Adell's 8th Birthday!

Adell turned 8 on November 25th!  Eight is a big deal around here.  In our church, eight years old is when you can choose to be baptized.  Adell has been waiting her turn and was excited to both have her birthday and get baptized.  

Adell's birthday fell on a Saturday this year, and not on Thanksgiving!  Before we could get to the proper celebration we had to wait for Lorien and Daddy to get home.  A week or so before Adell's birthday, Lorien had asked Will if they could hike Mt. Diablo together.  Saturday was the only/best day they could go.  So, the two of them left together (very early in the morning) and poor Adell had to wait around for them to come home before opening presents.

Adell decided she wanted to have a Chopped birthday activity.  While Will and Lorien hiked, the rest of us participated in the Chopped game.  I came up with the ingredients and Adell, Clare and Andrew and Wyatt made their dishes.  

It was fun...except I was the only judge...so I had to eat a lot of interesting food.  Most of it was good...some of it was weird.

The first round was a drink round where they had to use a can of Coke, cranberry jelly and whipped cream.  I got a lot of interesting drinks out of that one...most of the drinks were made with more water than any other ingredient. 

The second round called for dinner rolls, eggs, nuts and cheese.  The kids made some fun sandwiches and fun egg dishes.  That round was maybe my favorite.

The final round called for chow mien noodles, honey and chocolate.  Again,  got a lot of interesting food. 

It was a good activity and I think Wyatt ended up winning.  All of the kids tried their own food and each other's food.  Best of all, Adell had a great time and loved the activity.

Finally, around 6:00, Daddy and Lorien came home.  We had fondue for dinner and got to presents!  Adell got a fitness tracker watch and a big bear.  It was a good day!

It was too late to do cake so we saved it for Sunday night.  Happy 8th birthday Adell!

Thanksgiving!

My friend, Anne, always hosts a fabulous Thanksgiving.  She rounds up friends and/or family and together they shop, prep, bake and eat together.  I am always jealous and want to be with her or my family doing the same things.  This year, I realized my big kids are old enough to help me shop, prep, bake and work.  I figured I could start creating those same kinds of bonding moments in my own little family.  So I put everyone to work!  It was pretty fun.  

Wyatt made pie crusts.  He makes perfect pie crust!

Clare peeled all the apples.

Adell decorated the pie crusts and made fudge.

Lorien made the lemon bars.  Will of course, cooked the turkey!

With a morning of baking and prep at home we headed over to Dave and Angela's house for dinner. 

The meal was perfect and the company divine.  I'm excited to keep this new tradition of making my kids part of the work and prep happen every year.  I think they liked it...and I thought it was pretty great. 

Birthdays with Friends!

Wyatt invited a few of his friends to go see the new Thor movie.  It was perfect because it was easy!

Lorien's birthday was a surprise!  I tried to get her to come up with ideas and friend lists but she was freaked out about too many things.  So, I gave up on her and decided to make it a surprise.  I roped in her friend, Cole and we got to work planning.  Will and I came up with the idea one night.  Cole and I fine tuned the plans. 

We threw a Stranger Things Scavenger Hunt party.  The decorations were amazing!  We sent the kids out in teams on bikes to take pictures for scavenger hunt questions.

Lorien's friend, Ava, made and decorated the cake.  It was so great!  She worked hard and the cake was perfect.

Everyone came with a willing spirit.  Everyone was impressed and excited to play.  They took off on their bikes with flashlights and fully participated.  I was worried they wouldn't be into it...but they were!  It was a fun night and Lorien was totally surprised. 

#1 The trouble started at the Hawkins Lab and their experiments gone wrong.  Take a picture of your group at our local Hawkins Lab (PG&E gigantic golf ball)

#2 “Benny was my friend” Take a picture of your group with some satisfying fries from any burger joint in town.

#3 Meet the Dungeon Master at 218 Pariso Drive.  Play a round of Dungeons and Dragons.  Your group cannot leave until someone rolls a seven.  Take a picture of the dice to confirm.

#4 Find Will!  Take a picture of your group with someone named Will.  You’ll need to provide proof that the person’s name is Will.

#5 Help Barb hang on!  Take a picture of your group beside a pool.

#6 Imitate Jonathan and take your best creepy stalker photo.  Get a shot of a person you don’t know without them suspecting.

#7 All friends are welcome at Castle Byers.  Find Castle Byers up in the hills behind the Shadow Hills Pool.  Take a picture of your group  at Castle Byers.

#8 Will and Barb have disappeared into the Upsidedown.  Sympathise with them by taking a picture of your group with everyone upside down.

#9 Eleven runs on Eggos.  Take a picture of your group with a box of Eggos.  Bonus points if someone is eating an Eggo.  No points if you steal the Eggos from a grocery store!

#10 I’m telling you Lunch Lady Phyllis hordes that stuff.  Find the box of pudding hidden at the middle school.  Take a picture of your group with the hoarded pudding.

#11 Combine forces with another group.  Find the two hidden walkie talkies (one near the garden at Greenbrook Elementary and one at the bridge that crosses the San Ramon Creek on Greenbrook Drive) take a video of a conversation between you and the other group using the walkie talkies.  Both groups videos must be of the same conversation for maximum points.

#12 Papa is the creepiest thing on Stranger Things.  Find the creepiest place you know of in Danville and take a picture of your group there.

#13 Take a picture of the Demegorgon.

November Little Things (part 2)

The church youth leaders put together a "Where's Waldo" activity.  People from church dress up as regular people but try to be unreccognizable and hide in plain sight.  Last year I dressed up with my friend, Ann, as work out ladies.  This year we decided to be recovering from nose jobs.  All of the kids found us right away...even though we said "No pictures!" 

We babysat two girls for a neighbor who is moving.  They were dynamite!  The toddler ran all over the house, fearless of stairs or any other obstacle.  We were all kept on our toes trying to keep her from falling.  The baby just wanted to snuggle.  She was happiest in anyone's arms.  All of the kids took turns pacing laps around the house.  Clare managed to get the baby to sleep.

We celebrated one year in our new house!  November 10th!  Happy housiversary.

Colter learned about Native Americans.  He made a vest with a picture story on it.  "One man was escaping from a bear cave and when he got out he went 'whew!' " said while he dramatically wiped his hand across his brow. 

Birthday Season starts...

November 8th is always a big day around here!  Lorien is 16 and Wyatt 14 this year.  Exciting stuff. 

November 8th is also my little sister, Lesley's, birthday.  Big day.

Why does it look like Wyatt has spit balls in his hair?

November Little Things (Part 1)

Lorien's art was showcased in a gallery show downtown.  It was exciting for her parents and embarrassing for her.  She was also featured in a local news article about the gallery show.  Ahhhh-mazing!

I've been trying to figure out what to do with this half of the kitchen.  We have no pantry space and we need more counter space.  Right now we have open shelves full of cans and a folding table.  It is scrappy but preforms a function.  I want to find a better solution.  Colter and Adell helped me move all the stuff out of the room and take a few pictures to make plans.

We've been watching family home videos on Sunday afternoons.  It is fun to see the kids when they were so little.