Will's Big Day!

So for breakfast it was pick-your-favorite breakfast cereal:  Cracklin' Oat Bran.  (Which means my evil plan is working.  Reverse psychology is real.)  And then always presents!!!  Falcon jersey, RC airplane, and a Matt Ryan-signed football....I feel like we kinda scored this year.  The football ended up being a lucky find at our school auction, where there are virtually no Falcons fans.  If it had been a Seahawk's ball...well, end of story.  And yes, I'm probably more excited about it than he is...so far!

We also managed to win a laser tag adventure at the very same auction.  I cannot tell you how awesome that was!!  It was a perfectly sunny day, and the sheep barns provided the perfect terrain for an all-out war.  OH my goodness, so. fun.

Our little civil war crew.

We started out revolution-style, but eventually got much more sophisticated in our tactics...

Ben was awesome.  He was a killer-sniper, always setting up on his own somewhere genius to light those guys up!

Team effort.

This girl.  Too cool.

We rounded the day out with dinner at Winger's with our cousin, and a Falcon's cake with even more!

Making a wish!

It was an epic 11 year old day!

Group texts are the best.

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Birthdays!!

January-February have so many birthdays that when we finally get down to it, it's like a mini-Christmas party!  Presents and cake everywhere!!

What a bunch of cuties!!

The Ball!

Ok, if you are local and you have not been to the school balls yet, you are missing out.  First off, any time I get to dress my little kiddies up, well heck, I'm already happy!  Curling irons and lip gloss and neckties...it's all good!  But when you get there and see all the other little people all gussied up and doing the stomp dance with other equally small people...it's just too cute.  And I got some awesome video, but that is beyond my blogging capabilities, and this is supposed to be just a 2-D thing anyway...so instead, photos, and you can just imagine the awesomeness of the rest of it :)

This girl, she's a heart-breaker.

And these boys.  Two of them needed prodding.  The other one couldn't keep his feet still.  Guess who!

Ben definitely has a devoted admirer, but he has come to expect that wherever he goes!

These two will always have each other.  Always.

More of my favs.

And then there's this beauty.  Growing up fast, and for some reason I just love it!



Slowing down...

Kayte wrapped up her basketball season with a win!  It was such a fun time, and I love watching all these girls I love play together and root for each other.  I just think these are the best days ever!!

Date night.

My valentine.

Will And Paula's DAY OF FUN

Will's birthday was on a Sunday this year, so we chose to make it a three-day weekend, and ditched school that Friday.  The possibilities for the day were endless, we didn't know where to begin!  Last year, we learned how to play chess.  This year, could be a learning year too!  Or we could bike or hike, it had been a warm week!  But we woke up to cool and cloudy and possibly rainy, so we hunkered down at home, and I taught him how to make bread.  Of course, we were missing some key ingredients, and since we were out anyway, we started the birthday here:

So CUTE!!

 

The owner of Buy the Dozen just won a TV donut bake-off and a $10,000 prize, which, if you live in a small town, is a little bit like winning something yourself.  Everyone is on the same team in a small town.  After an extensive taste-test, Will agreed that they deserved a win.  The donuts are to-die-for.

We headed home, rolled up our sleeves and commenced our own baking!

While we waited for the dough to rise, we played NBA Jam, where he trounced me thoroughly, and a game of chess, where he also schooled me.  I knew I was a goner on both points, but I was hoping for a lucky break.

Our little loaves.  We tried a cinnamon loaf too...that was a first!

We headed to Applebees, and this was the moment I lost Will to one of the 50 TVs playing all-sports all the time.

Steak and Fries and Sliders, yes please!

 

 

From there it was Zeppoz.  I had to talk Will into it.  He isn't terribly fond of sports that don't come naturally to him, but I thought he did pretty well, right out of the gates!  I insisted that he try without bumpers and then took loads of pictures of him....he was not pleased.

Not too shabby!

We both took a bit of a dive after the first set, so we consoled ourselves with some video games at the arcade.

By that point, our day had run out!  We headed back to pick up the kids from school and finally get that bread in the oven.  It was quite a hit, and I think screamed of the success of the day.

 



I love love loved this day with my bud....

White as the driven snow:

My son argued, but it's no use.  Age is coming for me.

Once upon a time...

