Happy 6th Birthday Hallie

April 23rd, 2009

We started out Hallie's birthday with peek-a-boo eggs for breakfast, per Hallie's request.  

Then she got to open a couple of presents.  High heeled shoes, oh my.  One pair was almost too small so she decided to wait to wear them and go exchange them for a bigger pair later.  When we went to trade them they didn't have any more but she found an even better pair that she had been wanting, yes they were "high heeled" too.

It was mom's day for co-op preschool so we decided to make a party out of it and go on a field trip to the zoo!  It was lots of fun.  We had a picnic lunch and cupcakes while we were there.  We also saw the new Africa exhibit and now they have lions and giraffes!!

After the zoo, Hallie and mom went to Monkey Dooz (there is a separate post about this) for Hallie's birthday makeover, then we came home and had yet another celebration.  This time with all the cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  She opened more presents and we had cake and ice cream.

Hallie requested a Hula girl cake.  So with mom's planning and designing and dad's artistic ability we came up with this.

Happy 6th Birthday Hallie!  We sure do love you.

10 things we love about you

1.  Your beautiful eyes

2.  Your generosity.  You share everything with everybody

3.  Your deep sultry voice

4.  Your passion for anything girly

5.  Your love for your brother and sisters

6.  The good example and friend you are to Stella

7.  You can be friends with anyone

8.  The fact that you came into this world with a frown, it was just so darn funny

9.  Your strong will

10.  Your desire for a clean room, even though your roomate is far from being neat

Monkey Dooz!

Hallie really wanted to go to Monkey Dooz for her 6th Birthday so I scheduled a Birthday Makeover for her.  First, she got her nails done.  She picked a cute pink color with pink glitter sprinkled over them.

Then she got her makeup done.  The lady said she wasn't even going to bother with the mascara because Hallie's eyelashes are so stinking long, thick and dark on their own (lucky girl).

Then it was off to the pink Barbie jeep for a little trim and a cute new do.  She decided to get some hot pink highlights followed up with some sparkling glitter.

Afterwards, they took her to a fancy room with a decked out table and served her a brownie with hot fudge and whipped cream and a sparkling strawberry soda complete with umbrella.  

Here is the finished product.  I think she is really 6 going on 16!  Oh I can't wait for her teenage years.  It was a super fun time and she loved it all.

Zoe's Update

I haven't posted an update on Zoe's broken leg like I said I would, so here it is.  The Orthopedic surgeon said the break missed the growth plate, so that is good news,  and at this age they heal really fast so she only needs the cast on for 3-4 weeks.  She has an appointment on April 23rd to probably get the cast off!!  She has been crawling around for the past week and a half and today she tried walking on it and decided it was okay!!  So she is walking everywhere now, I just need to figure out what to put on the bottom of the cast to make it less slippery.  My grandpa would say duct tape.  Any other good ideas?  

Easter Weekend 2009

Easter Weekend

We kicked off Easter weekend at Oma and Opa's house with a barbecue and an exciting egg hunt!  Here are all the grandkids with Opa showing off their Easter spoils.  They all made a haul as usual.  Even little Zoe with her broken leg was able to crawl around and get some candy. 

Then we came home and colored our own eggs for a hunt on Easter morning at our house.  The kids colored 48 eggs!!  

The girls are creating masterpieces with some chalk that the Easter Bunny brought them.  We have a tradition of a no candy Easter at our house.  We figure they get enough at the grandparents hunts.   The kids hunt for eggs filled with coins and coupons for various fun things such as a trip to the zoo, a free room cleaning, or a date with mom or dad, etc.  in them.  This has been a hit our house.  

The kids are sorting out their eggs at yet another hunt at my sister Katie's house.  This one was sponsored by Grandma and Grandpa Shaw.  We also had a yummy Easter Dinner together.  Everyone from the fam was there including our cousins, the Muirs.

We are a tradition oriented family and here is another favorite tradition of decorating an angel food cake with every imaginable Easter candy there is,  yes of course, Peeps too!!  It seems as though no one ever ends up eating this  though.   Good thing there were lots of other desserts to choose from!!

In Memory of Grandpa Fun

     I just got word that my grandpa passed away this morning.  He was an amazing person.  Nicknamed by Tucker when he was little, and called by all, "Grandpa Fun".  He truly was fun indeed.    As I sit here pondering and reflecting my relationship and memories of him, I feel inspired to write them down, so what better place than this for all to see, how great he was. 

      I have so many fond memories of him.  Some of the earliest are of visiting him in Brigham City, Utah and playing on all the fun backyard stuff he made over the years.  Grandpa loved to weld and invent things.  I remember a really fun steep slide, monkey bars, homemade treadmill made with pipes that rolled as you walked on it (if that's not an ankle breaker..), a rocket, a device that you lay on and it inverts your body.  I also remember playing on a big inflatable something that we jumped and bounced on and used as a human catapult.  There were the old VW Bugs that we pretended to drive (he had a love of VW parts), and the irrigation water that we splashed around in every watering day.  I remember the big cherry tree we would climb up in and eat cherries until we were sick. 

