Birthday Bash

Last night the Smith household was full!! We had our family over for a birthday party for John (1) and Mac (10). Uncle Stephen and Kayla came up from SF. Great Grandma and Great Grandpa came, along with Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler, Uncle Jeff, Uncle Jim, Aunt Cindy, Kelsey, Keaton, Aunt Patti, Emily, Rachel, Grampie Bob, Anna, Aunt Delayne, Uncle Brett, Ethan, Bonnie, Eliza, Lilly, Aunt Shannon, Chandler, and Jaycee. We kept things very simple and had cake, ice cream, ice cream cake and soda. The boys opened gifts and everyone just had a nice time chatting. Our boys are sure lucky to have so many people who love them.

Red Rider BB Gun

Uncle Steve got Mac a BB gun for his birthday. He called to ask if he could and was shocked to hear my say, "Sure." He thought I was being sarcastic or something. Then he was so happy. He went and got a gun just like the one from the Christmas Story. So of course, I had to go around saying, "You'll shoot your eye out!!!" Mac did not shoot his eye out. He made a target for the backyard and we all had fun shooting at it. Unfortunately a couple of times the BBs went right through the fence into the neighbor's backyard, so we can't shoot it back there anymore. We'll have to find a bigger area for shooting.

Dates

Maddie earned her date and decided she'd like to go to IHOP for breakfast. We met my brother and his girlfriend (Kayla) there along with my dad. It was really fun. Maddie got her funny face pancake with extra chocolate chips. It was Kayla's first time to IHOP!! Maddie is such a good girl and deserved a nice reward for her hard work.

Mac also earned his date. He chose to go to sushi. Needless to say, I didn't go. YUCK! Stephen and Spencer took him and they all had a great time. They all love sushi. They went to the Rice Bowl, which I've heard is the best deal for sushi in town.

While they were at sushi, I took John to Picture People for his 1 year old photos. What a waste! We took some nice photos, but in order to buy the digital files, you have to pay $250!! I could get a new camera for that!! Who are they kidding!!?? I ended up buying a couple of 8x10s and kicking myself for not just borrowing a nice camera and taking the shots myself. Maybe I'll still do that...

John Stephen is 1

We have a family tradition of opening birthday gifts first thing in the morning. When John woke up today, he came out and opened his birthday gifts. He got a new walker and some bubbles. He was very happy to receive all of the attention. Then for dinner tonight our friends came over for a small celebration. We let him eat his own cupcake, of course! He LOVED it and got very messy. I just love birthdays. This year has absolutely flown by. It makes my heart a bit heavy to think the first year is already over for John. Although I don't miss his colic!! You can catch him standing on his own occasionally now. He's saying more little sounds all of the time. He's really just the happiest kid you'll come across. He's a wonderful blessing to me.

The Bench

I found this awesome blog that teaches people how to build things themselves. It's called Knock Off Wood, I think. The woman designs plans to match items she finds at Pottery Barn and the like and then gives out the plans for free! I wanted a bench and so I decided to build one of hers. It was really a fun process. After printing out the materials list, Maddie and I headed over to Home Depot to buy lumber. A very nice guy there helped us to get the right stuff and even made the first cuts for me. Then it was off to the Stapfs. Brett is awesome and taught me how to use the tools and then let me figure things out and do it myself. I wouldn't have been able to do it without him. He is very patient and REALLY organized. I had no idea. We really have a lot in common - even though I don't like to camp!! It took two afternoons to put it together. Then I brought the bench home and stained it. I'm not sure that I'm liking the stain. I may paint it...

Date Night with Ryan

Our kids can earn a date night by doing all of their chores each day for 10 days (not in a row, just altogether). Ryan finally earned a date night and we got to go out together. I'm so glad he chose me to date!! We went to Costco for a fruit smoothy and then over to Chuck E. Cheese's for a round of games. He got 210 tickets!! We had so much fun playing together. I think he really enjoyed the time to talk to me without interruption and to hold my attention. He bought cotton candy with his tickets and decided he didn't like it. He fell right to sleep when his head hit the pillow tonight! I can't wait for my other dates...

