A Birthday that Bears Repeating

Yeah, it's SO not July anymore, but considering some recent circumstances I felt as though my son's 3rd birthday party should have some more pomp and, well, circumstance...again!

The day was perfect...until minutes before the party began. And then what? Downpour. Yeah, I totally stood in my bathroom, finishing getting ready and having an out-loud (no, I'm not ashamed to admit) convo with none other than Mother Freakin' Nature herself. I vehemently expressed how we didn't need rain at that very moment...and that should She decide that was in deed the time that I would promptly put a cease and desist to ALL.RECYCLING.

Take that, Mother...Nature.

Well, she did make it rain just enough that it got muggy...and the guests who were happily arriving were suddenly making a Bee Line inside our home, under the back porch, or passing along McKinley's beautifully and thoughtfully wrapped presents under said porch, via human chain. Did I also mention that the coming in and going out during said rainstorm made my WINDOWS FOG? The windows we had just weeks before cleaned so well...yeah, no one could see outside - or inside - AT ALL.

Okay, I'm over it - except for the brief mental breakdown I had...but who noticed? Yeah, I know...everyone. But in the time it took for me to man a sudden ice-tea-on-the-kitchen-wall crisis the rain was over and we were all ready to par-tay. So, the fun prevailed and recycling resumed!

First, Brent, my Godfather led us in prayer. This is a tradition we began last year, led by Grandma V. and one I rather like. It's quite a sight to see many friends and some family, and loads of beautiful, healthy children standing hand-in-hand in a moment. It was not quiet for long! Everyone munched on some hors d'oeuvres I prepared and we got started on the first activity for the kiddos - tattoos and face painting! Special thanks to my Mom and Jodi for their way awesome face painting/tattooing skills. I'm proud to say my son walked away looking a little like John Mayer with a full sleeve. (Note: McKinley, I like a good sleeve on you...as long as it washes off, babe. Real ink doesn't...trust me. )

Soon we were moving on to the Oil Pan Open, a water balloon throwing contest originally scheduled for kids AND adults, but the kids were having so much fun that it was just impossible to stop such a good time being had! Fletcher was the winner of our 2010 Oil Pan Open and took home the Oil Pan trophy.

Time for cake - and what a cake it was! My Mom's dear friend, Gretchen (who catered our wedding and has since made some really beautiful cakes for us) pulled out all the stops on this one. I think it is safe to say it was slightly outside of her comfort zone, I mean, Lightening McQueen? She's used to beautiful live floral arrangements being placed atop her delicious cakes, but a racing trophy? Not so much. When she pulled into the drive I saw this look on her face...she totally had a blast making this cake and it showed! It was awesome. I was amazed, McKinley was amazed...and guests came back for seconds, or even thirds! Wahooo! The look on our son's face says it all. THIS is why we like throwing big birthday parties for him...it's for HIM! He was smiling from EAR to EAR!

We ended the day with his thoughtful gifts, and again I step back and silent observe the following: "Where the hell are we going to put all of these toys?" and, most importantly, "McKinley is a blessed, blessed boy." He is blessed with the love, generosity and thoughtfulness of some really amazing people every day of his life. It isn't just on his birthday that I reflect on things like this, it is there all the time - in the everyday! Furthermore, Cary and I are doubly blessed: we have an amazing little boy who astounds us and makes us the happiest people on Earth every day. We are also blessed with the same amazing, loving people who take the time to come to our home and share a very happy day with us. It means more than I know how to express. Truly.

So, another one in the books...and here's to next year! It'll be another BIG PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anything to make our son smile...

Lynn

P.S. And MORE awesome photos! The best one is first! Funniest cake photo EVER! Mary, between McKinley and Ezra, holds Ezra's mouth so he will not blow out the candles. Ezra, obviously surprised by his sisters knee-jerk reaction, keeps blowing while McKinley obliviously blows away! I LOVE THIS!

Jam Session...Preschool Style

A sweet treat arrived in my inbox last night...some adorable photos of McKinley from Miss Kymberli and a little message telling us how he totally lights up at music time!

I think Cary and I both take credit for this wonderful love of music...this kid has been listening to everything from Justin Timberlake, John Mayer and Dave Matthews to Smetana, Bach and Tchaikovski from the time he was in the womb! We even throw in some curve balls like Lady Gaga & Snoop Dogg (clean versions, of course...). Ha! I remember being pregnant (really pregnant) and being in church while our church singer, Kathy would grace us with her gorgeous voice. McKinley would kick the beegeezus out me! He LOVED it even then!

