Memory Dump for May

I figure I better get these memories on the blog before I forget and summer gets in the way.

The boys went to the Father and Son's campout.  They didn't spend the night, but they did have fun at the campfire, playing outside and being big boys and staying up really late.  Next year, Jake and Chris will probably spend the night.  We shall see.

Hannah and Ella had their big Spring concert for choir.  It is always a wonderfully done concert.  This year, we woke up with Ella throwing up right before the concert.  So, Ella and the family missed the concert, while I took Hannah and got to enjoy her all to myself :-)  But we were super sad Ella missed another big performance this year (she missed her Destination Imagination competition because she was once again throwing up the night before).

Jake has started taking swim lessons.  He is very timid in the water, so we hope that swim lessons will give him the confidence he needs to be in the water.  So, far he loves his lessons.

Every time we go to Target, Graham runs for the dog house and gets in and starts acting like a dog.  Maybe I should get him this house.  He tends to behave better when I treat him like a dog, so maybe the doghouse would solidify his good behavior each and every day :-)  Cute little doggie!

The last field trip for Jake's preschool was to the zoo.  It is always Jake's favorite place to go.  He loves the zoo and had a blast being their with his classmates (this little guy is Joel) and his teachers.  Graham liked it too :-)

Because the end of school is so hectic with end of the year celebrations, we had to celebrate Jake's birthday in May.  This is him on his special day in preschool.  He loved being the Top Dog.  It actually worked great.  It just spread out his birthday celebration for weeks and he loved that!  The longer his birthday lasted the better.

We headed with our friends the Evans and the Kunkels to Gilroy Gardens. It is a small amusement park in Gilroy, California.  It was a super fun little park for the kids.  The rides are perfect for them and the park is super clean and pretty.  We went to celebrate Hannah's best friend's birthday.  We had so much fun and the kids still talk about it and want to go back ASAP!

Here are all the cute kids at Gilroy Gardens.  They all get along so well and we always have a blast with them.  How cute are these kids!!!  I just adore them.

After our weekend trip to Gilroy, we decided to stay home for Memorial Day.  So, what did we do.  We went bowling.  We hadn't gone bowling in such a long time, that the kids thought it was the coolest thing.  Graham was so funny, he had to do it all on his own, even though the balls he kept picking up were a 1/3 his weight.  Hannah loved the shoes and wanted me to buy her some to wear to school and mom came in the winner :-)  

At the end of May, the girls had their dance recital.  Hannah danced to "Hard Knock Life".  I just loved her dance, it was adorable.  

And Ella danced to Cruis'in for a Bruis'in from Teen Beach Movie.  Another cute dance.  The girls love showing us their dances at the recitals and I love watching them!

Jake's SuperHero Party Part 2

Now for the fun part of the party... all the activities and games.

Before we started the games, we gave each kid a SH checklist.  They had to accomplish all these steps/activities to prove that they could be a SH.    If they checked everything off, I presented them with a certificate verifying they had become a genuine SH!

The first item on the checklist was to STRIKE OUT THE VILLAIN!  I spray painted 2 liter soda bottles and put paper masks around them and had the kids bowl to knock over the bottles.  If they knocked over the pins they got a prize.

Next game was the KRYPTONITE TOSS.  I made the board and beans bags.  They kids had to make the bean bags into the holes to get a prize.

Then we played DIFFUSE THE BOMB.  I blew up 70 black balloons and stuck a treat (tootsie rolls and smarties (although I wouldn't use smarties again :-)  When we said "SAVE THE PARTY FROM THE BOMBS" the kids ran and popped all the balloons to get the treats.

Then we did the piñata (SUPERHERO SMASH).  Jake really wanted a Piñata at the party, so I gave in and got one.  This was the best purchase of the party.  I got the piñata, with cheap toys, candy, a stick and blindfold all for $25 on AMAZON.  I thought it was a great deal!  Of course, i added some more toys and candy... but still great deal!  And the piñata could either be hit or if that didn't work, you could pull the string to get it to break... loved those options for little 5 years old. You never know if they will break the thing :-)  But they did!

Then the kids had to take their picture to prove they could fly.  I set out a blue sheet and made some clouds and houses out of cereal boxes and took a picture of the kids flying over the city.  I am also going to make postcards of out these pictures and send them to the kids as thank you cards.

Now the SH training is complete. Each of the kids received their certificates to verify that they had completed their training and are now officially SUPERHEROS!

When the kids first arrived to the party, I had them either color SH coloring pages and activity pages or decorate their own masks (which I got at OTC).

Then it was present opening time.  Almost the best part of the party... but not quite.   The best part of the party was when the Birthday Bandit showed up.

The Birthday Bandit showed up and the kids went wild.  It was by far their favorite part of the party.  They went crazy on the birthday Bandit!

We used toilet paper rolls and wrapped them in duct tape.  I even found "POW" Superhero duct tape. It was perfect for the bandit!

There you have it.  The superhero party was a huge success.  One that Jake continues to talk about over and over again.  Here is a shot of the newest SH of the Superhero Alliance.    I feel so much better with these kids in charge ready to save the day!

To see the decorations and other details about this party - go to Part 1 here.

Jake's Super Hero Party

Jake wanted a SuperHero Party this go around and I have to say.. it was by far the most fun birthday to plan and maybe even to throw.  There were so many cute ideas online and so many fun things to do with 5 year olds.  I loved throwing this party and I love that my boy said "this is the bestest day ever!".

Here are all the details.

I held this party at our church building because with 12 boys and girls and a ton of games, I thought it might be better to not hold it at my house (and it is too hot outside), so the gym at church was a great options... expect for the ugliness of it all.  So, I did my best to turn the "ugly gym" into something playful and fun.

So, insert balloons, a lot of color and a lot of decorations.

