Swipper swipped my cupcakes!

Swiper the Fox took my cupcakes!! I had to find them with my friends. We hunted for stars and danced to the Dora song with noisy maracas (that mom forgot to send home with my friends, so I have lots of them to make noise with!)  Then we put together the puzzle to go over puzzle bridge. We went through a tunnel and we walked on the lily pads through crocodile lake. When we went back up to my picnic table the cupcakes and Swiper were there. We told him "Swiper, No swipping," and he left them alone for us to eat.

We had lunch with my friends, then we went outside to play. We ate our cupcakes outside. The cupcakes we're really good!!

I got to open presents from my friends. I got a playdoh cake maker, a Dora phone, A princess pillowcase and a Tinkerbell play set.

When my friends went home we sent them with a Dora backpack with some goodies in them. It was a fun party!!

Backpack Goodie Bags

Oh No, Swipper took my cupcakes!

Hunting for Stars

Puzzle Bridge

Crocodile Lake

The tunnel

Make a Wish Birthday Girl and blow and the candle out.

My friends and I eating our cupcakes.

Kenzy, Nolan, Jordan, Me, Kensley, Eliza, Claire and Grant.

Map for us to follow.

Little Miss 4th of July

Today we got to celebrate 2 birthdays! Our countries and Rebecca's. Rebecca has been counting down to her birthday for weeks and today was the day she turned 3!!

It was kind of sad putting her to bed lastnight because we knew it was the last time we'd ever put a 2 year child of ours to bed again!

This morning she woke up and crawled into bed with us. I love it when she cuddles with us in the morning!


When we convinced dad to get up (at 7:30) we headed into the kitchen to see her presents and decorations. I usually don't buy very many themed birthday items, but I did get her a Dora birthday banner and plates. Next week she's having a Dora Birthday adventure with her friends to get the cupcakes back from Swipper.

The look of pure joy on her face when she walked into the dinning room was so sweet!

Each of the kids gave her a present. Ammon was so excited to give her 2 heart shaped bubble necklaces. Corrine gave her a set of Birthday cake Duplos. Simeon gave her a Brave dress up doll. (Between her and Corrine we have most of the princesses like this.) Mom & Dad gave her a wagon for her dolls.

For breakfast we had pancakes, but not just any old white pancakes. We made red and blue pancake mix and had some fun. We made 3's, flags, stars, letters and some other fun shapes. I was surprised how easy they were to make! We topped them with strawberries, blueberries and whipcream. Ammon LOVES whip cream and can eat a plateful of it for a sweet treat, so his plate was more whipcream then anything else!
 
It's been so hot and humid that we didn't do a whole lot today. We stayed home and played until late in the afternoon when Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Justin and cousins Jonas and Ian came over.


We ate some yummy food, played on the slip-n-slide and sprinklers out back, then opened presents ate sprinkle cupcakes and played some more.
   
We finished the night off going downtown to watch the fireworks. We always go on a parking ramp and watch them from the van. We got there only 10 minutes before they started (they started 15 mins early for some reason) and were able to get a great spot. We ate some snacks drank some fresh lemonade and enjoyed the show.


 
The fireworks lasted half hour and were great! Within 5 minutes of them being over and driving home Rebecca was sound asleep. A sign that she had a great (and tiring) birthday.

We love you sweet Rebecca Lucy. We are so grateful to have you in our family!

Happy 7th Birthday Ammon

Today was all about the little things that made the day such a great day! Yesterday Ammon told us what he wanted to do on his birthday and we tried as hard as we could to do it all.

This morning Johann got up and went to go get Ammon up to go get Daylight Donuts for breakfast, and he found Ammon sitting at the kitchen table staring at his presents! He said he'd only been up for a few minutes.

Ammon woke up to a dollar bill from the toothfairy from his lost tooth yesterday. Then Johann and Ammon went to Daylight Donuts to pick out birthday donuts. At the donut shop he got lot of Happy Birthday wishes.

We put the candle into his donut and Ammon asked to light the match, so we let him. He was super excited to light his own candle.

