Adventures with SBG

Being a good knight (or a bad one) in the birthday armor Bubba was so kind to share. I wish I had the giggling on video of Bubba and Dad as they got her all suited up.

Refining her frosting skills as she helped up make "H's" and "5's"

for Birthday treat day at Preschool

Her favorite perch -Anytime I'm in the kitchen she is always "by you" on that blue chair not wanting to miss a minute of the action and wanting to "help" :)

Swimmin' Sammy & the Super Swimmers

Swimming lessons in April at Mommy's college alma mater were a hit. This is Nanny's neighbor Tyler, Bubba & Lydia before their last lesson.

Swimming with the milk jugs was good core work :) Bubba loved his teacher Mr. Alex.

Back float with hair and ears wet was a triumph :)

And jumping off the diving block into the "six inch" (most of us would refer to it as six foot) was enough for a Dairy Queen celebration cone!

Round 4 - The Train Station (as Bubba calls it)

Last June, Bubba went to a birthday party at the "Train Station" and ever since he's been saying "When I turn 5 and have MY party at the Train station..." So you can imagine his excitement in having his buddies to his favorite spot for 2 hours of fun.

Here's the first picture I took at the T.S. Bubba's tablemates from preschool - Paige and Macie. Some very girly girls who after not quite a 1/2 hour of playing told me they were tired and one even admitted a bit sweaty and they'd like to take a break. I don't blame them. I needed a break from the craziness too and was happy to take them to our room for a pop break.

After an hour and half, some very sweaty, pink-cheeked kids were ready for the festivities. Here's the guest of honor with his favorite orange pop ready to be serenaded.

The crew - starting from front left - Macie, Grace, Josephine, Jake, Hank, David, Joel, Ty, and Paige. Just missing Lydia taking a break on Tara's lap. He has the sweetest kids to call his friends. I'm hoping they can all stay buddies even as they go to their separate schools this fall.

Joel, Ty, Paige, Macie & Grace

Hey Bubba how about a sweet normal smile for a pose with your Mom?

Present Time! If you couldn't see from the cake, our theme was pirates so here's 2 of my favorites. When I was tucking Bubba in last night he said "Mom thanks for making my pirate party so pirate-y. I loved it!" The Pirate Queen and her dutiful attendants!

Round 2 & 3 - At home

Round 2 was with Grandpa & Grandma Harker on Saturday night while Mommy & Daddy were at the INCA 20th Anniversary Gala. He received a cool bow & arrow (don't get nervous it's by Nerf) and a StompRocket!

Round 3 commenced early on Sunday morning - the real birthday day! Mommy, Daddy & SBG gave him a full set of armor that he thinks is just like Prince Caspian's from the Narnia series because of the Aslan lion on thes shield. Don't tell him it's from the Bible verse about the Armor of God. We'll use it as a teaching tool later :)

Then it was off to church and Sunday School. SBG wanted me to take a picture of her along the way so here's her crazy face.

Turning 5 - Round 1

Cool bat and whiffle ball demo-ed with Papa

Very fancy light saber

The favorite gift of Round 1 - the Nerf Gun courtesty of the 3L's :) - Lee, Aunt Lions & Lulu

Nothing says brunch like a Batman ice cream cake at 10 in the morning :) and a cute face just taking it all inAnd I had to post this pick because somebody broke Lulu. Look at that poor skinned nose! I'll give you a hint - it wasn't an animal or a grandparent :)

Thanks to Nanny and Papa for kicking off the festivities!

So I'm a little behind on my blogging...like 2 weeks

So Happy Easter from...
my favorite bunny eater and...

Little Bo Peep (bonnet courtesy of Nanny).

Egg-stravaganza in the Country

The most perfectly lovely spring day in the Midwest - a high of 61, sunshine, and no gusty wind! We made good use of it at an egg hunt at our friend's acreage about 40 minutes away. It was started about 10 years ago by a family with 7 children and as of today 18 grandchildren age 11 and under. They had the areas flagged and organized in to age divisions. A well run operation. Then after the hunt everyone shares a big potluck inside this 150 year old stone barn they've converted into a home. We are so thankful to have been included and hope we can make it an annual event as my kids loved running in the big grassy field, rolling down the hills, eating tons of candy, playing tag with new friends, not to mention the darling baby lamb-ys. They were the first thing we saw when we arrived and the last thing we did was pet them and feed them water before we headed home. SBG has her "BAAAA" down very well now and did it every couple minutes on our drive home.

Getting the official rules from one of the sons-in-law before the Egg Hunting began. That's the stone barn in the background.
SBG's division went first. It was her first egg hunt and she loved it. She would have gotten more but her quest was solely for pink and purple eggs. I must correct myself and say SBG and Lulu's division was first. I think Lulu had those eggs in her hands for the next 2 hours. They didn't make quite as much noise as the "Mommy & Me" ones so she just sucked them. They must have felt good on her #3 fang! My 4 and 11/12's boy was nextThe organizers filled over 1000 eggs so there was a lot of work to be done. Bubba's basket was so full in the end that the eggs started rolling out of his basket

After the hunting and a little candy eating they corralled the kids for their version of "Resurrection Eggs". It was Bubba's 3rd round since we did them at home and at preschool so he's and expert. SBG got some of the big points too. She told me tonight "Jesus owies on his hannies" I love seeing the 2 of them choosing to sit together even with 40 other kids from which to choose.

Thad & I enjoyed a little of the kids' spoils :)

SBG & Daddy strolling in the Adult (Geriatric :) division

No nap for SBG until 3:20 - we'll be paying for it tomorrow

Bubba with sunburned cheeks - a little aloe will do the trick

Easter weekend Family Day in the Country - Priceless

So much to be thankful for this day and always!

Slipper Night

It was Slipper Night for the bedtime show watching tonight at our house. Hello Kitty and Lightning McQueen respectively. I asked them to give each other some love for a picture.

Just couldn't resist this sweet face or that stripe-y body tonight. I had just hugged him and got this sentimental thought that I never want to forget what it feels like to love and hug this precious boy so I asked him to pose one more time :) It's 2 weeks away but I'm feeling sad about the fast approaching big #5 so forgive my mushy-ness.

BSF Expert (subtitled a chat about her morning)

Just a few more seconds...I promise

My Kite Runners

What else is there to do on a freezing April Day when we are expecting 3 inches of snow? It was Bubba's first kite flying experience ever and the ELMO number served him well. Here's a friendly wave to his fans - me & SBG

Thad, Bubba & SBG with an inflight shot of the kite

They decided the backyard was a little too confining to they headed out to the bean field for more space.

They're done

and ready to cuddle in front of the fire place in the basement and watch the car race