Nolan Turns 8 - Ninja Style

OK, I REALLY can't believe I have a 12 year old, and and 8 year old (and an almost 3 year old, but we won't talk about that one... =?)!

Nolan turned 8! And to celebrate we had a Ninjago (Ninja/legos)  party. So fun!

The Dojo

Ninja cupcakes! (thank you Pinterest!)

We had some very sweet friends (that also happen to be black belts in Tae Kwon Do...) come and teach the kids a few moves.

 Intense focus abounded...

then we had a training course where they got to use the skills they learned,

Throwing ninja stars...

...balance...

...practicing the kicks we learned...

...and showing your best ninja pose...

after which they each received their ninja sword and headband.

The kids were so great, they were VERY into the whole ninja thing (several even came dressed for the occassion)! Nolan said it was the best party ever, so I guess we'll call it a success.  Happy Birthday Nolie - I mean Ninja Nolie!

Just remember... you never saw this post...

This Makes Me Smile...

...EVERY time!

Big Machines

We really do live in such an awesome place... Our city had a Big Machine Day at the small local airport... Cody is (as most boys his age) obsessed with all things construction, so we thought we'd check it out. So glad we did! It was super fun & Cody (& Nolan & probably even Matt ;) ) loved it!!!

When they say "big machines" they aren't kidding!

Yes, that's Cody in the driver's seat!

Spent a good long time talking to the gentleman here... Had no idea our small city has a SWAT team, and that this vehicle (that our city owns) was one of the first of it's kind and was even borrowed for use in NYC following 9/11... amazing stories and things this vehicle can and has done.

We also found out our city has a bomb squad (complete with robot)! Man we're cool!

Fun, fun day!

May Zoomed Past

May was super busy! We started off with a TON of activities related to our new Kansas City Temple... Open house duty (Phil got to be "security" complete with cool ear piece, I helped usher and Matt got to help put shoe coverings on people touring the temple).

Matt also got to participate in a musical  "cultural" celebration, prior to the temple dedication. 3000 plus youth from our temple district ages 12-18 participated, complete with a choir and full (AMAZING) orchestra. Our beloved Prophet Thomas S. Monson was in attendance for the performance as well. So crazy, so awesome - definitely a once in a lifetime, life altering experience. We are so thankful for all the special experiences that came with the blessing of this holy place.

We were lucky to have sat close to where Matt was - otherwise, I'm not sure we'd have been able to pick him out! 

President Monson - delightful as always!

A small idea of how many youth there were, they pretty much filled the auditorium floor.

Next, Matt being in 6th grade, had all kinds of "graduation" festivities, on top of the normal end of school craziness...

We started off with D.A.R.E. graduation...

Festival of Strings (the annual, and awesome coming together of all the strings players that feed into our High School including the amazing High School Orchestra, seriously SO FUN!!!)

This picture cracks me up, Matt & his friend Bennett were goofing around, seeing who could play the violin's part the fastest on their cello... funny, talented boys!

And moved on to a trip to Louisville, Kentucky for a chance to compete in a NASP (National Archery in Schools Program) national tournament. I know I've gushed about our amazing elementary school many times in the past, but here's another to add to the list... We have an amazing 6th grade teacher that also happens to be an avid archer and loves it so much he started a program at our school through NASP... In the past few years, only the 6th graders have been allowed to participate (just because it's so popular, there's not enough time or gear to go much further...). As a result, it is THE thing to do once you get to 6th grade. There were around 70 kids that participated this year, 3 "teams" worth, and Matt's "team" was the only one of the 3 to make it to the national tournament. They did fairly well 35th out of 150 plus teams, 2nd best score by a MO team. GO MATT!

A shot of one of Matt's groupings...

Lived in MO for almost 7 years before we saw "the arch" - even then it was only from the freeway.

From there we moved on to Derby Day (our annual "jog-a-thon" that co-incides with the Kentucky Derby)

And then 6th Grade Graduation & Party (only have pics from the grad, but I heard the party was pretty awesome - I did help set-up and so I got a quick tour of all the goings on, looked fun to me!)

I'm amazed, bewildered excited and nervous to have a middle-schooler next year - uncharted territory for sure! Wish us luck!!! And that - was May.

Matt Turns 12!

DISCLAIMER: we are not old enough to have kids - let alone a 12 year old.

Matt woke up on his birthday to this...

...12 balloons (Patriots colors, of course) with notes attached to the bottom from different family members wishing him a happy birthday (thank you to all who sent a note... it really meant the world to him, he LOVED it!).

Matt's birthday fell on a Saturday (during his basketball season) this year, so he had a game. That is where he received one of his favorite presents of the year - A WIN! This may seem "nice" to many, but the poor kid had gone winless on his basketball teams for the past 2 and a half seasons. He hadn't been on team that won since 2009! Hooray for happy things!

Later that night, we had a small party with a few of his friends. First pizza, presents, brownies and ice cream and a Mizzou game...

Then bowling - til midnight! Here are the boys... 

And Matt bowling - the socks are just.too.awesome.

The weekend ended with the Super Bowl - in which Matt's very favorite team the Patriots played this year. Apparently, we were only able to order up one win for his birthday, they unfortunately lost and subsequently saddened our dear birthday boy. But there's always next year when we will have - gulp - a teenager!

Happy birthday sweet Matthew. I cannot believe how fast 12 years have flown by. It may embarass you, but I still look at you every now and then and see my little baby or toddler. You are and will always be that little one to some part of my heart. I am amazed to watch the young man you are becoming, and can't wait to see all that you will grow to be. I love you and I am so, so thankful to have you as a forever part of our family. Love you for always!

Phil's Birthday Party - Zelda Style

We celebrated Phil's birthday (in January...) this year with a suprise Zelda birthday party!

First we had to put on all our gear - hat, sword, sheild, and belt with pouch for collecting rupees, and other items along the way. Cody was kind enough to model the astoundingly authentic costuming of the evening.

For simplicity (and 'cause it was more fun) each of us had our own color.

Then it was off to fight the horrible monsters (each of which had a color coded tri-force & rupees you earned for fighting them - but you could only pick up the tri-force or rupees of your color, but I digress...).

Aren't the monsters scary?!? I don't know how we survived!

Along the way we could spend our rupees to upgrade our shield at the blacksmith, or purchse items (like boomerangs, magic rings, health potions, hearts and arrows) at the trading post. 

We could also have the fairy re-fill our hearts when we visited the fairy pond.

 Once all the monsters had been defeated and all the tri-force pieces placed together, the door opened and we fought the final monster (using only arrows).

Ok, now that we got all that straight... the eye rolling may commence. Siffice it to say Phil was suprised, we had fun, and silliness (and fearsome fighting) abounded. And yes, I have almost completely lost my marbles. But I think my goal of Phil feeling special and loved was successful. Why else would someone go to such ridiculously obsessive lengths, right?

And the final picture for your viewing pleasure... (totally makes me laugh!)