Star Wars Six Party

Remember when I let James have a Star Wars party?

Yeah, you can already see where this is going, right? Well, a few weeks ago, James got it into his head that he was having a "Star Wars Six Party". He had it all planned out and it was going to be on a Friday. Excuse me? A Friday? I don't do Fridays. I am pretty fried by then so I talked him into postponing it until the next Movie Time Monday. I can deal with Monday, especially when I have already committed to having kids then. We invited one extra, but had the usual MTM crew. To those of you who were born before the year 2000, Star Wars Six means Return of the Jedi. I know, it is confusing.

So, James was immediately in costume:



And the light sabers were out and ready:



James had prepared a special treat for everyone. No, I am not talking about the Star Wars cookies, I am talking about James's "frescious cold water." James took little cups and put ice in them in the fridge and allowed it to melt. I think the term "frescious" is a combination "precious" and "refreshing". He is so proud of his water.



I was pretty embarrassed when he gave some to Henry. Henry didn't think it tasted like anything, but was impressed by the changing of the solid state to the liquid state.

Other activities, here are the boys in their speeder bikes:



And here is everyone in their X-wing fighters. I believe Henry at the point had determined that the couch was the Death Star.



One last thing, and Juliet may have to help me with the correct phrasing. I didn't understand why James was so insistant that he wear a sweatshirt through this whole thing, but he said later that is was a jedi because, he had "my sweatshirt with a hood". I guess it kind of does look like the jedi hooded cloak...

May the force be with you!

Play Nation

So, I joined Groupon.

If you know me, and if you REALLY know me, this is probably a surprise cause you probably know that I hate receiving emails. Especially emails from people I don't know. But one day, after a few glasses of wine, it sounded like a good idea, and I signed up. The only thing I have bought so far is for a place called Play Nation. Play Nation? Never heard of it. Never heard of anyone I know talking about it...and I know a lot of people. I carefully read over the rules and regulations, the fine print, and finally threw all caution to the wind and bought 6 admissions for $15. Well, put this down on the success column. Definately money well spent! Need to remember this when I buy a 60 min massage for $5. The main business of Play Nation is to sell their play sets. They have set them up in a warehouse and charge admission until they get sold. At $3/per child, totally worth it for playing in the AC, even with the drive to Greenville. We have gone twice. Once with friends. We met Mattie and Elaina there. Walking the the kids were very excited!

Mattie is sliding:



Elaina is swinging:



James is climbing:



Andy is also climbing:



Elaina is still swinging. So, apparently Elaina can swing ALL. BY. HERSELF. Poor James kept trying to pump. He kinda of got the hang of it. But not.



Oliver, not so much. He did what he had to:



But look at the proud big sister!



Just as an aside, look at this rules list. No running? How can you have a playground with no running?



We went back later with the rest of our groupon. Definately a nice option to have in the hot summer! James was still climbing:



Well, Mark had a ball!





So much fun he actually debated in puchasing one of these $5000 structures!



There was basketball:



And James was still trying to swing. No luck though.



They are suppose to have something in living social at the end of the month. I won't get it. I hate getting emails!

4th of July parade

We had a parade last year, but again, the kids have been planning another one ever since. Now that it has been done twice, it is a tradition, right? I did hesitate this year because I didn't want to make a commitment, ie, get locked into July 4 plans before I knew what I really wanted to do. We ended up at my parents house and came out marching of their house into the street:



My mom was smart enough to call some of her neighbors to cheer for us. She is waving at some here:



And some more up the road here:



We are so going to get called to return the favor for grandkids in the future! I think the boys will be cool with it. Andy started off with the cymbals from his parade party:



But then switched with his brother. Good sharing team!



We then marched down to the dock. How Americana is this picture?





and then back up to the house:



And a video. If you are good, you can hear Papa completely ignoring the parade to discuss Nikki Hayley's (the governor, not the stripper) recent overturned veto. Government waste...all of it...especially all those people who are out of a job and competing with ME for jobs. AWESOME!