     I remember going in his homemade dune buggy (from VW parts) up to the mountains and driving straight up them until it wouldn't climb anymore and then we would roll back down and drive through the creek.  I remember sitting on his knee while he bounced me up and down and sang his signature song. "duh da duh duh duh duh da da".  I remember him asking me all the time, "A penny for your thoughts, Maria".  I remember his sound effect for trucks and cars as we played them, "dugga dugga dugga".  

    He was famous for building things.  His specialty was bathrooms.  If you needed another bathroom in your house, grandpa would show up and build you one.  He would see the need for something and just run to the store and buy the materials, come back and build it.  When he came to visit us one time he built us an "A frame" playhouse with a storage shed underneath.  We had many years of fun play time with that.  It still resides at my parent's house.  He literally built his own house (not the first time) with his own two hands, at the age of 80.   

     He has sent Jed, me and all of my children birthday cards every year since I can remember, not once forgetting.  Each card filled with words and thoughts about each individual  because he took the time to know each and every child's own personality.  

     I feel so blessed that I was able to go visit him a few weeks ago.  My mom and sister and I drove down to see him for 3 special days.  He was his old self, and we chatted and sat and listened while he watched his great grandkids throw rocks into his creek, and play in his backyard complete with all the earlier mentioned toys.  He was always his happiest watching his grandkids.  Even though he didn't feel good and was on oxygen he decided that one of his pocket doors in his house needed a doggy door in it so he installed one while we were there.  He never slowed down.  I cherish that time with him and am so grateful I have those memories.  

     He will be greatly missed as he blessed the lives of so many people and made everyone feel so completely special and like we were his favorite.  I am so thankful he is my grandpa and I had the chance to know him on this earth.  I am grateful that he is now with my grandma who has I'm sure, been waiting patiently for their reunion.  I look forward to the day when I can give them both a huge hug.  Goodbye grandpa fun, I love you and you will be missed.

Tough Break

Jed and I were able to go skiing together on Wednesday.  He drug me around to places I didn't even know existed up there.  At one time I was scooting next to an 8 foot drop off into a creek on the right and straight up mountain to the left.  It was a little disconcerting.  Needless to say there were a few times I was cussing him but all in all it was fun to ski with him.  

We had left the kids with a babysitter and when we got back around 6:00 we noticed something was not right with Zoe.  She was super sad and crying hard and when I set her down she fell to the ground.  Jed noticed her foot was super swollen and black and blue.  So we managed to get somewhat of an explanation out of Stella who said she fell down some stairs with her.  So we took her to the emergency room and found out she broke her tibia.  She now has a cast on and we are headed to the orthopedic surgeon later today to make sure nothing else is wrong.  Poor Zoe.  She had a rough night and seems to be in a lot of pain.  I will keep you posted on what we find out today.  

Happy Birthday Jed!

Jed celebrated his 34th birthday on Tuesday.   He requested beef and barley soup and  pineapple upside down cake.  So after soccer practice we celebrated a bit.  I am so grateful he was born 34 years ago.

10 things I love about you

1. Your blue eyes

2. Your black hair

3. Your smile

4. The fact that you are willing to work so hard for your family

5.  The amazing father you are to our kids.  You're a great "girl" dad.  Good thing. :)

6. Your romantic side

7.  Your willingness to help me with anything no matter what

8.  Your cooking

9. Your ability to fix EVERYTHING

10.Your love for adventure

Spring Break

I haven't really posted for awhile because our camera is broken and I haven't been able to take pictures, but I did want to post some of our happenings lately so I can remember them later on.  This is my only form of scrapbooking.  

Our kids had Spring Break last week and we made the most of it.  On Monday, Jed took the motorhome (courtesy of his parents) and the kids up to Bogus Basin, our local ski hill, to ski all day.  Zoe and I met them up there later to have a bonfire and roast hotdogs and marshmallows.  We also went sledding down one of the runs since it was after hours.  That was a blast.  We hiked up most of the way and then sledded down.  We went so fast I got a brain freeze!!  Then I took the girls home and Jed and Tucker and his friend Cole spent the night and skied the next day.  Tuesday night we had a family sleepover at our friends house and then went to a hot springs the next day.  Thursday we took some time to relax and recoup and the kids played with some friends and then Friday was a fun filled day.  First we started out bowling.  Stella kicked our trash with a score of 95.  All day long she referred to herself as "the winner".  In fact, when she went to bed that night she said, "Well, I guess it's time for the winner to go to bed now".  I am glad she didn't let it go to her head :-).  After bowling we took our kids to a new Brazillian grill that we love.  They had a blast.  They bring around all kinds of meats and grilled pineapple and they have an all you can eat huge salad bar as well.  Stella even tried the chicken heart.  Hallie's favorite was the pineapple.  After lunch we went to the movie theater and saw Monsters vs. Aliens.  Jed fell asleep and I wanted to.  Tucker liked it though.  I would say, don't waste your money unless you are dying to see it.  Then on Saturday we had soccer and and they played some more with friends.  Sunday was a day of recouping and when it was time to go back to school the kids said they needed another spring break to recover.  I think that makes for a successful spring break don't you?