Birthday in Boise

OK, as the final few hours of May wind down, I must confess that it is sort of a relief to turn the page on the calendar. Its been a whirlwind month. My picture file for May says 598 pictures taken, but I have a few more to download! Whoa. I'm tired.
Anyhow, the tons of pictures just means that we had a ton of fun. Last weekend especially! We met up with Grandma and Grandpa, Gretchen and all the boys in Boise for Hayden's birthday blow out! Good times!
First stop was Boondocks, if you've ever driven through Boise, you for sure have passed it and said, "wow, that looks like fun!" You would not be wrong. Even on Memorial day weekend, it was really fun. Bumper boats, Go Karts, mini golf, the arcade, prizes and snacks. What more could a kid ask for? Well, maybe a water slide or two, but they weren't open yet and we gotta save something for later in the summer, right?
Hayden and Sage rode the bumper boats with Daddy and soaked Grandpa, Uncle Will and Gabe, Dalton and Grayson. They got a bit back in return too.
Then, we rode the go karts. Hayden was a little nervous about them, so he rode with me because I am a chicken too. We pretty much got lapped by everyone.
Marlee slept through putt putt golf, but everyone else seemed to have a good time. The arcade was last. Think Chuck E Cheese. Actually they had some really fun games. The motorcycles were really fun. Aunt Gretchen figured out which games score the most tickets so Sage cleaned up on the prizes. If only we had gotten 360,000 tickets, we could have won a Wii...


Family Favs:
Heath-playing baseball at the park, Playing guitar hero at the hotel (he rocked out on Welcome to the Jungle, pretty good for a beginner!)

Lori-minigolf with everyone
Hayden-Every part of Boondocks!
Sage-Staying the night in Aunt Gretchen's room
Marlee-Getting her own cupcake in the bathtub

Stephenie Meyer!

Have you ever done anything that you look back on and say, "wow, that was fun, silly, but really fun!"? Well, I just did. Stacy and me went to Portland yesterday to go to the Stephenie Meyer book signing for The Host. Its a 3 1/2 hour drive, but seemed so much shorter, chatting the whole way. While in Oregon, who can resist a little tax free shopping? Not us. We did some damage, but, I like to think mostly about all the money I saved. haha
Stacy and I were really not excited to drive in the city. She got the honors and did fabulous I must say, despite my constant efforts to get her lost. We really wanted to eat at the downtown Spaghetti Factory, but the silly place closes in the afternoon for a few hours, of course, right when we needed to be there. No worries, we had a yummy dinner at the Macaroni Grill.
Then off to the book signing...
We got there about 5:30, doors opened at 6, show at 7. The line was already wrapped around the building. Tons of teenage girls and their moms. Lots of Twilight bags, tees and such. We stood in line behind a cute girl who was quite knowledgable about how the whole thing would go down, and in front of a mom and her girls who were clueless. It was fun to chat with people who shared our obsession.
When we got in the doors, we got our pre-signed copy of the host and a ticket to get it personalized.
The theater was so dark we couldn't even see if seats were empty or not. It was really kind of scary. We got frusterated but ended up on the end of an aisle, pretty close to the front. not bad. Stacy wanted to read but it was too dark to see anything. I had questions to submit, so I got up to figure out how that was going down. I was walking around in the lobby when some kid bumped into me. I saw him coming and my first thought was, "a boy, at Stephenie Meyer? brave" Then I was irritated with him for bumping into me! But then I noticed that he looked a lot like the guy who is playing Sam Uley in the Twilight movie. I practically ran back to Stacy to tell her about my encounter. As I was telling her this, I noticed him walk into the theater and as he walked, he was attracting a crowd. The two sweet girls sitting next to us asked us what was going on and I told them that I was pretty sure the guy was Solomon Trimble. They jumped up and went over in line and ended up getting a great picture of him. They said he was really nice too. He posed for lots of pictures. Stacy couldn't talk me into going over though!