Mac's Lightning Thief Party

Mac wanted to take some of his buddies to see The Lightning Thief for his birthday. I told him that was a great idea as long as he read the book first. Well, he read all five books in the series first! So, we went today to see the movie. He had a friend from Church, a friend from his old school, and friends from his new school. They are all great boys and really were easy to have together. We watched The Lightning Thief, which was pretty good. It is so far from the book, it irritates me, but it was a nice clean movie for a bunch of 9/10 year old boys. We saw lots of friends at the same movie, too. Then we walked the boys over to the ice cream shop for treats. Mac opened gifts there and then we went down to Game Stop to look around. Mac had a nice day. I was so relived to find out what a nice group of boys he hangs around with. I can't believe he's about to turn 10!!

Aunt Delayne and Eliza's Gift

Aunt Delayne and Eliza dropped by with a hilarious poster for Valentine's Day. Delayne is really quite clever!! Although the poem was funny, and the candy was delicious, my favorite part was Eliza saying "See ya!!" on her way out. That girl just cracks me up!!

Valentine's Gift from Spencer

For Valentine's Day, Spencer made this special photo mosaic for me using pixable.com. I'm not sure how it all works, but the overall picture is of me kissing John. All of the small photos are of our time last year. I really love it. I can't seem to stop looking at it and I really appreciated his words of kindness written on the back.

Mac's First Sewing Project

Mac has been wanting to learn to sew. We decided to make something for Spencer and my Grandpa for Valentine's. We got the idea from the Martha Stewart Living Magazine. We made little envelopes to put ties into. We went to pick out the fabric. I let Ryan and Mac choose. I was thinking we should pick out something that looks like a man's shirt - you know with stripes. Mac and Ryan picked out fabric with flames. Who am I to argue? Mac and I worked furiously Saturday night and finished them up. They turned out great and really were a great first project. Grandpa J.B. and Spencer loved their Valentine's ties and the special envelope they came in.

Ethan's First Soccer Game

The Golden Dolphins won their first game of the season! Ethan was awesome and played the entire game. You just couldn't stop #2!! He played defender and half back. His family was in charge of the snacks and I've never seen such a spread. We had a super time watching them play. The kids played over at the park most of the time and the little guys and mommies watched the game, actually. I am really excited to watch the rest of the season...

Boxes Are the Most Fun

We use this little box here for some therapy with John. We're trying to get him to walk around in the bear position. What actually happens, though, is that kids crawl in and out and through the box. Mac and John had a great time playing peak-a-boo with the box. Needless to say, the box did not last through the weekend. It has been destroyed!!

Sleep Over

On Thursday night we had our cousins sleepover, as there was no school on Friday. The neighbor girl came by for the evening too. They made necklaces out of candy and had a great time.

Valentine's Party Homeschool Style

For Valentine's Day at our homeschool, Maddie and I made cupcakes for those we love. We tricked Spencer out of his office so that we could leave cupcakes for him on his desk, then we made trips around to grandmas, grandpas, and aunties. Maddie had a great time frosting, decorating, and delivering. She was so happy to give to people. She had a great time wearing pink and red all day. She made lots of Valentine's for everyone.

Wrestling

Wrestling is a big part of the Smith household. I didn't get a single picture of anyone wrestling in my blog last year, so I thought I'd add one for this year. This photo was taken by Maddie. She did a great job. We now have 20 photos of Spencer and Ryan wrestling.
Spencer's Rules of Wrestling:
1. No hitting in the face or head. (This rule is consistently broken.)
2. No hitting when angry - must hit with a smile.
3. Must stop tickling if someone says, "I have to go pee!"
4. No weapons. (Pillows and soft bat don't count as weapons.)

Valentine's With Jaycee

I was missing my niece Jaycee and wanted to do something special with her. I got the chance when we made some Valentine's together. She came with me to do a couple of errands and we got the supplies that we needed. When we got home she designed a cute bag topper. We printed them out and she had to go home. She put M&Ms inside her bags and stapled her topper on. They were super cute. She did a great job and I had lots of fun hanging out with her. Thanks Jaycee!