Anyway, it means so much to us that McKinley's teachers take the time to capture what each of their children are doing during the week and send photos out to the parents. Since this is McKinley's very first experience away from us for a scheduled length of time through the week, it is so important to us that we still get to see what's going on. It is wonderful to know that McKinley is so happy where he is...I know from experience that this is half the battle in successful education.

Lynn

Get Lost

Well, it may be hard to believe but Fall is here! All of the beautiful festivities are right around the corner and yours truly can hardly wait! Zoo Boo, Street Fair, pumpkin and apple picking...it's my very favorite time of year! Tonight we visited Hobson's Farm with the Semmler Fam and had some great kid-sized fun.

For starters it was dark when we arrived...and dark for all of the activities, but we made it work! We fed some animals...I'm still not sure what we fed because it was so dark. I think we fed goats, a miniature horse and a donkey! After that we decided to head out to the corn maze - prepared with our make-shift flashlights...our cell phones. We ended up getting lost...but just a little. We found our way back out, and the kids loved every second of it!

After the corn maze we made many trips down the roller slide (FUN!) and then did a lot of jumping on the giant pillow bouncer (SERIOUS FUN!). I don't know about the other adults in our party, but I definitely had a few moments where I felt like a little kid again. Those things ROCK! I loved watching Cary and Rick bouncing high into the sky and their little 3 year olds bouncing up and down on the bouncer like popcorn. They weren't REAL sure about what their Dads were doing, but in the end they enjoyed it...and let's face it...it was really funny for Robin, Austin and me to watch!

We sat for a few moments by the fire and were back at it in the soybean maze (much easier, by the way). McKinley and Savannah enjoyed a few rounds on the corn 'train', and gave our furry friends a late night snack.

Two hours flew by! We are already planning a 'next time' but want to be there longer and earlier. Great time with great friends!

Happy Fall!

....Almost!

Lynn

Down on the Farm

This morning McKinley and I visited a farm on our play date with Kylie & family, Robin & family and a few other friends and kiddos. We drove into the country to the home of The Wrightsman family. Of course, it was raining...but we were prepared! McKinley had his rain boots on and was so ready! We did have to patiently wait inside the house for a little while, but eventually the rain let up a bit. The kids headed out to pick some corn to feed to the horse, then we headed out to the fields of animals. The horse was a wee bit intimidating for the kids and most of the ears of corn were tossed just inside the fence. The horse did not care! It was a real treat for her to get more than one ear of corn per day and so she happily chomped away, oblivious to the children standing around her, mesmerized.

Then everyone stepped inside the chicken coop. WOW! Turkeys, baby chickens, big chickens! EVERYWHERE! All of the children took right to feeding them, so excited! I looked away for just one second, turned back around and McKinley was fully-engulfed in feeding turkeys that were nearly as tall as him. I briefly thought to myself...huh! there IS some of me in him! I mean, you wouldn't know it by looking, but I grew up in the COUNTRY. We didn't have farm animals, but my grandparents owned farmland, my parents and I lived on 3 acres of beautiful country with a HUGE red barn, a little creek running through and wild animals abounding. It was a great upbringing and I treasure beautiful memories from it. I loved playing outside at my grandparents home and getting to do things like gooseberry, raspberry and blackberry picking. Anyway, there's my boy...clearly enjoying every second with these animals.

Soon it was time for the highlight of our visit...the alpacas. We've been around alpacas before at St. Mary's, and knew they are kind animals, so I was so excited. I actually stood eyeball-to-eyeball to them! We went INSIDE their little field and were standing next to them. Those alpacas RUSHED to the children (who were holding big buckets of feed), but they were so gentle and a bit taken by their little feeders. I got some amazing pictures of the whole thing, but I LOVE this one...this little girl stood and looked right at my camera! FUNNY!

And the look on this one's face...I couldn't stop laughing when I downloaded these photos!

After we were finished feeding the animals it began raining again, so we went inside to see if the chickens had laid any eggs...and they had! So each child got to collect an egg for their very own. McKinley was thrilled with his pick...and even more thrilled that Savannah placed her egg inside his bucket. He was so careful with them! Precious.

The day wasn't over yet! We took our eggs and moved onto the pear orchard where each child picked some pears to take home. The rain continued and the kids were hungry, so we went inside where the farm owner fed the kids pbj's, fresh eggs and cookies.

