Pictures as promised.

Sorry I didn't post these yesterday...was having internet issues. Bleh. In any case, here are a few pictures from the party. Remember, this was a bubble birthday bash. :)

First, we gave each kid (all 16 of them) a square of bubble wrap...had them find a spot on the sidewalk and said, "ready, set, jump!" until I shouted "STOP!" at which point we "compared" the results to see who'd popped all their bubbles. Amazingly simple and the kids loved it. I had to laugh at the differences in technique...the girls tended to alternate feet while the boys were much more prone to all out jumping. Regardless, fun times:

 

After the bubble wrap, we opened gifts then headed back outside for some bubble play. Had a couple stations set up and gave each kid a big bubble wand (part of their party favors that they got to take home). In one spot, we were making giant bubbles around the kids:

 

Of course none of my boys would get on the stool so I don't have any pictures of them. Silly boys. They were afraid the big bubble would pop on them and get them messy or something. Oh well. After the bubble play, we did the cupcake and ice cream thing...had to bring out a little table for the two year olds:

 

That's my niece sitting next to Micah (and my brother with the video camera). They had such fun! After all the sugar intake, we ended up back inside because it was just too hot...so we ended the party with everyone just playing until parents arrived. Good times.

And that's how the party went. Today was actually Asher's birthday. We didn't do anything particularly special (for which I'm a little bit sad, but a 16 kid party is pretty good, right?)...went to the gym, boys had swim lessons, Asher got to talk me into taking them to Target and Toys R Us so he could browse (he's got birthday money burning a hole in his pocket but has decided to wait a little longer before spending it), and played some games at home. And I just realized, just now, that I didn't take a single picture today of my sweet six year old. Gasp! Don't worry. I'll rectify that tomorrow. :) 

Survived.

We did it. We survived our first double birthday party for Asher and Micah (not claiming there will be more double ones or anything like that, lol, just stating a fact). It went pretty well...considering we had 16 kids here (ranging in age from 2 to 9) and that it was hotter than we'd anticipated so kids ended up inside for much longer than we planned for. But. Still, pretty darn good and all is well. I'm exhausted, though, so pictures and more details will have to wait... ;)

Two thumbs up.

So we were riding in the car a couple days ago and I hear Asher muttering to himself in the backseat. I stopped to actually listen to what he was saying. Are you ready? He was acting out a fight between his thumb and his pinky. Apparently, his pinky was jealous because his thumb was so much bigger. Really. And then Micah joined in...except his two thumbs fought while his two pinkies cheered. I don't know why. I'm not making this stuff up, folks. :)

Yup, that's pretty much how life's been here lately...disjointed yet funny. Asher finished up soccer camp yesterday. (Noah finished last week.) Both older boys have started swim lessons at the nearby gym (which, based on the two lessons so far, are better than the first ones that only Asher ended up taking). I've actually been going to the gym as "scheduled" through this QuickStart program (it doesn't hurt at all that Noah and Asher are totally motivated to remind me about and guilt me into going, as they want to play the Wii and other games in the kid area)...feeling rather good about it, though Micah's not yet a fan of the whole thing. It helps, too, that I'm already going there twice a week for the swim lessons so just getting there an hour early isn't too bad.

That garage sale find from last week (the slot car race set) was a huge hit and, I've since learned, a stinkin' fantastic deal. Totally pleased with myself for that one, and the boys were thrilled. They set it up by the end of that day and played with it all weekend. Then, I made them move it upstairs to get it out of the main traffic area. Noah's still trying to figure out how to make the track fit in the upstairs room that it's now in but they have plans to tackle that with Nathan tonight.  

Piano lessons continue through the summer. Noah, in particular, has been practicing heaps better lately. Of course, this also means that we've been listening to a LOT of "Six Little Ducks that I Once Knew"..."The Saints Go Marching"..."America the Beautiful"...and others like that. (We switched Noah to a "favorite songs" book/course for the summer and it's made a world of difference in his approach...he's such a perfectionist that he needs these songs where he can more easily hear if he's getting it right.) The boys have also been singing a lot more lately as a result...but they make up their own versions and, while funny, it gets a wee bit old after the 82nd round if you know what I mean.  :)

I've finished up three or so scrapbook assignments (10 or so layouts/projects)...looking forward to when you'll be able to see them! That said, I've not done as good a job writing letters this week as I'd hoped. Maybe tomorrow? Going to work on cleaning up my office today and finishing two more layouts then need to get ready for Asher and Micah's birthday party this Sunday. (Oh! That reminds me. Micah's taken to asking me at bedtime "what time is it?" as he looks at the clock in our room. I tell him. He sighs and says, "not party time yet?" ;) I'll have to remember to tell him to look at the clock on Sunday so that I can inform him that it's finally party time.)

We have this whole house fan upstairs that we use at night to cool off the house. It's in the ceiling in the hallway. We noticed earlier this week that every time Micah goes under this fan while it's on, he holds his head with one hand. When we asked him why, he replied that he had to hold on his hair. He's so funny.  

So. That's a bit about what's been going on around here lately. :) Busy but good. Sorry this post wasn't more exciting. Maybe by July we'll have this summer thing down, LOL! 

I don't know why...

Oh, and, for reasons completely unknown to me, Micah has been chanting the following all morning:

"Bonga, bonga...my hair is freaky...bonga, bonga...my hair is freaky..."

Weirdo. :) 

My morning finds that will fill the afternoon...hopefully.

So. Noah finished up his soccer camp this morning. Whew. :) Asher starts next week...same dealio, just different age group. On our way home, we were distracted by a 10 family garage sale going on a few blocks from our house. Had to stop obviously. ;) And, somehow, even though I've been cleaning house recently and declaring that we truly have too many toys (almost all of which are either vehicles or building toys), we picked up two electric race car sets...one for just $2 with questionable odds of actually working or having all the pieces (which has been thoroughly explained to the boys)...and one for $8 that still has some of the pieces in plastic and came with complete instructions and the owner's word that all the pieces were there and work (it looks to me like it was used maybe a handful of times and then relegated to storage).

After explaining the "rules" to the boys (no fighting...no fits if you discover we're missing pieces...etc), I set them to figuring it all out on their own. Should keep 'em occupied much of the afternoon:

 

Okay, off now to try to get some layouts done while they're busy... :)