x" marks the spot pirate map

i'm pretty sure that i was just as excited for this party as logan was. i started planning it a couple months before and then spent about 3 weeks getting everything together. i made the pirate map invitations, cut out and laminated the pirate hats, spray painted paper towel rolls for the spy glasses, made the "x" marks the spot game, and made name tags for all the goody bags. i also had fun coming up with decorations and food ideas. even though i had fun planning it...i am glad it is over!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAPTAIN LOGAN!

march update

march was a busy month for...as is pretty much every other month...we packed in a lot of fun activities, including logan's fifth birthday-but that deserves a post of its own. here are a few snap shots of what we have been up to.

those darn leprechauns came and visited our house for st. patrick's day. we woke up to our house being turned upside down. they turned our furniture over, our pictures upside down, and opened all our cupboards. they even turned our milk green!

one saturday dan had the urge to go hiking. so we quickly packed up some water and snacks and headed out to the small mountains right by our house. we live so close to a national park/sanctuary that we really should take advantage of it more often. the kids had fun hiking and made it most of the way logan had fun looking for bugs and we kept them interested by playing eye spy. we made it up about half way and stop to admire the fantastic view.

when the monster truck show was in town they had a truck on display in town. dan was working but the kids and i went down to check it out with grandma and papa. we were all impressed with how big it was close up. we took lots of pictures, walked underneath, and then jumped on the jumping castle!

we also took a trip to the wildlife museum before our membership expired. it is a nice, cool, indoor activity to do with the kids. they enjoy looking at all the different animals. there are so many species that we always see something new every time we go. they even had a new display with mythical animals.

logan got this little chalkboard and chalk in a kids meal and was playing with it one day. he came up with this all on his own and was so proud of himself. i was proud of him too and thought it was very cute. "eye love you"

logans' 5th birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!

for logan's birthday we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast complete with a candle. then we went to the store and bought some cupcakes to share with his preschool class..

for dinner we went to texas roadhouse and logan got to ride the saddle. he also got his own birthday treat. then he opened some small presents from us....his favorite-a "snorkful." he has been wanting one of these for a long time and can't wait to use it at the pool this summer. after dinner logan wanted to play games at monkey business. so we went there and played arcade games. it was a great compromise of good food and fun!

happy 5th birthday logan. i can't believe you are already five years old. where has the time gone? you are such a sweet little boy and we are so grateful you are in our family. for you birthday i will list five things that we love about you!

1. i love how passionate and excited you are about life. everything is new and exciting for you. you can take something so simple and be so excited about it. your passion is genuine and contagious and i hope it takes you far in life.

2. i love that you like to snuggle. mom and dad might be busy sometimes, but you are always willing to sit down and snuggle. you always offer hugs and kisses and i hope that never ends.

3. you are such a good brother (most of the time).  i know it can be hard to have a little sister....but you are generally really sweet to allison and willing to share with her.

4. you are also a very good friend. you are always excited to see you friends at school and all of your cousins. you always want to visit with them and genuinely enjoy being by them. you make others feel special by acknowledging them and befriending them.

5.i love how creative you are. you always want to keep everything and "recycle" it. you are always coming up with ideas of projects to do or things to make. don't ever give that up!

we love you so much logi bear!

rodeo round-up

we have made it a tradition to go to the rodeo parade every year. dan went when he was a kid and it is fun for the kids (and me) to dress up in their cowboy gear and say yee-haw!

but sometimes the parade can be kind of boring for little kids....and kind of long...and very crowded. so we decided to try the rodeo. we went to the slack competition which are on the days leading up to the actual rodeo. it might not be as exciting as the actual rodeo but the kids had fun. i think we are going to do this every year!

 it. was. awesome. ok....so maybe not awesome....but pretty close. i would have to say it was much better than the parade. it was nearly free...we sat in the front row...in chairs...not bleachers....hardly any crowds...perfect weather.

apparently dan was in charge of making sure the kids didn't fall overboard

the horses were tied up at the end of the stadium so we were able to go down and pet them. also during the competition there were several cowboys that would ride up on their horses and give the kids a high-five!

it might not be as exciting as the actual rodeo but the kids had fun. i think we are going to do this every year! 

v-day

holidays are so fun with kids! i like to do a little something extra for my kids so they can experience the excitement of holidays...big or small....and i think it lets them know they are loved! so for valentine's the kids woke up to balloons downstairs and a bag with little v-day goodies.

they were so excited...it was like christmas all over again

 after opening the goodies we had pink pancakes and pink milk for breakfast!

i know it is mostly a commercial holiday...but i like to do special things for my kids and i don't mind having an extra opportunity to tell my family i love them!

happy valentine's day!

cousins and canyons

my sister and her family came down for the weekend. it was so fun together with them and to see all the cousins get to play together. logan and allsion had a blast playing with their cousins at their house and hanging out!

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on saturday we decided it would be fun to take the tram up the canyon. i haven't been there in forever and it was nice to take a visit to the other side of town. i definitely have some fond memories of hiking the canyon as a child, wading in the stream, and going cliff jumping in high school....good times.

our kiddos at the very top

family pic

allison and i on the other side of the water

the whole gang

all the grandkids

snuggle time

thanks keith and wendy for coming to visit! we always have fun with you guys and we were so glad you came!

pizza

i found a good recipe for homemade pizza dough so lately we have been having fun making pizza for dinner. the other night i rolled out small pizzas for the kids to make. they loved putting on the sauce and deciding what toppings they wanted. my favorite is grilled chicken, caramelized onions, and garlic, the kids pretty much like cheese...the "pecaconni's" are to spicy, and dan will pretty much eat whatever!