I. will. NOT. give. up.

I enjoy this whole blog thing. Originally, I saw it as a way to cure some boredom, and document life. The problem is, I'm not bored anymore. I used to be that mom of little ones that never left the house and had few friends. Quite frankly, it sucked. I tried to be that mom that was happy to be at home with her kids. Don't get me wrong, I would not have had it any other way....raising my babies was a must! But my time with them was work...lonely work. Do I wish I could go back and smooch on Synnove and Soren's chubby little cheeks? Yes. But I certainly don't wish to go back to that time in my life. It is so freeing to have children that talk, go to the bathroom on their own, and can be active contributors to daily chores. In fact, right now I'm sitting in a freshly cleaned basement that my kids cleaned yesterday while I was painting upstairs. No, they didn't do it out of their own goodwill, I asked them to. But they cleaned it on their own without me going down to check!

One would think that I now have more time on my hands since my babies are now more independent. So untrue, because now they both have active lives outside the home. It's pretty fantastic, really. We are constantly going, doing, learning, and having fun! The kids have made friends with other kids, and I have made friends with their parents. And the friends I have made are great friends...friends I want to spend time with, work with, share with, have Bible study with, go on trips with, pray with, have one-on-one coffee with, etc. It's my kids, and these friends that have filled my once boring life with endless things to do. And, unless something drastic happens, I'm not leaving! I, along with my friends and family, get to watch my kids grow up here...a place where they are loved, supported, and cared for by many. What a blessing that is!

So, the blog suffers...and that's OK with me. I will persistently continue to document our lives, just less often than I or you would like.

"B"irthday During "B" Week...again

Last Wednesday, October 5th, was Soren's actual 5th birthday...his golden birthday! Adam and I had decided to get him a new bike since he had outgrown his old one, so we picked one up on the long drive home from Whistler, B.C. (we were at a wedding there in late September). We didn't give it to him at his party because we wanted him to thoroughly enjoy the gifts everyone had given him. Plus, we thought it would be fun to surprise him on his actual birthday. So, that morning, he woke to find it waiting for him upstairs. He promptly put on his new helmet (gift from my mom) and went outside to try it out in his jammies before school.

He wasn't outside for long because we needed to head out the door. Miss Kara had asked the kids to wear "B"lack for "B" week...so he dressed accordingly. I was snack helper that morning and Kara had planned to "B"ake "B"iscuits, but I was planning to do "B"rownies and "B"lueberries for snack, so the kids helped me "B"ake those instead of the "B"iscuits. We got to work right away so that the "B"rownies would "B"ake and have enough time to cool before making them into "B"at "B"rownies with a cookie cutter.

While waiting for the "B"rownies to be ready to eat the kids learned about "B"ats and made "B"at cut-outs with wings made out of their "B"lack hand prints. They turned out pretty cute :)

Of course, last year, Soren's birthday was during "B" week as well...only they made "B"rown "B"ears :)

"B"aker "B"irthday "B"oy "B"aking "B"at "B"rownies

"B"lowing out his candle

The "B"rownies were almost a disaster. Cutting them out with a cookie cutter was difficult, but the kids didn't seem to mind that a couple of the "B"ats were "B"roken. I had also ordered more than enough Candyland stickers for all his preschool friends to have one so Soren passed those out as well.

After school, I thought it would be fun to take him out to lunch at the Logger. It surprised me when he said he just wanted to go home. Duh...he wanted to ride his new "B"ike!

Soren's 5th Birthday Party

Oh how I love throwing birthday parties for my kids! Although, it will be sad when they no longer want family parties anymore and they only want their friends over. Family parties are a fun and relaxing time that everyone seems to enjoy. Like many of Soren's birthdays, this one was was quieter than usual. Many folks were hunting in Eastern Oregon, but we still had over 25 people come to celebrate.

Soren chose a Candyland theme this year. He's been a bit obsessed with Candyland since last winter when I did a Google search on how long the game had been around and found a blog on it. He became very interested in all of the different versions of the game that have been made over the last many years. We found one at Goodwill a while back and Soren enjoyed discovering and sharing the differences between that one and the one we already had. For a while, it seemed to be all we heard about! He loves playing Candyland, and he loves winning...but most of all I think he loves talking about he game characters. Anyway, he chose his theme a few months ago and I was having a very difficult time finding party supplies online. Most of the Candyland themed supplies I found were homemade. I ordered stuff here and there when I found it over the period of a couple of months. Then, about 3 weeks before the party, I was happily surprised when I found a company that had some commercialized supplies!

The party turned out great. Soren wasn't too optimistic that any kids were going to be there, so he was surprised when Alice, Cash, Faith, and little Khol were there to pass favor boxes to. Soren also received some fantastic gifts...and I think all of them were hits!

I couldn't believe it when Aunt Suzi showed up with this gift. Soren had actually asked for this type of ball when Suzi asked him what he wanted at Elise's baby shower. I didn't think he had ever seen one before...so I wasn't sure he even knew what he was talking about. Well, Aunt Suzi found one...he loves it!

I had found a Candyland beach towel complete with game pieces and water-resistant cards on Ebay. He thought that was pretty cool.

I found a lady on Ebay that made personalized cake toppers. Because of some miscommunication, I actually ended up having to buy two of them. At least I had a back-up in case one tore...I guess...*sigh* Soren really loved his cake this year...as I was decorating it with candies he said "this is going to be a really good cake mom!"

Soren ended up with 4 dart guns and they were a source of great entertainment for kids young and old!

Enjoying playing some Rock 'em Sock 'em by...himself?