Way back in January Ammon spotted a plane carrier at Target and asked if he could get it. We told him we weren't going to just get it right after Christmas, so he asked if we'd get it for his birthday-6 months away. Well today he opened the carrier and was just as excited as he was back in January. He also got a collapsable bug holder. He also got sparring gear in April which was part of his birthday presents.

Then he went downstairs and played Lego Batman he got from a friend for his birthday. When he was done with that he got to pick what show to watch.

For lunch we had stuffed shells, which was his dinner request, but since we wouldn't be home for dinner, we had it for lunch.

After lunch we went and got dad to go to the Coralville Aquatic Center. Ammon and I went up to the purple slid and he was tall enough to go on it! He went down the slide over 12 times.

After the pool we went to Taco Bell for a quick dinner. Ammon asked for a mexican pizza and since it was his birthday we said he could get one.

Then it was time for me to go to a Safety Village meeting and Corrine's softball game. Dad took all the kids to the game and I met them there afterwards.

I had a book on hold at the library so we headed there. Corrine, Ammon and Rebecca each signed up for the summer reading program. Corrine and Ammon did a scavenger hunt in the children's room. Ammon picked out books about Taekwondo and Korea.

As we walked to the van I asked Ammon what his favorite part of his birthday was and he said "getting to pick all these books out at the library!" (That made me so happy to hear!)

When we got home at 8:30 we got pj's on and watched "We Bought A Zoo" while eating Klondike bars which was his treat request!

It was such a fun day full of doing things that Ammon requested. I love hearing the fun things they want to do, or eat on their birthday.

Ammon has such a fun and diverse personality. One minute he's silly and wild, the next he's loving and gentle.  He loves to play with friends or siblings, but he also needs his alone time. He is super loving to Rebecca and will be her puppy or servant or bestfriend. He loves to read and can get caught up in a book for a long time.
It's really neat to watch him at Taekwondo. He can go in after having a bad or an unfocused energy day, and instantly he gets focused and calm and he walks out grounded. I love watching the transformation on the "been a hard days."

Last Saturday after his friend birthday party we had a family party with Grandma & Grandpa and Uncle Justin. He got lots of Legos and some neat spy gear.

 

We love you Ammon Eli! We are so greatful to have you in our family each and every day.

Ammon's Lego Party

Ammon LOVES Lego's. He loves reading Lego books, playing with Lego's, dreams of getting EVERY Lego set out there, so it seemed natural that he would want a Lego Party for his birthday. I scoured the Internet for fun Lego party ideas. We used some with our own tweaks, or just made them up on our own.

This picture was the inspiration for the cake. I asked Ammon to bring me a Lego figure that he wanted his cake to look like. This one won the prize.

When the kids got here, they each got a Lego 3-n-1 vehicle to build. Each decided which of the 3 vehicles to build.

The kids all really liked building their vehicles for the race.

We had some issues with some of the vehicles not wanting to stay together, so we only had one official race before moving on.

We played a Lego drop game. We collected a bucket of black wings and 2 empty pickle jars. The kids had 1 minute to drop the wings from the bench into the jar.

Then we played Angry Birds Lego figurine style. We set up 10 Lego figures on wood blocks for each kid, then gave the kids star marshmallows to flick at the figures. They had 1 minute to get them down. Rebecca got to throw her marshmallows since she hasn't learn to flick yet.

After some more active (LOUD) games we played a few rounds of Lego Bingo which I found here: http://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/lego-party-games-more/ . There were lots of different bingo cards to print out. We used little Lego's as markers.

The Birthday boy and his friends.

The Birthday boy and his silly friends!

 
Remember that face picture from before-here it is on the cake. It took ALOT of yellow food coloring to get the perfect yellow Lego color frosting! Ammon and his friends really liked the cake. They all wanted to have an eye or mouth so they could get some black frosting.

I wanted to make a Lego pinata, but Ammon just wanted goodie bags. Each kid got to take home their Lego vehicle, a Lego party figurine and some candy. I found a Lego font that I used for the bag labels.

