It's Birthday Season!

I haven't posted forever! Our computer got a virus and has severely limited my internet time. Hopefully we'll be back in business today. Anyways May is a busy month for us, with Chris, Cai and Cate all only a week or two apart. So Cai celebrated with friends on Friday and then we celebrated Cate and Cai with Grandma's, Grandpa's, Aunt's, and Uncles on Saturday. Cai has been very into Ben 10 lately so he wanted an omnitrix cake (the watch Ben wears that turns him into different aliens). So his party was all about aliens, his friends were the star commanders and we did a comet toss, a rocket race, a Q&A game with space trivia like red light green light, and of course we had to launch bombs at the aliens (water ballons) and each other of course. He had a great time and got lots of loot.

Saturday we went to Cai's last game (they won!). Then off to Pizza Plus for lunch, Casper's for ice cream, and then home to open presents and have cake, our house looked like a birthday bomb went off. Holy Cow we are going to need an extra room for all the loot. Every year we think now why did we think they needed this extra or that extra so they'll have enough. Grandparents, go crazy, Uncle Gabe (who is on leave from Iraq, horray!) went crazy, and the kids definitely had the time of their lives as a result. Cate got the most darling gift from my mom. Cate is named after 7 Catherines in our lineage, one of whom is my mom. So my mom gave her a cut crystal sugar and cream bowl from Cate's great great Grandma Catherine Hayes King. She also gave her a history of her life, and some old pictures of her and the most heartfelt letter it was really sweet.


Thanks to everyone! The kids may get a little (okay alot) spoiled but they really do appreciate what they have. Mom makes sure to remind them about kids in Africa almost daily. In fact Cai almost went for the idea of having a service party with his friends, there comes a point when we just want to celebrate and not necessarily get more toys, so he was going to have his friends bring supplies for the local animal shelter in lieu of gifts, and then he could use it as a chance to give back to people or animals that really need it(family would still give Cai gifts of course). But at the last minute his 6 year old instincts just weren't ready, and I feel strongly that he should have the choice and be then one to decide. Our neighbor across the street did a service party and gave art supplies to the local family support center and emergency nursery. It was an awesome experience for her. Maybe next year.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Don't send a lame eCard.
Try JibJab Sendables!

Happy Birthday Chris! This is it your last birthday you can say you're in your twenties! Thank you so much for all that you do for our family. You are such a great dad and husband. Your kids think the world of you, I am continually having to remind them when daddy is coming home, because they want to wrestle, play games, or just give you a big bear hug. We are so proud of you and all of your accomplishments. I am continually amazed by everything you do and how well you do it. I hope you know your hard work and sacrifices are deeply appreciated and admired. You work so hard for our family to provide us a great life. We love you so much.
I couldn't ask for a better companion, I know I always joke about how I have no idea how we ended up together because we were so different when we first met, but I hope you know I couldn't be happier with my choice of companions. We are truly soul mates, we couldn't be a better fit for each other. Have a great birthday!

All in the eye of the beholder!

Ohhh! Cai is having a funny week. I promise I really do have three kids, but after much debate I thought I just had to share this today. Cai came running into my bedroom to show me his "muscles." Which of course are a little overboard in the the pectoral department. He took a rice sock (a sock filled with rice makes a great heating pad when microwaved) draped it over his shoulders and stuffed it under his shirt. Ahhh the innocence of youth! It brought me back to Candices video of gabrielle stuffing balloons up her shirt calling them her "gorgeous things." He looks so intimidating doesn't he!

Pajama Party Ghost Stories

Well the boys needed some excitement tonight because it is the first day of national "No TV Week." Cole had the idea of having a pajama night, and since we couldn't watch a movie, I promised them we could tell ghost stories if they were good during our family night lesson. Cai of course really bought into the idea and told a fabulous ghost story with drama, sound effects and the works. He even came up with the idea of a flashlight in the dark. We have never done it before I don't know where he saw that. He also had a great grasp of how to tell a ghost story. Thanks to TV no doubt. I think this experience will be good for us, I have been telling Chris we need a TV detox again. When we first moved to Smithfield we really didn't want to get cable because our lives always revolved around TV and you could not get one channel up here without a major eyesore of an antenna, so we went without for about 2 years. It was really easy after the first week, we really loved it. It was amazing how much time you have to talk and be more tuned in as a family without the distraction. We finally succumbed after I stopped working and Chris was working long hours at an outside office. I just got bored and lonely I guess, so we got dish network. At least the DVR grants us more control over what we watch and when, but it is really taking over again. So we'll see how this week goes. Chris is watching "Napoleon Dynamite" as I am blogging, so the kids and I are probably on our own for this one!

Cai brought His "A" game, Mom brought her "Z" game

(Cai is number 3, way to get in there Cai) We were so excited to see how Cai's second game of the season was going to go. He has really started to pick up on the concepts of the game and did awesome at his last practice. He was really going after the ball and getting some great kicks in. At his game on Saturday he was great at first but seemed to really run out of steam after the first quarter. He barely ran after the ball and seemed so sluggish, so we laughed and joked about how we need to work on his endurance and make him run laps or something. The rest of the day he was being exceptionally whinny about everything. He went for a walk to the school with some friends to play on the playground and couldn't make it back on his scooter. I should have suspected something was up, but I just chalked it up to being in a bad mood and complaining too much. By the end of the day everything was getting on his nerves, and during his bath I finally made him get out because the bath was too cold (when it was very warm) Cate and Cole were splashing too much or stepped on his foot, etc., etc. Then as we were brushing his teeth I finally took a good look at him. His eyes were blooshot, His face was red and he was very warm. I took his temp. and sure enough fever. I felt terrible. All his complaints about being tired and achy suddelny made perfect sense and I felt like the worst most unobservant mom in the world. I had really been giving him a hard time about being whinny. So I apologized profusely gave him some tylenol and the rest of the evening went remarkably well. All he needed was a little sympathy, understanding, and tylenol. Get a clue mom! We are really looking forward to the next game!

Happy Birthday Aunt Kerrie!

To an awesome Sister, Aunt, Friend, Mom, and all around great human being! We love Aunt Kerrie she has always been there for our family to support us. Even when her heart was breaking to pieces to see her nieces and nephews during her struggle with infertility, she wouldn't think to miss a family event for the sake of her own feelings. She always shows such an interest and love for all others around her. This picture is one of my favorites, a mother at long last! Kerrie deserves all the best the world has to offer and more. She now is the proud mother of two, and she is the greatest mom to those darling boys there ever was. We love you Aunt Kerrie, we hope you have a great day!

GO LOOPIES!

Well it was hard to tell who was more excited about Soccer coming up, Cai or Cole. Cole somehow remembered after we registered Cai and hadn't discussed it for weeks, that we needed to go buy soccer shoes for soccer. He was just sitting in the car and brought it up out of nowhere. Cole has always been our little sports fan, and we were worried about how he would take things as he is not yet old enough to play. He has taken it fairly well though, and after we got Cai his cleats and shin guards Cai also became very impatient for soccer to start and asked me almost daily if soccer was going to start. Cai had his first day of practice on Thursday and then his first game Saturday. His team is the "Loopies" (all too approriate for a 5 year old team). They are very entertaining to watch. Cai had never played before, but he did awesome. He started the game as goalie and blocked every shot the other team kicked, four in all. Then later in the game they put him onto the field. He had a bit of a learning curve about where to stand and what to do when, but considering he had only a one hour practice behind him he did great. He has an awesome power kick! Cole was excited to cheer for Cai and kicked the ball around the sidelines, he can hardly wait for his turn to be on the team.