Each kid got their own Superhero Cape.  My sister is an excellent seamstress, so I called in a favor.  I couldn't do a superhero party without superhero capes for the kids, right!?  they turned out so great!

Here was the dessert table.  I got 4 foam core boards from the Dollar Store and bought some SH comic books from ebay and started cutting and glueing away to create the comic backdrop.  I love it.  I don't know if I can part with it.  I am going to have to figure out a way to use it in my house :-)  

Then I got some boxes and wrapped them in black butcher paper and cute white and yellow squares for the windows.  Easy peasy!  And then I cut the "thought bubbles" out of my Silhouette machine.  

I used the covers of the comic books and some bias tape to make the pennant garland.

I got the lollipops from Oriental Trading Company (cape and all).  I did have to add the SH logos onto the back.  I got those from here.

The cupcakes I made using this recipe (easy and always the most moist cupcakes you can make... no fail!).  I got the cupcake wrappers and toppers at OTC too.

We also had "Kryptonite Krispies" to go with the theme of it all.

At each place setting each kid got a SH bag (got those at OTC) and put a tag on it with their names.  BTW - the font I used throughout all the party is BABABOOM... the perfect SH/comic font.

I also made the chair covers to cover the "ugliness of the church metal chairs" :-)  I know I am crazy... but it had to be done and they were super easy to make... all felt.

Here are the tables all decked out!

I used burger baskets (got those at Target Dollar Spot and the Dollar Store) used a page out of the comic books as the liner and designed my own Super H2O labels.  I used the cupcake toppers to fancy up the napkin and utensils.

Here are the different centerpieces I used.  I made them all with my Silhouette Machine.  Plain card stock can make the greatest of decorations :-)  I used shredded paper from the Dollar Store and I got the frames from Ikea.  They are the perfect frame for parties.  Worth getting if you like to throw parties :-)

Here is the food table.  I just used yellow butcher paper (don't notice that it wasn't long enough to go behind the buildings... the perfectionist in me was dying, but I was out of time, so it is was it is .. but don't look!)

I cut the letters "JAKE" out of my Silhouette using the font BABABOOM and again cut and paste comic strips onto it and hung it by twine.  The buildings are out of black foam core boards from the Dollar Store.  I free handed them with a box cutter and then cut squares for the windows.  

For lunch we had Mighty Munchies (chips), Shazamm-wiches (cut with bat sandwich cutters), Fruit-KaPows and Supervision Carrots and Ranch. 

here is the sign I had when they walked into the building.  Just to make sure they knew they were in the right place :-)  You will have to read the invitation to know why they were at the SHTA :-)

Here were the invitations for the party.  I have to admit, that I didn't come with this idea all on my own.  I saw something similar on Pinterest (although I couldn't find the original source :-( But I had to copy it... it was WAY TOO CUTE NOT TO!

Here is the whole thing.. you have to read it.. so creative and clever and cute!

And here is my superhero on his "bestest" day ever!

To see Part 2 of this party ( the games and other details)... click here!

Teacher Appreciation Week 2014

This year I was in charge of Teacher Appreciation Week for Ella's teacher.  I decided to go with a theme for the week.  And what better theme than Dr. Suess for a teacher, right?

So, I sent these letters home to the parents with a return envelope that said to return it to myself (via her teacher).

On the backside of the envelope it said  

"The news just came in from the County of King, it's time to show our teacher, that she is AMAZING!

May's the month, the 5th is the week, a celebration we're having, please try not to shriek!

We want to show THANKS for all that she does do.  She is the best, so here is what you can do!"

I got this poem from another blog, but for the life of me I can't find it to give her credit, darn it!

Inside the envelope was a note that gave all the details about the week and what we were going to do for her teacher each day.

MONDAY was Pink Yink Ink Drink Day  (from One Fish, Two Fish).

I asked the kids to bring in the teacher's favorite drinks.  I gave them a list of her favorite drinks to choose from.  And then I had a parent bring a Pink Jamba Juice for the teacher at the beginning of class.

TUESDAY was Beezle Nut Oil Boxed Lunch (from Horton Hears a Who).

I asked the kids to bring in the teacher's favorite lunch items.  I gave them a list of different snacks she could eat for lunch or her favorite places to eat out for gift certificates.  And then I asked a parent to bring the teacher her favorite sandwich from her favorite lunch place.

WEDNESDAY was The More You Read Library Day (from Oh the Places You'll Go).

I asked the kids to bring in a gently used or new book to add to the teacher's classroom library.

THURSDAY was Whoville Who Treats (from How the Grinch Stole Christmas).

I asked the kids to bring in her favorite treats.  I gave them a list of her favorite treats.

FRIDAY was Gourmet Hop on Popcorn Bar (from Hop on Pop).

I had the kids all write a nice note for the teacher saying why they like her as a teacher.  And then I asked 5 parents to bring in a batch of gourmet popcorn.  I had a place for the popcorn and that day the kids and teacher had snack time with the popcorn.  And then the leftovers, the teacher was able to take home for the weekend.

I had set up a place in the classroom where the kids could put their goodies each day.  I made Truffula Trees (from the Lorax) to decorate the areas.  Here is a great tutorial on how to make them.  I had a bucket for them to put their goodies and a sign with the "theme" for each day.

Here are the bags I had for the popcorn bar.  I just used brown paper lunch bags and cut them down half way with scalloped scissors and put a label on the front.

And here is the popcorn bar.  I made tags that said "popcorn thing 1" and so on.  And had scoops and popcorn napkins.

It was a fun project and Ella's teacher was so thrilled by it all.  She couldn't believe I did all this for her.  I told her she deserves to be appreciated more for just one week a year :-)  Boy oh boy, teachers should be appreciated all year long!.  But hopefully she felt the love this one week!