Abby's Play doh Birthday Party...

Well here it is....the party that was stressful,frustrating,fun,exhausting all at the same time. I can't even tell you how many themes I thought of before I finally decided on the play doh theme. I chose play doh because Abby loves it! and I love color and knew I could go color crazy on this party. Brad usually likes to make the cake but this year it gave him a bit of a hard time. He pulled through at the end and Abby had her play doh can cake :) I ordered cupcakes in a play doh can from "Mia's Cupcakes" for the rest of the kids. At first a few were unsure about the whole idea of eating a cupcake out of the play doh can ( I mean really....how many of us have been told to not eat the play doh). Confusion and uncertainty turned to smiles and fun once they started eating them. The kid's enjoyed Play doh time, Play doh Toss, and Musical Play doh dots. At the end of the party the kids were given play doh buckets, and they were welcome to take sweets from the sweet shoppe. After all of the guests had went home Brad and I gave her our gift which was a new bike! She has been wanting one for a few months. I had seen one that had a baby carrier on the back and knew Abby would love it. I can now take a breather and then its time to start planning Parkie's party :)

Play doh ..Shmadoh....

I love play doh just as much as the next person but I have to be honest, I'm sick of thinking of Play doh. When I started working on this theme for Abby's birthday party back in FEBRUARY! I thought "this will be so cute and easy" boy was I wrong! One idea led to the next idea which led to another ....craziness happened! I do feel however, that I do have this under control and I can pull this off by Saturday. The worst part so far was making the invitations. They were so frustrating and time consuming! I think Hasbro should consider coming out with a party line?.....just a thought:) Anyway, in this house nobody gets out of helping and that includes Brad. I can always count on him to do a nice job.....thanks breed :)

Look at them....sitting their all cute and innocent.......pfff...

Play doh craziness is whats happening here. I haven't even had time to paint my ugly/cute Hutch I found on Craigslist :(

It's midnight ....don't judge :)

Look at that attention to detail.....beautiful (claps)

Memorial weekend project.....

Per tradition we did our usual "spruce up the yard project". We had planted bushes along the brick a couple years ago hoping by now they would have grown. We decided that if they were still the same size they were two years ago we should probably give up hope and go buy new bushes. We took a trip to our favorite nursery ( I mean mine) and set out for new bushes and flowers. The kids love to pull the "big wagon" as they call it. They were excited for the first ten minutes and then wanted mom to hurry up! (and so did brad) I for one don't crack under pressure and took the time to make sure I was loving what I was buying :) I had a vision in my mind and I was set on executing it. Brad, Parkie and I all worked together to transform our "yucky yard" to our new "pretty yard". Parkie being the problem solver he is found a more efficient, and less strenuous way of transferring the mulch from the garage to the garden. If that kid can find an easier,faster way of doing things....he does! .....he's not mine, I'm the opposite. I doubted his method at first but he proved me wrong. He piled five bags of mulch on his jeep and drove it over to where he needed it :) He was a big help planting, driving and laying the mulch. Afterward we had a bbq and then went to DQ for a treat.
Our yucky, boring yard before....







Hmmmm...Decisions, Decisions...






Our new pretty yard...TaDa!





Trying to fly the kite...

Memorial Day!

This year I decided to add a new tradition to our list. I wanted Parkie to know the meaning of Memorial Day, so I planned for us to go to Fort Snelling to attend the Memorial Day service they were holding. I was skeptical at first about us going, seeing that it was really windy and rainy this morning, but had read online that it was suppose to be over by late morning. The program included speeches by Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Governor Mark Dayton. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the crowd was invited to sing "America, The Beautiful", which was followed by the Fort Snelling Rifle Squad firing a salute which ended with a veteran playing "Taps". I thought Abby and Parkie would freak out by the sound, but they did really well. After the Rifles had been shot, one of the Veterans called Parkie over to give him one of the shells. As we left, we walked around reading some of the headstones. Abby kept asking Brad and me "Are they Mamma's or Dada’s?” She stopped at one that was a "Mamma" touched the headstone, knelt to smell the flowers, and sat and stared at the headstone. It kinda makes you wonder..did she understand?...maybe. She also noticed a pinwheel at another and couldn't help but stop to blow on it :) Parkie had a harder time he didn't like walking near the headstones. He kept saying he didn't want to walk over their bodies. I could tell he was a bit uncomfortable but, I also could tell he had more of and understanding as to what Memorial Day was all about. As we were leaving, I noticed an old man standing and touching a headstone noticeably deep in remembrance. I stood and watched not to be nosy but to grieve for a moment with him which made me thankful for the person he loved so much. Without these men and women, we would not be free today and I'm thankful for those who were so willing to give their life so that my family and I might live free.

It's beginning to look a lot like Spring......finally!

Well, its finally beginning to feel like spring :) The kids have been asking since the dead of winter to go to their favorite park. So yesterday they asked again so I told them I would take them after we picked up Parkie from school. We had a little snack and played at the park for awhile before Parkie had to be at baseball. The kids had so much fun and I had fun watching them.