Dairy Queen (plus I got my Vacation Bucket List Blizzard!), the park, Pokemon hunting for Owen, splashing and throwing rocks in the river, a walk around the neighborhood with Gramma, and then a Gramma cuddle. 🙂
I thought she’d like sticking her feet in the river but she whined that it was TOO COLD! (It felt like bath water to me!)
I didn’t get any pics that were perfect…so I tried again. Still didn’t get a perfect shot but they’re still cute. 🙂
And the four-year collage (with years 1, 2, and 4 at Gramma’s house)!
The first photo shoot!
Owen went to a pirate-themed birthday party today—the same family that had the knight-themed party last year! He had SOOOOO much fun! He told us every single thing they did…which we actually confirmed when the mom posted all the pictures on Facebook! (These are all her pictures.)
Getting the “boat” set up—the kids had to stay on the boat (not fall off) while they moved it around. Passing the test earned a treat!
The birthday boy’s older brothers helping out—reading the Pirate Oath (below):
They used a Pirate Name Generator to assign names to all the boys—Owen was Lazy Jack Keys!
Getting ready to hunt for treasure!
A real treasure map!
Walking the plank!
Popping “canon ball” balloons (they sounded like firing canons)!
They were hitting the skull heads for treasure bags!
Searching for bags of gold!
Feeding [plastic] rats to the alligator! (The mom had her arm inside the mouth and would grab the rats or toss them back out. You had to stay until he “ate” your rat!)
X marks the spot!
They found the treasure and everyone got to divvy up the spoils—jewels, necklaces, and coins!
Some of his haul, which he promptly put in his own treasure box when he got home! (He also got a pirate bandana and two bombs which he’s in love with!)
Xander, the birthday boy!
Owen wanted another summer birthday pool party, so like last year, we had a sleepover with two friends for his birthday. I’m not sure who was more excited—Owen or Katie. She did pretty good overall but didn’t understand why the boys didn’t want to go play with her instead of playing with Owen. (That said, she did get to play with them most of the time.)
We had pizza for dinner, then they all played downstairs (including Katie), and then it was time for Pie face!
Ice cream! Poor Colton (in black) doesn’t like chocolate so didn’t want the ice cream or brownie…so had an ice pop.
Attempting to play a new video game. It wasn’t quite working, so…
We watched a movie. Awwwww.
Of course, Katie was right in there, too.
Owen: “My bros!”
iPad time
Spying on them.
We put them to bed at 9:30 and they wanted to read a book so we told them lights out at 10. I happened to be watching on the monitor when they turned the lights out at 9:45. We thought it was too easy…and we were right. They were gabbing LOUDLY for the next hour. The last 20 minutes or so, Tom and I took turns going in to tell them to quiet down and go to bed. The last time Tom went in he warned them that they would not get donuts in the morning if he had to come in again. Then they were finally quiet. 🙂
Tom said they were all up at Owen’s usual time (6:30!) so they were back at Xbox and Tom went to get donuts.
The kids left by 10:30. Owen had a great time and we were glad to have our relatively quiet house back.
I wasn’t able to find a cool birthday shirt and forgot about buying a pin or anything, so I just printed out a sticker for him!
I let him open one present before school—a Lego birthday cake.
Of course, building began immediately.
He finished it before he left for school but it was really close and we didn’t have time to get a picture of him with it…so this is from Thursday morning:
When he got home we quick Skyped with Gramma Jean and Grandpa David (in Florida) and Grannie and Papa so everyone could sing Happy Birthday and he could open their presents. Then it was off to the Lego store for the monthly mini build which he completed in under three minutes:
5:16pm
Katie playing while Owen builds:
5:19pm
He bought a Minecraft Lego set that was on clearance with some of his birthday money.
And then it was off to Red Robin for dinner (his choice)…where he got surprised with a song and a sundae!
Then we stopped at Ikea to get Katie’s new nightlight and then home so Owen could Skype with Uncle Rob and open our gifts. He loved everything (a birthday Dr. Seuss book, a book of pirate mazes, a shooting/target set, and some perler beads and boards), but took the Minecraft book to bed with him. 🙂
I think he had a good day. 🙂
Of course we were there early, so we waited in the car for a few minutes.
They got to start playing before anyone else got there:
And then it got a little chaotic with 20 kids…but we got to stay out of the crazy and visit with the other parents (and I really hit it off with another mom—which was a bonus!). The end of the party had everyone zip lining which they all loved!
Otherwise known as my birthday drink. 🙂
These were on a real camera, so I forgot about them. This was back on August 23!
Off to the pool…Owen in an old suit and Katie in a new suit from a grandma (I forget which one). 🙂
Owen wanted to open his presents as soon as we got home…and Katie really wanted to help. She had a hard time accepting that these were OWEN’S PRESENTS and there were none for her. But he’s a nice brother so he let her help on a few.
Then we took a little break so I could go walk on the treadmill and they could play on the bounce house…and also so Owen wouldn’t blow through all his gifts in the first day!