This was such a fun and energized party!! Happy 7th Birthday Ammon-we love you!!

Birthday Boy Simeon

WaHOOOO Simeon turned 11 on Wednesday!!! 
We don't seem to do birthDAYS, rather we do birthWEEKS! He was super excited for his birthday week and all the fun he got to do all week long.
He started his birthday celebration a day early with Daylight Donuts for their Spanish class in the morning, and chocolate cupcakes for his baseball team that night.
Then came Weds morning. We had waffles with strawberries and whip cream ( a mighty big treat in our house, especially on a school morning.)

His presents to open were a bit smaller on the actual day because we got him an early present last month. He really wanted a baseball bag, since he truly was the only kid on his team without one. So we decided to get him one with his name, number and Little Hawks logo on it as an early present. So on his birthday he got a new Chargers Jersey (Mathews for those interested) and a King sizes Resses peanut butter cup, which he nicely shared one with his siblings (and then one little hungry sibling finished off for him later that day.) 

He brought chocolate cupcakes to school for his class. He got to pick a prize out of the birthday box which we heard from his teacher he had been talking about for a while. He told us about a bowling set and that is exactly what he came home with.
We are doing home dinners this year instead of going out. He picked homemade mac n cheese for dinner.
This afternoon we were able to keep open from any activities (until scouts), so he got lots of playtime with our neighbor Joe and siblings, which may have been one of the highlights of the day. We've been so busy lately and with Joe also playing on a Little Hawks baseball team there are more days then not when one of them can't play together, so this afternoon was a treat for them both!
He got to go to his 1st Boy Scout activity that night and they had chocolate drumstick ice cream cones as a birthday treat!
Throughout the week he got a few cards in the mail, 2 with giftcards included! (I see more Lego's in our future.)
He finished his birthday week off on Sunday when he got to open more presents from his Smith grandparents. He was excited to get the Lego Master Builder Academy set. Every 2 months he'll get a new lego set in the mail. Each kit teaches a different concept of building and progressively gets harder as the kits advance throughout the year.

Also this week Simeon had some end of year activities.
Friday he had his band concert and WOW those kids have improved so much since the winter concert in December. One of the songs they played was Rumor has it. So now every time it's on the radio he wants it LOUD!


Saturday he had a baseball tournament where he scored the winning run in both their Saturday games. His team played 2 more games on Sunday and ended 2nd in the tournament!

Then this Weds was the 5th and 6th grade track and field met at West High. Simeon ran in the 300 meter dash, the triple throw and the agility course. His triple toss team had a rough start, but on their 2nd try they did much better and got 22 throws in in 30 seconds. On the agility course he was fun to watch. He got to do it twice. The 2nd time he busted some crazy rolling and jumping over the hurdles to finish with a very fast time.



We so love watching Simeon growing up into a young man.We love you!

Happy 100th Birthday Oreo's

I found this in the Correspondent today about Oreo's:
"Oreo cookie turns 100 today, celebrating a century as the top-selling cookie in America. Nabisco has launched a limited edition "Birthday Cake" Oreo cookie in honor of the centennial.

By Schuyler Velasco, / March 6, 2012

March is a big month for cookie milestones. Next week, the Girl Scouts organization will turn 100 years old. But first, the most enduring and dominant cookie sandwich in the world celebrates its own centennial: the Oreo cookie turns 100 today, March 6, 2012. That makes “Milk’s favorite cookie” older than the sinking of the Titanic (by a month), women’s voting rights, and the Russian Revolution, just to name a few."

What a better way to celebrate Oreo's 100th birthday then with their Birthday Oreo's. Since we're knee deep in Girl Scout Cookies, in was a nice break to have some Oreo's today!


We tried the Birthday Cake Oreo's. They have a different sweeter filling in them. I think I prefer the original ones.

