I LOVE BIRTHDAY PARTIES

Anyone who knows me very well probably knows how much I enjoy birthday parties. They have always been a family tradition for us. I was invited to Avery's 7th birthday party that was held on Friday afternoon. It was a very warm day but I had such a good time watching the children and visiting. Dad couldn't go because of being at work. I know he would have liked to come if he could. Little boys can get out of hand sometimes but Erin and Jeremy handled everything very calmly and made sure each child had fun and each had a turn at the games. Great job to you both. Happy Birthday to Avery.

You Gotta Love Little Boys

Avery posing with his sailboat. You gotta love little boys especially their exhuberance and determination. Some day they will be our leaders. Avery had his 7th birthday party and it was a blast. It was held in Donna's backyard amongst all of the huge maple trees. Thank goodness for good shade and a breeze now and then. I think it was 95 that afternoon. About 6 boys and 2 girls came and the theme was Star Wars. Also included was a regatta boat race. The kids had been given their boats earlier in the week to paint and decorate. They were so excited to race them. Afterwards they were determined to all get wet in the water. Lunch was served: hotdogs and chips. A Jedi training mission was put on by Erin, the leader. Each child received his tunic and belt and a lightsabre. An obstacle course was then enjoyed by all of the kids using their Jedi skills. Then it was present time and cake and ice cream and a pinata. In the end each child received his Jedi certificate with his name on it. Everyone went home happy and tired. Especially the leader, Erin.

Birthday Cakes

I think the story goes like this: Erin really, really wanted to make a R2D2 cake but Avery really, really wanted a cake with Star Wars characters on it. So this is the final decision. They were both delicious with ice cream on the side. Erin, you did an outstanding job on whole party. Go Girl!!

Boat Races

Jeremy is helping Bodee with his boat. He was a little short to actually blow on it. The green pants are pretty special. Bodee had gotten his clothes wet and the only change he had with him was a pair of lime green pj bottoms. They worked fine and he was cool. The rope you see hanging from the tree was a very big hit with the kids. Jeremy hung that from a branch and the kids had the best time swinging on it all afternoon. How cool is that??? Not everyone has a rope swing these days.

The Jedi Training

Erin had such good plans and ideas for this Star Wars party. Here she is doing the Jedi Training. The kids loved it. After they learned their moves, Erin showed them the obstacal course they had to go through. It was up, under, over, through and lots of running to beat the kid with the best time. Jeremy timed each one and I made a list of each kid's time. They were amazing Jedi's.

Pinata Time

This was time for hitting the pinata. The kids each got a chance to take a hit with their light sabers and then a turn with a real bat.

I'm the Big Brother

Davis is learning what Big Brother means and all of the responsibilities linked to that title. When Jack comes home he will soon know so much more how he can help. My time in Portland was so fun and it took me a whole week to warm up to Davis but in the end it was great. We had several trips to the hospital and I sat in the back of the car with him and we talked about lots of stuff and shared treats. It is a 45 minute drive to the hospital so that gave us quite a bit of conversation time. He likes going to the Play Room at the hospital while Mindy goes to see Jack. There are lots of toys and some bikes and a train track that he especially likes. It's on the Ped. floor for children in the Ped. Unit but others are welcome to use it as well. It reallly worked well for what we needed. Evan and I would take turns staying with Davis and visiting Jack. Thanks for letting me be part of your family for awhile. I love'd it.

Little Jack

This was my day to hold Jack. This is in the NICU at Emmanuel Hospital in Portland. Mindy drives each day to see Baby Jack and feed him. It's a 45 minute drive one way, if traffic is slow. He still has his monitor and feeding tube but is learning to suck and swallow and I know he will be home soon.

The T in Man

There is an Atrium at the hospital and upon entering the garden this tin man greets you with his ruby red slippers. Just had to take a picture with him.

Staying Cool

Davis was staying cool and playing in the water. It was so hot in Portland, 103 and even today it was to be 106. This was the best place to be I think. This is Mindy's back yard and deck. Really a nice place for Davis to play and run around - which happens regularly.

Happy Birthday Surprise

We are at the Olive Garden having dinner. Surprised Erin by having her sisters (Minus Mindy) come for a surprise birthday. We really missed you Mindy. After dinner we went to Polka Dot Pottery to paint a piece of pottery.

Painting Pottery Time

We are painting our pottery at Polka Dot Pottery. It was fun to choose our piece of pottery and then decide how to paint it.

The Boardwalk

After a busy Saturday, we decided to have a quick bite of dinner at home and then drive to CDA for a walk around the Boardwalk. It was so nice there with a slight breeze. It's always a pleasant walk by the Lake even in the cold of winter. We met a couple that use to be in our ward and they took our picture.

Christmas in July

A new movie coming in November. Can't wait to see it.

Train Tour and Christmas in July

Yesterday Erin and kids and myself went to the Christmas Carol Train Tour at the Amtrak station in town. Thank you Andy for telling us about it. I had driven by the night before and saw the train and just knew that it was going to be a fun adventure. We entered through the big train station which was fun in itself. They presented us a train ticket which had a barcode on for use in the train to do our face pictures. We walked on the south side of the station down to the Christmas Train and there was a small line forming already. As we were waiting, two real trains pulled into the station and that was really fun for the kids to see. They are so big and massive. We waved to the engineers as they passed by & they waved back to us. As we waited in line, there was snow falling on us (I think this picture is actually the snow machine.) It reminded me of the snowfall in Disneyland. All of this made the waiting more fun. As we climbed into the train they punched our ticket and we entered inside. Most people were very accomodating and patient with one another and there were plenty of viewing tv's for everyone to see. I think it was worth our time and where else can you have Christmas in July!

Caroling in July

While we were standing in line to get into the train there were carolers singing Christmas songs. We didn't get to hear them too long as the line started moving to get onto the train. It kind of set the atmosphere though and it's a good thing it wasn't 90 in the shade because these ladies had heavy clothing on. You can see the lamp post in the picture. There were several of these posts along the way with snow draped at the bottom.

Starting our Tour

Here we are starting the tour inside the train. It was so exciting so see all of the displays and the tv's showing the making of the movie. Another thing that was interesting is seeing the different ages of Jim Carey who plays Scrooge I think. It shows him as a young boy all the way to an older person. They also showed how the motion capture worked and the different stages involved. It was all really interesting. It's going to be a great movie for those over 7 probably.

Inside the train

We are actually inside the train, taking our turn to see all of the displays and pictures. There are tv's on each side showing the making of the movie and the different characters in it.

Real model

There were some real "live" models of Big Ben and other buildings from the movie. They were really intricate and perfect in construction. so cool to see

This is another real model that was on display.