Scott's 9th Birthday Party

Scott's party this year was one of my favorites yet.  It was small and low key, yet so much fun and so much what he wanted.

We invited three boys (+ Scott & Andrew = a full mini-van).  They arrived at our house and we loaded the car to explore our county and Geocache.  If you aren't familiar with the sport, check out this site.  

But before we hunted for treasures, the boys wanted to play Capture the Flag.  So they did.    

Then they set off to look for a geocache.

Scott held the GPS...

...but Jeremiah found the cache.

We returned home for cupcakes and a snack before parents came to pick up the kids.

Happy Birthday Scott!

We celebrated Scott's birthday with Nana this year.  Their birthdays are only a day apart, so it is fun to celebrate together.  Scott chose tortellini for his birthday dinner.  

I made a delicious Gluten Free birthday cake.  Seriously, it was the best GF dessert we have had.  Most GF baked goods taste gritty and sandy, but this was a wonderful mix of flours, with added almond extract - the Hodgson Mill box mix from Walmart.

Later, the boys were eager to start putting together the Lego kits that Scott received.

Happy Birthday Scott!

Angry Bird Party

Andrew's Angry Bird party was so much fun!  And we were so thankful the weather was perfect, because I'm not sure how we would have pulled it off in the rain or cold that we have had this past week.

The highlight of the party was the life-sized Angry Bird slingshot.  I found this blog post a few weeks ago and asked Derrick if he could make one just like it.  He immediately thought it was a great idea, especially since he was able to use scrap wood that has in the basement.  I used scrap fabric to make a pouch.  The only purchased items were bungie cords and bolts.

We created a target with cardboard boxes.  Walmart is selling the big balls in their Easter area, so I bought two green ones and Andrew put pig faces on them.  We added cans to make some noise.

Andrew went first, ready to smash those pigs.  The kids came back again and again.  They probably played for a good 45 minutes.  It was so much fun!

Even Amanda took a turn.

We ate some lunch and enjoyed the cake.

The sign of a great birthday party is finding your son sound asleep next to one of his new toys.  I wonder what he is dreaming about.  

Gettin' ready to smash some pigs!

Andrew's party is coming up and we are so excited.  It's an Angry Bird party.  He wanted one for his 6th birthday and I vetoed it because it sounded too wild.  The 5th birthday, Jedi party almost did me in. We had a Lego party last year, and, to tell you the truth, it wasn't much calmer.  So if the Angry Bird party could be outside, I was willing to have it.

The invitations were sent!

The inside said, "Andrew is turning 7.  Come crash the party and smash some pigs."  I think it was verbiage that I took off the Internet, but I created the invitations by looking at some pictures.  Angry birds are just simple shapes put together.

Our party favors were 5" playground balls.  I think this was my favorite part of planning the party.  The blank balls came in a 3 pack from Toys R Us.  I painted faces on them, copied from a jacket that Andrew's grandma gave him for Christmas.  Each one has his own little personality.

This Green Bird is ready to get those pesky pigs.

The Red Birds make me laugh, because they didn't turn out as well as I planned.  I think they look kind of loopy and happy.  Andrew told me that was because the pigs weren't successful in stealing their eggs.  Such a sweet boy!

The cake is Andrew's favorite cookie cake.  Scott desperately wanted to help and watched me ice the beak, eyes and eyebrows while the others watched a movie.  He never lost interest, so I let him ice the green part.

About this point, the others wanted to watch.  I told them I was looking forward to a time when they would do all the birthday party preparations and I could kick my feet up.  Instead, I washed dishes while Scott iced.  

I thought Scott did a great job!

I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the most important party of the birthday party prep...the slingshot!  Boy are we excited about this part of the party!

Andrew's Birthday

Happy 7th Birthday, Andrew!  We celebrated last night with Nana & Pop - so thankful they are in town to celebrate birthdays (and all other kinds of occasions.)   Andrew wanted his favorite, chicken pot pie, homemade.  I'm not such a fan of chicken, so it was more vegetable pot pie with a little chicken, but the only one who noticed was Derrick. We all thought it was delicious.  

These two are great buddies.  Scott is always willing to help, and Andrew is almost always willing to accept help.

The big present this year was a "Mighty Eagle."  Andrew has wanted one for almost a year, but at $125, it was over our birthday budget.  He has a friend who has one, so I borrowed it and made one for Andrew.  I was really excited with how it turned out, but it took so many hours.  At one point, I figured I was almost at $125, if I were to pay myself by the hour.  It turned out much taller than the friend's because I forgot to trim the bottom before I sewed it together.  Oh well, it is a really great floor pillow.

Most importantly, Andrew LOVES it!

And the really funny part of this birthday is that only received three cards...and they were exactly the same card.  There's not much variety in the 7 year old card selection.  He loved the idea that he was turning 777.

It was a happy birthday!

Basketball

We just finished a very long basketball season.  Actually, it wasn't much longer than any other sport season, but it just felt so very long.

The boys had fun, but neither has much of a future in the sport.  

Each endured watching the other's game.  Scott learned to bring a book.  And every time I had my camera he begged and begged to take pictures.  Finally I relented, just to give him something to do.

I've just downloaded the entire season tonight, and boy am I glad I gave him the camera!  He may not have a future in basketball, but maybe there is one in sport photography.  He captured such beautiful pictures and such unique angles.

All of these were taken by Scott...

I will definitely "hire" Scott to take pictures in the future.

The only problem is I have all of these great pictures of Andrew's games and not as many of Scott. 

Pinewood Derby

The Pinewood Derby is my favorite Cub Scout event.  The boys have a great time designing their cars and working with Derrick (and power tools) to create them.  

This was Andrew's first Pinewood Derby car.  He has watched his brother for two years and was so excited that he could finally participate.  

Scott did most of his own work this year, including all of the sanding.

Scott decided to stain his car instead of painting it.

Andrew painted his black with neon accents.

Both boys won trophies for speed!