A welcome back to Iowa

This morning we got to the airport so early to make sure we had enough time to check in since we weren't able to check in last night on line. When we got to the ticket counter we found out that we had never been fulled booked on our flights for today. Thankfully we were able to be booked without any problems or any extra money.
Both our planes were really small with only around 50 seats on each. Because they were so small we had to leave our bags plane side. I didn't mind this since our bags were so heavy I wasn't sure I would be able to put them in the overhead compartment!
I was getting a cold, so the landings were almost unbearable on my ears.
We landed in Iowa in a slushy snowstorm. The kids were so excited to see us. Rebecca ran straight to Corrine and gave her a huge hug.
When we got home Corrine got to unwrap her presents from us.

Then life went from vacation to back to real life because we needed to leave to take the boys to Taekwondo.
The rest of the day we had rain and snow. We went from being in the 70's and wearing shorts, so 30 degrees and snow. The snow was so beautiful covering everything and bring such a quiet peacefulness.

Saying goodbye

This morning we got up early so we could get to the funeral on time. The funeral was held at Grandma and Grandpa's church building in Indio, CA.
All of his 6 kids, 17 grandchildren, 16 out of 21 great grandchildren were there. Just Johann and 3 of our kids and my sister Lisa's husband Kent and their 3 kids were not able to be there.
The service was really nice. Papa gave the eulogy, and Paul and Adam sang a song in Spanish. After the service the casket was placed in the hearse and left. Then we all went in and had a lunch. Corrine went off and played with the cousins.
After lunch Corrine went with Laurie and her family back to their house. Lisa and I went to Grandma Jenson's for a while. We stayed for a few hours talking with family. When we left we drove through Hemet where our brother Jake and his family lives. We decided to stop by to see their house. Zach was supper excited to show us his room, dogs and toys. After Lisa and I went to Panera's for dinner. We finally made it to Laurie's 4 hours after they did. Corrine was starting to wonder if I was ever going to make it there!
That night the sisters stayed up talking way too late, but it was so much fun.
Tuesday morning we woke up and sang Happy Birthday to Corrine. We then all got ready to go the burial. We met with all my siblings and their families at the Barbecue Pit for lunch.
When we got to the cemetery we spent a little time in the gathering room, then headed out to the cemetery. We found Grandma and Grandpa Guthrie's grave sites. Today would have been Grandma Guthrie's 100th birthday.
We went to the duck pond and played there for a while. Corrine and Zach were having fun chasing the ducks and watching the turtles.
Since we had the funeral yesterday, today was just the dedication of the grave and burial. We had a family prayer in the gathering room. Then the casket was closed and carried to a hearse. The sons, grandsons and even a great grandson walked with their hands on the car around the cemetery.
Since Grandpa was in the Air Force so he had a military funeral. There were 2 Air Force members there with us. They folded the flag, played Taps and gave the flag to Grandma.
Grandma choose to do a full burial, so right after the ceremony a tractor and dump truck showed up.
I had never seen a full burial being done before, so this was new to me and very interesting to watch.
The men who buried his casket were so careful and kind. They did their job with all of us watching and they did it silently. They would give a hand signal of where to back up to, or when to stop pouring the dirt, but they never spoke to each other. It was a very peaceful time.
It was a very comforting experience to know for sure that Grandpa's body was where it was suppose to be. The casket was closed with us there, then it was walked to the grave site and buried with all of us watching.
Corrine and Aleigha ran off to another section of the cemetery to check out the tall headstones. I was watching them and I'd see them running between the headstones. When they came back over they told me that they had been straightening the flowers on the headstones.
After the burial all the family went to Phillipe's Italian restaurant in Little Italy downtown. This was a restaurant that Grandma and Grandpa liked to go to. It was a party atmosphere with all of us there. We ate, talked, laughed, hugged and took some pictures.
My cousin Amy told them it was Corrine's birthday so they brought her a birthday treat and we all sang to her. She had around 50 people singing to her!
We said goodbye and headed back to Nani and Papa's house in the desert.

Kent Park

Tonight we went out to Kent Park to take a walk for my birthday date. A friend had asked me to take some pictures of the park for her, so I thought I'd take them tonight during our walk. It was so beautiful out there and peaceful.

Here are some of my favorites from tonight.