My pictures didn't come out good at all in that horrible, dark theater!At 7, the crowd screamed and screamed when Stephenie came out. It was really exciting. She seemed sorta nervous to be in front of a crowd; she talked really fast. I was sorta sad that I never figured out how to submit questions; mine were really good, much better than what she answered (really nothing new that hadn't been asked at other signings-come on people do your homework before you get there!)
She was done talking before 7:30. She walked right by us on her way out. I could have touched her, but settled for a wave, and she smiled back. Tried to get a picture as she approached, but mostly just got her torso. hahaha The girls next to us got about the same thing.
The signing was a bit of a disappointment. I think we talked ourselves into believing that we would go to ice cream with her or something afterwards. I don't know, we were crazy. With that many people to sign books for, she has to move fast, and boy, we got to the table and she was done with our books before we really knew what happened. It was way too fast. No pictures were allowed. So, we headed back to the hotel after a brief stop at Safeway for some Ben and Jerrys. Stephenie didn't join us. But, no regrets, we had a great time. Maybe she will be in Seattle for the Breaking Dawn tour...
I totally ripped this off from the twilightmoms website! The whole front row was a group of twilightmoms, it was pretty cool to see them too! We were surprised to see that the sign was changed during the show.
Stacy reading Twilight while we wait for our turn to get our books signed. I got my Host and my Twilight signed! woo hoo.
BTW: LOVE the Host, its amazing, on my second read right now :)

SIX!!!

Happy Birthday Hayden! He has turned the big oh-six. He is quite pleased to be six because now he gets to move up in the age bracket for pretty much all sports-out of the 4-5's and into the 6-8's. That's big! It also means a later bed time. Yeah! Its good to be six, it's much more independent than 5. Six year olds don't have to ask for a glass of water; they just climb the counters, get their own cup and get the pitcher of water out of the fridge all on their own. Six year olds can make their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Really kind six year olds think of their little sisters and make extras! Thank goodness Hayden is one of the kind 6 year olds. Six year olds prefer showers to baths. He is a shower singer too. His favorite shower song cracks me up; its the water cycle song he learned at school.
"Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, on my head" sung to clementine.
Six year olds are responsible enough to have gadgets. Hayden got a Nintendo DS for his birthday. He played all weekend long. We have been talking about the DS since Grandpa brought his here at Easter. Hayden didn't really want much else. So to throw him off, I wrapped it and then put it in a big box and wrapped that. When he saw the big box, he was excited, but you could see the concern in his eyes-the box was way to big to be a DS! It was fun, he opened the big box and joy just spread over his whole face; the little boxes inside were just the right size.

At 6:
*Hayden is a great reader, he has moved into beginner chapter books like Flat Stanley, The Magic Treehouse, and Cam Jansen mysteries. I must say, watching my boy learn to read is one of the greatest accomplishments yet.
*Hayden is addicted to all things sports: T-ball is in season right now. He can't wait to do coach pitch though. He swings the bat around before his turn to hit just like Ichiro does. Its hilarious. He plays catch with the boys in the neighborhood everyday after they get off the bus. And nothing makes him happier than a game of backyard baseball with the whole family.
*Hayden refuses to wear sandals, and shorts are only OK if they are athletic shorts. If I veto athletic shorts, he opts for jeans and sneakers, even if its 98 degrees. Maybe the 100s will sway him.
*Hayden has not lost a single tooth. All the kids in his class have lost at least 1 or two, some have more holes than teeth. Not Hayden.
His favorite foods are blueberries and stawberries. Honorable mention goes to apples, grapes, and German Pancakes.
*Hayden has taken on the job of secretary. If you have called our house, you know this. It can be difficult to get him to give the phone up. He has also learned to make calls too, mostly to his friend Emma. (she sends him notes with her phone number, so cute!)
*Hayden's taste in TV is maturing, he would prefer to watch the Mariners, but will settle for whats on Nick or Toon Disney. He is bored with the shows on Playhouse Disney. This is sad for me...we did the Wiggles concert a few years ago and now, he says he doesn't like that show.
*Hayden plays hard. His little friends come over and they play hide and seek in the back yard and make obstacle courses and ride scooters and stuff. He plays amazingly well with Sage and has really tried hard to include Marlee too. He will entertain himself or help out me and Heath with chores. If he can find someone willing, he will play till they give up. He never does. He comes in at night coated in sweat and dirt, exhausted. All boy!
Six is a funny age, trying so hard to be grown up, but still trying to enjoy all the parts of being a kid. I love to watch him work through his decisions. He is so expressive. A big Hayden grin can brighten even the most gloomy of days. He is gentle and loving to his sisters and a friend to all he meets. I am so proud of my little man who is growing up sooooo fast. Happy birthday buddy!!!