The Iron Bridge

So this weekend we found out at the last minute that my cousin Anne and her kids were going to be in Highlands! Sometimes when things happen at the last minute they are easier to put together then planning for weeks in advance, am I right? At any rate, the plan was to meet them in Highlands and the drive to some iron bridge place for a picnic. All James wanted to do was climb the big rocks, so he did:



He also found some tadpoles.



I think Andy was confused between Grandma's lake and the river. He just wanted to do a "big jump" It was hard finding a safe place, but we did find one.





Aunt K (we decided to call her Ra-Ra from now on. Less confusing) brought fried chicken. Andy was given a leg and didn't know what to do with it. Ya know, we don't eat meat at home any more! He figured it out.



Here is Cousin Anne with her girls. You tell them to "strike a pose" and they do.



A nice family picture:



See ya next year, cuz!

Swim Lessons 2011

Lots of stuff happened last week, but the only took pictures of one thing. Swim lessons! Again, Ms. Kip, who James, Andy, AND I LOVE came to our pool to give swim lessons. I had Andy and Mattie go for 30 minutes, then James and John for 30 minutes. This seemed to go pretty well, except that our pool in June is really too cold. I knew it was too cold for me, but I really expected Ms. Kip and the kids to hang. Ms. Kip did ok, but the kids turned kind of blue and their teeth kept chattering. The way Ms. Kip decided to solve that problem was to have each kid have a 15 minute private lesson. When they started shaking, it was time for the next kid. This worked well.

Andy had his first swim lessons this year! He was so excited Ms. Kip came to his pool. Andy is still a little young to really swim so Ms. Kip focused on safety. Things like being able to fall off the steps and get back on. Unbeknownst to Ms. Kip, we had actually accidentally practiced this move the day before and Andy did great. Oh well. Usually they would start on the steps:



Then they would practice "strong arms"



Then some kicking. Look at that form!



If they are good, they get to jump in. You might be able to detect the chill here...



When James's turn came he was ready!



Oh, maybe not!



James did well on his tummy:



Or his back!

More parade

My mom requested a video. You can clearly see the difference between Andy and the other party goers. The cymbals were requested by the birthday boy when learning of his parade party.

Everyone loves a parade (party).

So, Andy, my second child, turned three yesterday. And again, I know most people sob and say, has it already been three years, but trust me, I know it has been THREE years!

At any rate, last year, I really did try to have a party for him. But with two kids so close in age, it is really difficult to determine what James likes and what Andy likes. James just really likes EVERYTHING. Especially birthdays. Andy, is less...obvious. I mean, he is pretty obvious what he does NOT like, but we are not always sure what he likes. So, in thinking for a party, we did want to do something special for Andy. We thought and thought and thought about this. And then one night, all of a sudden it came to me, we should have a parade! And we did. Again, don't get me wrong. James likes music, marching, and parades, but in all fairness, so does Andy. So we threw him a parade party.

We had it at a local park and although it did not rain during the party, it rained a lot the night before. We got there early to dry everything off. Here is James doing his part. Look how smart he is! I am totally sending this in with our multiage classroom application next year!



Andy dried things off for awhile, but I guess decided that now that he is three, he is old enough to "do the pool". So, it is ok with us Ms. Jenny if they "do the pool".



Since this was Andy's party, we served all of his favorite foods: juice boxes, yogurt raisens, watermelon, and BBQ chips. Actually he doesn't care for watermelon, but Jamed LOVES it and so Andy said he did. Oops!



Since this was a parade party, I had all the kids made flags to wave. Here is James:



And Andy.



And now for the actual parade. We had some music, the flags, some musical instruments and marched up and down the road. Now, this was the first parade party I have ever host, and might be the first EVER, but for future reference, we should have praticed or had lessons. Apparently not everyone constantly marches around their house like we do!



Andy's favorite part was the cake. Not sure if it was everyone singing to him, or the actual cupcakes, but he did like both.



Then we did our traditional gift exchange.



And then all the kids played with their gifts. It is like another activity...I am really not sure why the gift exchange hasn't caught on!



Andy had a great time and he is ready for his party again. Um, it might be awhile!