....two young brothers went on an adventure into the great unknown:  a large muddy field.  There was plenty to fear, most of all, fear itself.  And mirages of coyotes.  They were pleased to find a swollen brown creek running through the middle of the field.  What an adventure this will be!  Fraught with danger.  Sure enough, as they slipped and slid down the banks of the creek, suddenly their boots sank deep into the mud.  They started to sink.  And panic (just a little, of course).  The older brother pulled himself out of his boots and stood on the other side of the creek in just his socks.  He gave his sunken boots a good yank, and with a slurp they popped out of the mud.  He looked over at his younger brother as he appeared to be slowly sucked down farther into the creek.  He looked back at the house, a quarter of a mile away through the thick brown field.  His mother was there, and surely would know what to do.  Back to his brother, who was now clearly in distress.  He knew it was now or never.  He gave his little bro a strong bear hug and pulled and pulled until at last, he was free from the prisonous boots.  They left the lonely cowboy boots to soak until spring in the banks of the muddy creek.  One son covered in filth to his belly button.  The other son shoeless and mud to his eyeballs.  Finally they made it to the front door of their home.  The knocker banged out ominously. Their mother came running and when she reached the door, she was met with the most comical pair of adventurers.  It surely made her day.  And one of her top favorite scenes of all time.

Will turns 11

So tomorrow this kid turns the big one-one.

I admire his loyalty and his steadfastness.  I like his love for the little things.  He is affectionate, kind, tenderhearted, sensitive, lovable, cheerful, hard-working, and fun-loving.  He likes to push buttons, all sorts.  If he's on time, he's late.  He'd rather spend than save, but he can spot a bad deal a mile away.  He has a monstrous appetite and a competitive spirit.  He likes to do only what he is good at, which is plenty.  If he could pick any age, he would choose 25.  He loves to learn and get his hands dirty.  And just when I think I've finally got this kid all figured out, he surprises me.  In a good way.

He turns my heart inside out, I love him so much.

Happy Birthday, little bud.  You make me so proud.  Please stop growing up.

It's a beautiful day to be a boy...

Dirt + Water = High Entertainment

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This chic...

...right down to the authentically-torn blue jeans :)
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February in Moscow!

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Message received.

So, I have a few Christmas lights still strung about in a wintry sort of way, it's a warm sort of light, I think.

Ben was hanging out on the couch and says, "Mom!  Why do you still have Christmas lights up?"

"Well, they are actually wintry lights." says I.  "They make me think of snow!"

"But they are yellow." says he.

 On closer inspection, these white lights do indeed appear yellowish...

"I mean, have you ever seen yellow snow???"  he says with preposterous-ness.  "Pfsh.  There is no such thing as yellow. snow."

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Basketball takes over...



Basketball is in full swing!  The entire family is on a team, except for Will and I.  Our nights from Monday thru Thursday are completely packed, and just super-close to overlapping without actually doing so...which is fantastic, cause I'd hate to miss a moment! 

Joe is coaching Ben's team.  There is quite a range of talent at this age, which leads to some comical moments.  Ben is having a great time, and seems to be more intense than I'd expected, which is fantastic, of course.  The kid can dribble pretty well... :)

Sara so far has an undefeated season, yay!  Her team is very large, so she doesn't get as much playtime, but she makes up for it with enthusiasm once she hits the court.  This girl can shoot, which is fun to watch!

This is Kayte's first season at Logos!  I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am to see her in that uniform, and her heart for the game.  She is very passionate about it.  They are doing very well, but Kayte prefers the games to be close.  She doesn't think it is very interesting to cream a team.  They were up by quite a bit the other night, so the 6th graders took over the 4th quarter and held their own.  Next year, they will only have one 8th grader and then this mass of 7th graders...but they are definitely picking up the game quickly....two games left, it's been a super-fun season so far!

Yesterday, they had an away game in Pullman.  At the half, the school did a little shoot-out for candy on the court.  After they'd gone through the entire line of kids, they called Kayte's name and said if she could make all three shots around the court (inside the 3-point line) she could have all the candy left on the court.  One, two, three shots in a row!!  She did it! Where's the free college scholarship when the stars align like that??  :)
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Super Bowl!!

We rushed home to our cuties as fast as we could fly...and got home in time for the Super Bowl....what a super-fun game until the last 60 seconds....bleh.

What a cute little cheerleader, though, am I right?  :)

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