Afterwards, I noticed Owen was wearing a new Minion #selfie shirt and I asked if he knew what a selfie was. He said no, so we took this picture:
And then he grabbed my phone and took this:
Back to the gifts! 🙂
The wait was finally over—the day for Owen’s postponed birthday pool party! And the weather was perfect!! We had 19 kids and 14 adults!
The timing was perfect: at the end of every hour, the lifeguards take a 15-minute break and all kids must exit the pool. So we used this time to have our pizza lunch!
The second break was time for cake! Of course, I had completely forgot to put the balloon in the cake…
So it went in the leftovers so I could take a picture. 🙂
Two of the kids from his Kindergarten class (who are about his size so he looks normal!).
Everyone had a great time! The kids LOVED the water shooters and, while a few got broken, each kid was able to take one home. We guessed pretty good on the pizza—we ordered five and ate about four. There was enough cake to leave out a few pieces and freeze a nice chunk for a later date. The best part was after 10 minutes of cleaning up and packing the car, we were DONE. 🙂
We celebrated Katie’s birthday at the Ramada again this year. She didn’t want to go in the pool, though—choosing the playground instead.
Of course Owen wanted to swim!
Caught mid-jump!
She finally decided she wanted to swim!
We FINALLY got her to jump in the pool again!
Owen also received a few gifts…Papa and Grannie gave him a roll of quarters to use in the hotel game room!
He shared his quarters with his sister!
A great time was had by all…
Katie got a Frozen Lego set for her birthday, so of course Owen helped her put it together! (It was WAAAAY to old for her so I knew he’d have to help her!) We ended up having Katie pick out the pieces as we needed them and then Owen would build it. It worked pretty well.
It took two days (which drove Owen insane) and he eventually did the last part by himself…
We waited until after the party to open presents. Everyone stuck to the Frozen theme and Katie loved everything!
The last gift from us:
Daddy and Owen went to pick up the cupcake cake and the pizza before the party!
We surprised the kids with a bounce house borrowed from friends!
Owen testing out the Frozen stick-on earrings!
Everyone had a good time and the bounce house was a success!! I’m losing my mind, though—I didn’t take a picture of the decorated table OR the food table! 🙂
Since she had gotten her birthday shirt dirty yesterday, it was still in the laundry this morning. 🙂
Trying to get a selfie, we ended up with this really cool picture of her waving her wand in front of us!
I didn’t get THE perfect picture, but there are some cute ones. I’ve had this Birthday Girl set waiting for her ever since she was a baby!
Present #2 she picked, which was opened after dinner! Are you sensing a theme here? 🙂
And the shot that makes it all worth it! 🙂
(If you can’t tell, it’s a reversible Anna/Elsa doll. You flip the skirt over and the other doll is underneath. Her friend had one at T-ball and Katie co-opted it and carried it around forever. So I got her one off ebay probably two months ago and it’s just been waiting!)
On her last day of Fairy Camp: Mama, there’s a lot of tutu in here!
Waiting for class to start.
Recital time! Tom was able to get off work to come, and it was going to be a surprise for Katie! It was funny because she just kept staring out at me and then Tom and then me and then Tom. I was just happy she didn’t freeze up or cry like Owen has done!
The studio records every ceremony so this is from their YouTube channel:
I took a few still shots…
Getting her fairy wings:
Beautiful dancing:
Her fairy group:
Family selfie!
The post-recital lunch…which Katie walked in and thought it was all for her birthday! 🙂
She LOVED the experience. I would really like her to do another week (they have a Sophia the First camp in August), but full price is $175!! Even with their $25 discount for taking the Fairy class…$150 is too much. (We got this camp via a deal site and I only paid $89! so I’m a bit spoiled!)
And then a tantrum shot for good measure (she couldn’t get her backpack zipped):
Grauntie Sue sent Katie $10 for her birthday. I had actually just happened to have bought her a toy cell phone that I knew she’d love (her friend has the exact one and Katie accidentally borrowed it before!) so the timing was perfect.
Owen went to a super cool birthday party today! This is how he came home:
That’s not how he left the house. 🙂
Turns out the kids all went on a quest! And the mom posted pictures of the whole thing later on Facebook (which I appreciated because we weren’t at the party—it was Owen’s first party alone!).
Waiting to joust and retrieve hanging rings!
Owen said they did catapults “but not real ones!” This is what he meant:
Retrieving their swords from the stone!
Hunting for treasure!
Slaying a dragon!
He had a great time and came home with a box of treasure—colorful necklaces, gold rings, and chocolate coins!—which Katie loved, too! It was an amazingly well-planned and executed party and I am so glad he got to go!
Tom outlined the letters and the kids colored it!
Tom usually has birthday party duty but since he’s gone it fell to me. And of course I had to take Katie as well—so it was her first trip to Chuck E. Cheese.
Fortunately, it wasn’t nearly as crazy as I thought it would be. Of course it was Chuck E. Cheese so it was a little bit crazy but overall it wasn’t bad.
Katie’s skee ball style:
The Clifford ride it was super tame and she looked pretty bored…so the next one moved more and she quickly said “DONE. DONE!!”
Then it was time for lunch and the birthday show (Chuck E. Cheese comes out). Katie was EXCITED. She’s saying “CHUCK E. CHEEEEESE!” 🙂
Redeeming tickets!
