Happy Birthday!!....Chespin?

Big A recently had some minor surgery and was given a stuffed Pokemon character as a get well present from Ma and Pa. Not to leave out little a they got one for her too, a crazy little brown character with a green hat named Chespin. I thought she would not really care about it since she is not into Pokemon like her brother is. I was totally wrong. That little guy has become her favorite snuggle buddy who she sleeps with every night.

One night little a announced that "Tomorrow is Chespin's Birthday! He wants a Batman vs Superman cake and decorations and I HAVE to get him a present!" She was so excited for this and had so thought out the planning of the "party" that I decided to just go with it and have a Birthday party for Chespin! Big A asked me "Mom, are we REALLY gonna do this? It's so lame."

We went to Smiths (local Grocery Store) and found Batman vs Superman cupcakes for Chespin and some perfect presents (clearance Easter candy! 75% off!). Big A had a batman party last year so I dug out the banner and leftover plates and napkins (my decoration hoarding came into use!).  Little A wrapped the "presents" and made Chespin a sign and invited Ma and Pa (who brought Chespin a gift! (fruit snacks!).

It was a crazy fun Party and little a was so happy and she told us Chespin was "Super, SUPER Happy!". As the party was winding down Big A came over to me all sheepishly... "Mom, I think Pikichu's birthday is in a couple of days!"

The Long (Fun) Weekend

The long weekend of Valentine’s Day and Presidents day seemed to sneak up on me this year. I was so focused on getting things ready for Big A’s School that I didn’t make any real fun plans for us as a family. However as luck would have it we ended up having a wonderful holiday thanks to fast dialing fingers!

First off I had signed up the Kids for a Valentines themed Lowes “Build and Grow” making picture frames. As we were getting ready Big A promptly told me he is “a big boy now!” and “Too old for making things!” Begrudgingly we got him out the door and of course he had a great time and was super proud of what he’d built, (he was not the littlest kid there by a long shot!) I have the hardest time getting that boy out to do stuff lately. When we actually get to the activity he usually has a blast, it’s just getting him out.

Then for Valentines I had spotted a deal on easy “chocolate fondue” by Bakers chocolate. So I picked up some marshmallows and strawberries and put out a “romantic” dessert spread. It took me all of 2 minutes to get together and A and a LOVED it! Halfway through though little a went to the kitchen and came back with a spoon. I said  “No, sweetie you need to use the fork so you don’t drop the strawberries.” She replied “Oh mommy, I’m gonna just eat the chocolate with it!” Ha Ha

The big excitement came Friday night as I was doing dishes and listening to the radio (107.9 The End) (while everyone else was downstairs playing video games … sigh… a mothers life!) they had a “be the 10^th caller…. Contest so I grabbed the phone and I Won! It was for a family 4 pack of tickets to the Local Hockey team The Grizzlies! The tickets were for an early game on Monday, perfect for our little ones. The seats were fantastic, the game was exciting and kids were on the Jumbo Tron… what more could you ask for? A perfect cap to our long weekend!

(I have not received any kind of endorsement from anyone for this post)

Big A is Lucky 7!

Big A is now officially a 7 year old. I say this every year but seriously, how is this possible? My little boy is growing up so fast it is crazy. In just the last year the changes in him are astounding. He is such a bright, funny, kind, playful, thoughtful little guy. I am truly the lucky one, this "7" is my Boy!

A thank you to FotoFly photography for once again giving me outstanding birthday shots of A!

A-Maze-ing times at the Crazy Corn Maze!

We decided that this was the year that we would venture into the fall fun of a Corn Maze. We thought A and a were both old enough to have a fun time in a maze. Having watched “survivor” since birth they are both totally familiar with the idea of a maze and were totally excited about tackling the challenge.

We decided to give the “Crazy Corn Maze” in West Jordan (8800 South 4000 West) a try for our first maze. It seemed like a good size. Big enough to be a challenge but not crazy huge like some in the valley. The Maze was done in the shape of a jester this year and you were given a basic map at the start as well as a “corn” trivia sheet. The trivia was numbered 1-10 and coincided with markers throughout the maze. The trivia was a true/false that gave you hints on going left or right as you went along. A took immediate control of the map and was our unofficial leader. It was great though he and little a conferred on which way to go, working as a great team (no fights!) The size was perfect, it took us a little over an hour to complete the maze; long enough to make it worthwhile but not overly long and complicated to bore or frustrate the kids.

It was a fantastic family outing that A and a gave “ten thumbs up” (highest marks in our house!)

You can score a coupon for the Crazy Corn Maze here:

http://www.utahmaze.com/coupon.html

 

The Parade of Homes with HGTV Raised Kids

When I think about the Salt Lake Parade of Holmes I am filled with nostalgia. I have wonderful memories of going through these amazing Mansions with my mom as a kid. Awestruck by the pools, tennis courts, kitchens. I have wanted to share this with my kids but I thought they were still a bit too young.

 Then a few months ago we were visiting some friends way out west in the Salt Lake valley in an up and coming area. Their neighborhood was surrounded by new developments all touting open model homes. On a whim we stopped by one to see what it was like. A and a were great, nicely looking through the house, examining the fun new features. When we left Big A said “Mommy do you think we’ll be on TV?” laughingly I asked him “Why would we be on TV?” “Well on “Love it or List it” of course! I didn’t even see David there.” (FYI “Love it or List it" is an HGTV show about remodeling your house or buying a new one). We obviously watch enough HGTV that it has filtered down to A and a. As we were headed back home A and A both begged to go see more houses. That was it, I knew the Parade of Homes would be a fun family adventure.

We got our passes, loaded the Parade of Homes app on our phones and off we went. The Parade is a scattered site event but the App provides you perfect turn by turn GPS directions to all the houses. To not overwhelm the kids we did 5 -6 houses at a time. The houses are located in general “clusters” and made breaking up our visits really easy.

My worries about the kids being too small were quashed on the first site we visited. They loved exploring the big houses, checking out cool features (Movie Room!, Waterfall Glass Hallway floor!, Hidden Pantry door to the garage!) and pointing out not so cool features (Glass walled showers in the front of the house!, Tiny kids rooms!, a Bidet! EW!).  They have picked up way more HGTV than we thought “Mom doesn’t this look like a wall the “Property Brothers” would have done?” Big A said of a cool reclaimed wall.

Of all the houses though the kids only claimed one was a “List It” (meaning we’d sell our house to buy that one) and Jeff and I actually agreed... if we had $1.5 million to spend. It was heartening that of all the other cool houses they still liked our house better.

After we had hit the houses we’d planned and were headed home both A and a were  whining in the back seat of the car “We wanna see more houses!” For all the parents who think that the Parade of Homes isn’t for their kids, reconsider.

Thank you to the Salt Lake Home Builder’s Association for providing us passes to the Parade of Homes. All views and opinions are my own.

 

 

"Little" a turns 4

 

 

Our little A is 4 today! The time has gone by so quickly! I still think of her as my “Baby.” She is not a baby anymore at all. Little a is growing up so fast! She is a precocious, intelligent, curious, spunky, fun loving, little ball of energy. She is such a sweet little beauty who is such a fun, athletic little tomboy.

…. And no matter how big she gets… She will still be my “Baby”.

 

Here's some shots from her "4 year-old" photo shoot at the always amazing FOTOFLY studios