Fortune

Hayden and Sage got fortune cookies at PF Changs when Heath took them to get my gift card. Heath had kept Sage's fortune and showed it to me last night: YOU HAVE AN UNUSUAL MAGNETIC PERSONALITY
Yep!

Mother's Day 08

We sorta took the whole weekend to celebrate. Why not, huh?
Saturday we went on a bike ride along the river. It was so much fun. We went about 4 miles; I can't give you the exact number because after we stopped to take pictures, I forgot to restart the GPS again for a ways. opps. Heath and Hayden could have ridden all day long, but my back objected towards the end, and there is only so much you can ask of a 3 year old. Sage was such a trooper peddling away on her little bike with the training wheels. When the kids took their helmets off, they had sweaty hair! Marlee rode in the trailer with her little face pressed against the side to see out. She didn't make a peep the whole way. She seemed to enjoy herself though. What a gorgous day! Hayden made sure we all dipped our hands into the river to feel how cold it is. Guess we won't be making any swimming trips to the river yet. :)

Sunday, of course, was the chocolate breakfast, my most favorite tradition. It was decadent and wonderful. The kids were so excited to give me their gift. Hayden came up with the idea all by himself and was quite pleased with it. They got me a gift card to PF Changs! mmm, lettuce wraps in my near future. The secret had been killing Sage for a couple of days. She is terrible at secrets, but managed to not tell me. Hayden also made sure that i got some chocolate too. That boy is great, always looking out for me. The kids did handprints at primary. I love that. I remember doing handprints for my mom when i was in school. The cute little poem, makes me cry every time. I cried when Hayden gave me his card too. It said, "Mom, I give you my heart, love Hayden" He made a cute little heart pin too. His little handwritting is what did it, so precious.
My kids are so much fun. They went above and beyond to make it a special day for me. Heath too!

Celebrating 1

Well, the party is over, but the fun continues. We did lots of fun stuff to celebrate Marlee's birthday. She got her first taste of cake on her actual birthday (it just didn't feel right to make her wait till the party). What a shocker-she loved it!
Our trip to Seattle was so much fun. We headed over nice and early Friday and had time to visit the Build-a-bear store.

Hayden had gotten his bear, Hank, for his birthday a couple of years ago from Aunt Gretchen and the boys and it was such a special gift. We were haveing a tough time coming up with a gift idea for Marlee, and then we decided she needed a bear too. Hayden and Sage had a blast creating Claire the bear just for their sister (we named her Claire, because that is one of the names I wanted for Marlee). If you squeeze Claire's foot, it says "I love you Marlee!" What a fun place. I wish I had taken the video camera, it was really a good time and something we will probably remember for a long time.
Saturday was the party. Thankfully, I got lots of help from my mom and dad, Jamie, and Marie; otherwise the party might not have happened.

Marlee enjoyed her cake, but I expected more of a show. After Heath tried to clean her up, she really got after it. Luckily it was white cake and didn't make too big of a mess-yeah right! Aunt Marie made the cutest polka dot cupcakes and a special cake just for Marlee. Auntie Kim helped Marlee have her first taste of ice cream, it went over really well too.
Marlee wasn't totally focused on the gifts but she had lots of help from Sage, Avery and Hannah; thanks girls, you were too cute! Jamie and Kyle took most of the pictures but Avery helped out there too. just like her mommy :) (Jamie takes the very best pictures, not kidding!)



It was quite the celebration, she took a nice long nap after the party. Sage fell asleep about 6; she was only going to rest her eyes, but accidently fell asleep-for the night.
Thank you to all who came, it was a really fun day for us.
Oh, and the decorations were all recycled! just doing my part :)