And then it was time to head home. This is the toy Owen picked—a tiny blow up sword (which she said was his favorite thing about the whole day, LOL).
And a mustache tattoo he got in his gift bag:
And these were the cards we had printed! (I think these were the best deal of the whole place—one card for one token!)

Both kids had a great time!

Tom took Owen to a rescheduled-from-bad-weather-last-weekend birthday party today. They had a bounce house PLUS Owen got to break some more boards! He had a blast!
Katie with the birthday girl (turning 3). Costumes were welcomed!
Katie was introduced to plastic shoes…at a house with all wood floors. EEK!
All I could see was a sprained ankle in her future.
My ankles hurt just watching this.
And then another (mismatched) pair!
But she LOVED them! I just hope she forgets about these and continues to love her real ballerina slippers and “ballerina” crocs. 🙂
Owen’s first sleepover was tonight—and it was the first for both of his friends, too.
The kids played for a bit, then we started Fruit Ninja, which they all thoroughly enjoyed.
It’s somewhat exhausting—and they can only really play one at a time—so then we did Crash Course which they could all play at the same time.
Manuel doesn’t have pets, so he was ENTHRALLED with ours (you’ll see more pics later). 🙂
Getting ready for cake!
Time for a movie! Katie enjoyed the sleepover as much as the boys did!
Getting the boys ready for bed about 9. They lined up for a picture, each with one of Owen’s stuffed animals—and here Owen was realizing that they each had one of the primary colors!
Overall, it went pretty good. The boys were boys (roughhousing and such) but they are all fairly similar—very nice, polite, not too terribly rough, and they listened well. We were most worried about putting them to bed and what happened after that since neither of the boys had had a sleepover before. Of course, their parents were on call to come get them, and I had been updating them via text and pics throughout the night. So they all got their PJs on, brushed their teeth, and decided who would sleep where. We told them they could stay up and talk, but they couldn’t be too loud (since Katie was sleeping next door). I read them a story, pointed out all the night lights, told them that if they were scared at all or if anything was wrong to come get us (and we could call their parents), asked if they had any questions (no), and then turned out the lights, crossed my fingers, and went downstairs.
Within minutes, we heard them coming down the steps. 🙂 Apparently the boys were scared of the big stuffed bear, even though they had all been playing with him. But no biggie, Tom just went up with them and threw it in the guest room.
The second trip down (again with all three of them!) was because the kid who decided he wanted to sleep on the top bunk was apparently suddenly afraid of heights and didn’t want to sleep on the top bunk even though we went over that before. But no biggie, we asked if he wanted Owen to sleep on the top and he said no, he wanted to. Ooookay. Back to bed then, and we sent them upstairs.
The third trip down was to tell us that somehow the top-bunk-kid needed his bed made again (turns out he had pulled off all of his bedding to sleep on the floor). Okay, no biggie, Tom went up and got the bedding issue settled.
At this point, I told Tom we should go upstairs to our bedroom so the kids didn’t have to come all the way downstairs each time. So we did. 🙂
Minutes later (the fourth time out of bed), two had to go to the bathroom—even though they all went before getting in bed.
The fifth time, someone was scared of everything in the room. We added another night light (in addition to the three already in there).
Then we heard them talking quietly and we thought maybe that would be the end of it…but then we heard loud thumping and lots of noise so Tom went down and and found them all out of bed! They got told they could talk but they had to stay in bed. We heard more talking but nothing crazy.
About 10, we finally noticed they were really quiet. Tom checked on them and they were all out! We crossed our fingers and hoped it lasted!
Owen got off the bus today with a birthday crown! He told me they forgot to sing to him in the crown yesterday so they did it today!
Even though we went to Red Robin this past weekend to celebrate Owen’s birthday… AND I took him a Five Guys burger on his birthday at school… We still went out to eat for his birthday dinner! 🙂 (Yeah, we like going out to eat.) 🙂 We tried a new pizza place that’s close to us and it wasn’t too bad. I’m actually getting sick of pizza so I had a Stromboli which was pretty good. And Katie was introduced to the Parmesan shaker. 🙂
When we got home we Skyped with Grandma Marsha and Uncle Rob, sang happy birthday, ate cake, and opened presents.
Then I gave Owen his gift certificate for the Magic School Bus monthly experiments. Before he opened it I explained it was from mom and dad, Gramma Jean and Grandpa David, and Papa and Grannie—and I was sure he’d be over the moon!! And of course he couldn’t have cared less, LOL. He just couldn’t understand that it meant 12 new experiments (like the volcano he just did) and kept looking at the paper like Aaaand?! I kept trying to explain it and I think he finally started to get an idea…but he probably won’t fully get it until the packages start arriving (it should be mid-month).
Things never turn out as you expect when kids are involved. 🙂
When I made the Santa video for Owen at Christmas, I also signed up for a birthday greeting. 🙂
Notice at the end Katie is saying it’s her turn—because she remembered that at Christmas her Santa video came after Owen’s. She never did really understand that she wasn’t getting a birthday message now because it wasn’t her birthday.