Can I just say how well McKinley napped? Frankly, me too. I don't often nap but man! Between the cool, rainy weather, the early morning drive and all the events piled into two hours on the farm, this mama was POOPED!

We had such a great time and were so thankful for the invitation. McKinley learned a lot and enjoyed his time with his friends...new and old...furry, feathered and otherwise. Despite the rain and the first real day with a fall chill in the air - it was perfect.

Lynn

Pink Firetrucks!

Have you ever???

This evening the THFD hosted a Pink Firetruck event to raise money for various breast cancer charities. When Cary heard that the combination of FIRE TRUCKS and breast cancer awareness were combined, he knew that Lynn & McKinley HAD to be there! So, we headed to the event and were definitely taken aback when we spotted the PEPTO-PINK Firetrucks from far away.

WOW!

McKinley had a blast checking out each truck, even red and yellow trucks from the local fire departments were there as well! It was so interesting to see the pink trucks, which were decorated with thousands and thousands of signatures of people who had visited the truck, dedicating their visit to a the memory of a loved one, or in honor of someone who was battling the disease.

My only complaint was that the 'pink' firemen weren't exactly forthcoming with information. Matter of fact, not one of them uttered a word to us. I would have liked knowing more about the trucks. I did figure out on my own that two of the trucks were named for two particular women who lost their battles against breast cancer. That gave me goosebumps. Otherwise, I know very little of the trucks, only that they were really, really...PINK!

Fun little outing for a good cause!

Lynn

McKinley, Snack Helper

Today was McKinley's very first day as Snack Helper at Preschool...and to say he was thrilled is a great understatement!

Together we went to the grocery store - which we do often, but this time McKinley was very eager to be my assistant and help choosing everything for our recipe. The school follows very strict guidelines when it comes to food and snacks (which seriously thrills me to no end!) so we chose a yummy applesauce muffin (with hidden carrot puree! haHA!). Another reason for choosing the applesauce muffin was for the sake of the Letter A, this week's letter at school. And along with our applesauce muffins, we chose a yummy Apple for Gigi, the class Guinea Pig.

Together, McKinley and I prepared each part of the recipe, McKinley 'dumped' all of the ingredients after I measured them out, and he also mixed everything up really well! We topped the muffins with the yummy oat strusel and let them bake away! I packed the mini muffins in little Toy Story sandwich bags, one for each child, and the Apple for Gigi. And lots of milk...did I mention we fed 15 kids and a Guinea Pig?

And today? Well, it was a huge success for McKinley! Having been VERY eager about today's job and asking about it every day since last week, he was even happier to head to school than ever! He told me he got to feed Gigi her apple, part of the Snack Helper's job duties for the day. I think that was his favorite part of the entire day!

Can't wait until our next Snack Helper day!

Lynn

Daddy's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Cary!

Today McKinley and I went to Hallmark to choose just the right cards for Cary. McKinley picked out his very own card - a Mickey Mouse one! He was so excited to choose one for his Daddy and couldn't wait to give it to him.

Cary chose to have dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise, where they ended our yummy meal with a little ice cream sundae and a loud announcement of the big bday. My favorite part was that they took a photo of Cary & McKinley with the sundae. Love it!

After we put McKinley to bed, Cary and I hopped in our own bed armed with our laptop...the PERFECT way to end a great birthday is to watch a live concert of John Mayer at Red Rocks in Colorado streaming live on the internet, from the comfort of our cozy, warm bed. Awesome. I feel like we got to go AGAIN!

Cary, we love you so much and wish you a very happy day!

Lynn

Sunday School!

We are so excited for McKinley. Today he started Sunday School. Only a little over a month in and his 3rd birthday has brought about so many changes and steps toward being a big boy! It was sweet to watch how enthusiastically he interacted with the MANY other children and his two teachers at Sunday School. He had a ball and didn't mind a bit when we stepped out to attend mass.
I didn't take any pictures...and I'm mad at myself for that, but I left the camera in the car. Me with no camera? Geez, I totally know better.
Regardless, McKinley will no doubt make many wonderful memories here. We are very proud parents, watching him expand his world one little child at a time!

Lynn

Preschool pics!

I'm so excited!
I just checked my email and discovered a fun little treat from Miss Kymberli, McKinley's preschool teacher in my inbox. She and Miss Lori captured some very sweet moments of McKinley's first day of school. When I saw them tears came to my eyes. It means so much for us to be able to SEE and hear so much about what McKinley does everyday, and these little updates via email are precious and treasured.

Can't wait to see what else is to come!

Lynn

Lynn