Kellyn's Birthday at school

We celebrated Kellyn's birthday at school on the 17th. She was the center of attention and got to wear a birthday hat and stand on a chair while we sang to her. She passed out the cupcakes and napkins herself, and had even gotten a chocolate milk for her little sister!

standing on her chair while Mrs. McEwen leads the singing
in her birthday hat

with her tablemates and Breckyn

her best school friend, Lauren

cheesy!! :)

Breckyn, in on the cupcake action!

Kellyn's 6th Birthday

We celebrated Kellyn's 6th birthday with a Valentine Party on the evening of Friday the 13th. Including Kellyn and Breckyn (Preston went to his friend Sterling's house for some boys-only fun!), we had total of 15 young girls here. Fortunately, Gram was here to help us keep them all under control (in a manner of speaking)! They had a great time eating pizza, playing games, working on a Valentine craft project, and decorating their own cupcakes. I even attempted my first-ever little homemade cake that turned out fairly decently - it was edible if nothing else! Kellyn was thrilled with her party and got lots of great gifts from her guests. And Paul and I were thrilled that Gram spent the night and let us go on a Valentine's date after the party!!

the Birthday Girl with my first attempt at a cake

all fifteen of them!

eating pizza

Gram and I help the girls with a craft project

WOW - my very own pink craft paper!
decorating their own cupcakes with pink icing and sprinkles

make a wish!

our Valentine Baby - 6 years old!!

Valentine's Day Party

Friday the 13th, we celebrated Valentine's Day at school with parties in both Preston's and Kellyn's classrooms. I completely forgot to take my camera for Kellyn's party so I have no pictures, but I'm hoping to get some from her teacher soon. Both of them had great parties with fun games and good food - Preston's class even had a pizza lunch! Here are the pics from his party:

Camp Wheatland

On January 29th, we attended Preston's school program, "Camp Wheatland." Gram went with us, and we were all very impressed! Every kid had a small speaking part and it was amazing how many songs the kids learned - more than 25! There were lots of good old camp songs, as well as Civil War, cowboy, folk, and patriotic songs. The kids dressed according to their speaking parts and we got lucky - Preston was a camper, which only required a T-shirt, ballcap, and jeans. Some boys dressed as Union soldiers or cowboys, and some girls wore long prairie dresses. It was really a terrific program and Preston did a great job!

he's in there somewhere!
holding the microphone - he was the first speaking part after the introduction!

One of her best yet!

Breckyn concocted this little ensemble a few days ago and it was too "interesting" not to post! First off, there's her Hannah Montana wig, then a black and silver leotard with a swimsuit top and Barbie Swan Lake skirt over that, as well as her multi-colored striped tights underneath (that you can't see) and Kellyn's suede boots. The part I really don't understand is the pair of white tights she has shoved down the back of her skirt - a tail maybe?!

Grandad is 75 years young!

On Sunday, January 25th we celebrated Grandad's 75th birthday at he and Gram's house. She had prepared a delicious Sunday dinner that even Mitzi got to enjoy, thanks to Grandad feeding her from the table! Shelly, Aunt Jan, cousin Justin, Uncle John, and our family were all on hand to celebrate. After Grandad opened his many hilarious cards, and Preston opened his birthday present from them, we had a delicious chocolate cake with Gram's homemade caramel frosting and ice cream - YUMMMM!

Cousins' Birthday Party

On Saturday, January 24th, we celebrated the birthdays of Taylor (8 on the 16th), Lucy (5 on the 24th), and Preston (8 on the 26th). We all met at our house for a yummy lunch of ham & beans with cornbread, and spaghetti with garlic bread (strange? maybe. good? definitely!). After our bellies were full and the kids had played awhile, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese where we stood in line for 20 minutes just to get in the door! Once we were in, we had a great time playing the games, eating cake, and opening presents.

Preston's 8th Birthday

We had Preston's birthday party with his friends on Friday evening, January 23rd. Thirteen boys were on hand to help us celebrate the occasion - and we lived to tell about it! The party got started with hotdogs and chips, then the boys scattered to play games set up all around the house. We had Rockband going and had also borrowed two extra Playstations to set up Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones. There was also Twister, Battleship, and other non-video games for the boys to play, though many of them opted to simply chase each other around and wrestle. We eventually rounded them up to watch Preston open his many awesome gifts and then we finished off the evening with cake and ice cream. I hope we sent them home happy, full, and worn out!! (p.s. - The basement was done just in time and looks great! We still have to finish the fireplace, bar, and a few other small things, but it's liveable! I'll try to get some pictures up soon!)