ANGRY birds party!

For Carter's Birthday this year, we decided on an Angry Birds theme.  While this party was fairly inexpensive to put on, it was a lot of work (but a lot of fun too).

Here we have Carter standing in front of the decorations.  I made this banner from red, yellow, green and blue paper and then downloaded the "Angry Birds font" (aka Feast of Flesh) for the lettering.  I was pretty happy with the way it turned out.  The last banner is just a couple of birds and pigs that I downloaded off the internet.

SO, now for the real fun.  These balls were just purchased at the dollar store and then painted up to look like Angry Birds.  After a while the paint wore off, because the balls were soft, like nerf balls.  Had I been able to find something different, I would have used them.  I found the face patterns here.  These balls, I mean birds, were used to launch at the lovely pig-protecting structures that big bro Kayden built (and re-built) below.

 Here is a picture of Carter launching a yellow bird with our homemade sling shot (surgical tubing - the lady at the home health store didn't know what Angry Birds were and I think she thought I was a little "crazy.")

 Next came pig bowling - not as much fun as the bird launching.  Oh, I didn't even mention how much fun that was!!  The kids had a blast launching and re-launching those birds.  Just like the real game - only more physical!

Our last activity was painting.  I found some rocks and paint at Michaels, then let the kids loose.  I think they did an awesome job!!

Last, but not least, was the food! 

Pulverized pigs - an idea I found off the net - vanilla yogurt with green food colouring.  Next is bird food (aka almonds, blueberries and apples).

Of course, no party is complete without some sort of cake.  Enter pig cupcakes.  Super easy to make, with marshmallow eyes, jelly bean accents and black icing gel. 

Party favors were mini eggs in bags and key chains made from bottle caps and angry birds clip art.

I think the kids all ended up having a really good time.  Carter said he thought that his party was GREAT!  That's all that matters to me!!!

Happy (belated) Birthday CARTER!!!

I can't believe that it has been 10 years since I have held this beautiful baby in my arns!  Double digits Carter!  Carter was a sweet little baby, charming his way into our family from the minute we laid eyes on him.As you can see, throught these few pictures, he has grown and changed so much - sharing all of his strenghts and talents with us.  Carter loves music, being outside, birds, baking and his brothers.  We are so blessed to have him as part of our family.  Happy Birthday Buddy!

Has it really been fourteen years? Happy Birthday Kayden!!

Time has sure flown by.  It almost seems like yesterday when I was in college and busily studying for exams AND also anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new baby.  Kayden arrived 8 days after his due date - the day that I was scheduled to be induced!  He was a big baby, 10 lb 3 oz, just like his brothers to follow.  He was such a good little one - a perfect first baby to have (well, at least that is what I remember and that's all that matters)!  We lived in a small, one bedroom place and poor Kayden had to share a room with us!  He sure became a great sleeper though - there was no tip toeing around, that is for sure!!

Kayden has grown and matured over the years, as you can see from these pictures.  He loves to be active - that means swimming, soccer, basketball and yep - football.  He is a great athlete and a very smart young man.  He is a good friend and stands up for what he believes in.  We are so blessed to have Kayden in our family!  Happy Birthday Kayden!

Jaren and his zany antics

Jaren has discovered how much fun it is to make video clips of himself.  Check him out:

http://youtu.be/YO3jMmyoQbs

http://youtu.be/OmllILyJqnw

http://youtu.be/f693-CFgu18

SAMFA Tier 2 Champions

This year, Kayden's team made it to the Tier 2 Championship Game!!

 They played against Taber Rebels at the U of L stadium (Kayden is #4).

It was a super exciting, action packed game with lots of good plays, but also some not so good ones.  One of their senior players got injured and had to be taken off the field in an ambulance. 

At the far right of the above pic, you can see Kayden low to the ground, tackling a Taber player.  The game was quite close for a while - (20-28) and there was a very good chance that Taber would score.  But, the Hawks were able to hold them off and secure the win!

What a view from this awesome field!

Again, Kayden is in the middle of the tackling!  Go Halladay!

This is a pic of the team celebrating with their trophy!  Now, for the semi finals this weekend!

Halloween Night - Trick or Treat!

Before we get the show on the road, we had to have a healthy supper to get us going!  Don't you love these cute plates I bought at Wal-|Mart! 

Here is our whole trick our treating crew.  I didn't get a good pic of Jaren - he was Lucky the Leprechaun (from the cereal Lucky Charms).

Tyler - the green ANGRY bird

Carter - the Yellow ANGRY bird!

Can you guess what Kayden is?  A chick magnet, of course

We had a ton of fun trick or treating with our friends this year and hope that we can keep up the tradition for a few more years!

Carving Pumpkins

Tyler's favorite part was slashing that dang pumpkin.  I think he ended up decorating all sides of his pumpkin!!!

The day before Halloween was Sunday - the perfect day to carve our pumpkins with Grama and Grampa.

Grampa and Jaren are hard at work.  Everyone except for Grampa and Tyler used a stencil and just look at how AWESOME Grampa's pumpkin turned out! (Grampa has hidden talents)

Grampa's sweet pumpkin

Mom and Carter pose with their creations!

Kayden and his Atlanta Braves themed pumpkin!

We had so much fun carving pumpkins this year!  I think I cleaned out everyone's pumpkin (except Grampa's) though - oh well!  I still had time to make my own scary pumpkin too - so I must be good at it!