Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Still dealing with the loss

I love you, Papa. I think we had a complicated relationship, but I still miss you and my heart hurts when I think of you. You taught me so much and made me very much the person I am today.  I look forward to seeing you again in Heaven one day and hear you make all those groany puns, something that Jaxon seems to have inherited. :)

 photo IMG-20160325-WA0008-001_zpstbwyvmua.jpg


Sunday, April 10, 2016

The Little Boy Turns 7 *gasp*

Birthday Party #1

We had our first celebration for the little boy with the ladies' bible class, with the ladies who consider themselves ( and WE consider ) surrogate aunts and grandmothers :)
 photo March 25 Birthday with the Bible Class5_zpsw370glvj.jpg
The theme this year is Minecraft, and the first cake was a Stampy cake :)
 photo March 25 Birthday with the Bible Class2_zps0fdwbyjw.jpg
 photo March 25 Birthday with the Bible Class1_zpsh4vs69g1.jpg
We used sparkler candles that seemed to be playing a trick on the little boy, refusing to be blown out.
 photo March 25 Birthday with the Bible Class3_zpswmi2ny87.jpg
 photo March 25 Birthday with the Bible Class4_zpsfsmopa6j.jpg
We got him a Squiddy action figure to complete the Dynamic Duo of Stamps and Squid, and he got some lovely gifts from the ladies.
 photo March 25 Birthday with the Bible Class6_zpsd1wbnzfj.jpg
 photo March 25 Birthday with the Bible Class7_zps18nx2xp2.jpg

Birthday Party #2

The second celebration was at home with a "Minecraft Cake" cake. :) 
 photo March 30 Jaxon Birthday at Home_zpsaw3tdtxu.jpg
A RAINBOW "Minecraft Cake" Cake
 photo March 30 Jaxon Birthday at Home1_zpsrimoqadx.jpg
There were some little action figures that I had gotten at a Dittos for Kiddos event,
 photo March 30 Jaxon Birthday at Home2_zpsu5ozdfgy.jpg
A Super Space Red Bird that makes Angry Bird sounds,
 photo March 30 Jaxon Birthday at Home3_zpsc8ybaksv.jpg
and some Cars Play Doh accessories.
 photo March 30 Jaxon Birthday at Home4_zpscbsmnwnd.jpg

Birthday Party #3

The third party was with the family over at Mamo's church building, this time with a more complete Minecraft theme. I mean, I crushed Oreos and everything to make make-believe dirt on the side of those "dirt blocks" that were arranged to make the number 7.
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane_zpswldguggv.jpg
I printed out little food labels in the spirit of Minecraft and finger foods that matched them.
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane1_zpsciwtbqlm.jpg
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane2_zps2xrgl42l.jpg
There was even a little activity station for the kiddoes with some stuff that I had gotten online from a online birthday supplies store.
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane3_zpsqqkdp1ol.jpg
I was happy to see that the boys were really into coloring their masks - as well as dueling with the soft blow-up pickaxes :)
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane4_zpsbp1uivli.jpg
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane5_zps7msuv7te.jpg
It did my heart good to see Max and the little boy having some "peer" time, seeing how they are only 6 months apart.
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane6_zpsonm2znfd.jpg
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane7_zpsbhquyj3w.jpg
Then, it was cake time ! Yum.
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane8_zpsxcn5g6gy.jpg
Among other things, he received a pixel star wars t shirt from Popo ( which he immediately changed into ),  a Stampy from Brianna, 
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane9_zpsdloxdw5e.jpg
a Minecraft Lego set, and a crazy jigsaw from us :)
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane10_zpsc5wojc51.jpg
and a stop by the playground to top it all off.
 photo April 02 Jaxon Birthday at Oldham Lane11_zps1mj28ziq.jpg

Sunday, April 03, 2016

Easter Egg Hunt #3

Easter Egg Hunt #3 was after church, on the other side of town, at Grace Church, where it seemed like half of the downtown crowd was there.
 photo March 27 Easter Egg Hunt Grace_zpsy8rxayi5.jpg
 photo March 27 Easter Egg Hunt Grace1_zps67diqxbu.jpg
We all know that there is a real person under all that fluff, but we still can't resist taking photos with the Easter Bunny.
 photo March 27 Easter Egg Hunt Grace3_zps98iqbpgr.jpg
and which child can resist bounch castles or slides? He was a bit too old/tall/big for the regular bouncy castle, but he had lots of fun on the slides.
 photo March 27 Easter Egg Hunt Grace2_zpsmsvchx7h.jpg
PLUS there were minions there!
 photo March 27 Easter Egg Hunt Grace4_zpsnoouxdnr.jpg
Then, suddenly, the crowd when while when they spotted...
 photo March 27 Easter Egg Hunt Grace5_zpscyicaunf.jpg
the helicopter that would drop thousands of eggs onto the field across the street.  That might have been quaint and exciting, but I think we will avoid being in such close proximity with a hovering helicopter in the future, if we can possibly help it.
 photo March 27 Easter Egg Hunt Grace6_zps5r8525sx.jpg
 photo March 27 Easter Egg Hunt Grace7_zpsyrhtykf3.jpg

Easter Egg Hunt #2

We always look forward to the Spring Festival/Easter Eggstravaganza over at Southern Hills Church of Christ, and this year we made sure we didn't miss it :)
 photo March 26 Easter Egg Hunt Southern Hills1_zpsxl6ckxxr.jpg
 photo March 26 Easter Egg Hunt Southern Hills4_zpsyuqpqxb1.jpg
I don't know how many eggs they had prepared, but they made sure to separate the little kids into the appropriate age groups so the little ones could have a go without being over-run by the older kids.
 photo March 26 Easter Egg Hunt Southern Hills-001_zps3urawevx.jpg
The little boy and Daddy had some sort of strategy planned out on how best to approach the whole hunt :)
 photo March 26 Easter Egg Hunt Southern Hills2_zpspozxhuhd.jpg
The kids were surprisingly well behaved in their frenzy to get as many eggs as possible. :)
 photo March 26 Easter Egg Hunt Southern Hills3_zpsewlczmbu.jpg
Of course, in between waiting for his turn at the hunt(s), we spent our time over by the bouncy castles. Hurrah!
 photo March 26 Easter Egg Hunt Southern Hills5_zpsf4nnu6ho.jpg
We even bumped into Kareena there! She's grown up to be quite the young lady :)
 photo March 26 Easter Egg Hunt Southern Hills6_zpsuejwrblz.jpg
There was a short break in between where they had a martial arts demonstration, and the little boy was fascinated.
 photo March 26 Easter Egg Hunt Southern Hills7_zpsdn5vjpsq.jpg
When the hunts were finally over, of course it was off to the playground till we were too pooped to party!
 photo March 26 Easter Egg Hunt Southern Hills8_zpsar6ibnwp.jpg