Birthday Bashes

Phoebe has anxiously been awaiting her 8th birthday and finally awoke to a room full of balloons!  

It's just hard to believe this little firecracker is already EIGHT years old!  She brings just such joy and delight just by being her.  

Since her actual birthday fell on a Saturday and Maverick had a party to attend, she chose to spend time at a local park with one of her best friends.  Carissa even wore her "soccer" socks because Phoebe loves to play.  

They requested a stop on the stage so they could "perform" a bit.  I think this means we're in trouble in the very near future...

Phoebe chose to go to Olive Garden for dinner so we met YiaYia, Papou and Auntie to continue the celebration.

I count us extra lucky that we get to see Auntie on a fairly regular basis.  She is our kids' biggest cheerleader and they love her to pieces.

And they laugh a LOT when they're together.

Phoebe told me before church on Sunday that if your birthday falls on a Saturday that you get to celebrate ALL weekend long.  That being said, she chose a chinese buffet for lunch (barf).  The worst part is that the kids love it simply because they get to eat jell-o!

We had a birthday party for a kiddo in our small group later in the afternoon so we took a hike to enjoy the sunshine and get some fresh air.

We arrived at the party 90 minutes late (iCalendar is not always my friend) and came in time to help open presents.  

The following Saturday, we had Phoebe's birthday party planned at Arctic Zone.  We had the rink mostly to ourselves because who ice skates when it's mid-70s and sunny outside?

Birthday girl had a blast hanging out with all her friends.

Maverick enjoyed this visit a lot more than last year's experience on the ice - he got pretty fearless at the end - I'm grateful we left with no broken bones!  Just a few bruises and sore muscles!

This neighbor is heading to Seattle for a year or two while her dad is on assignment for work.  We'll miss having her in our backyard and try to soak up every moment till they leave in June.

We came home and promptly opened presents.  The last couple of parties Phoebe has been to, they've opened presents at the party and she always thinks the recipient doesn't like her gift.  Such tender hearts at this age...we had a little drama with one of her friends at the party getting upset because another friend was also trying to help "teach" some of the other friends to skate.  She was SO upset that she told Phoebe it was the worst birthday party she'd ever been to.  I was mortified that this kind of stuff was already happening.  Phoebe wanted to "fix" it and kept trying to reconcile everyone so they all had a good time.  Lots of stomping off the ice and pouting by the offender ensued until I finally told Phoebe to just ignore her and enjoy her party - that girl was just grumpy and shouldn't ruin everyone else's fun.  OY.

Josie was dropped off about an hour later and we went out to BoomBozz for another birthday celebration.

Taking selfies with their American Girl dolls.

Trying to wind down before bed.

And up and at 'em before church! 

Sunday afternoon, we celebrated Maverick's 5th birthday at Ninja Zone.

We had friends from school, the neighborhood, small group and preschool even.  

Preparing to run the obstacle course.

I think Phoebe had just as much fun as Maverick!

Celebrated with a donut cake because who doesn't like donuts?

As soon as we got home, our neighbor was washing the mud off his jeep and the kids wanted to "help" with water guns. 

We didn't make it back inside till 7:30 so we got a quick bath and heated up the leftover pizza and watched this guy finally open his presents.

This one will keep us on our toes indefinitely but we are SO happy God gave him to us to raise. 

Spring Break Shenanigans

Spring Break was spent in the midwest since we'd ventured to Orlando over Fall Break.  Luckily for us, Nana and Papa came up for a quick visit to celebrate April birthdays.  We took them to the zoo to see a few of the new babies that had recently arrived.  First stop was the White River Gardens - it looked springy with the flowers blooming but it certainly felt like winter!

Our almost-5-year old goofball.

We waited patiently to catch a glimpse of the week-old orangutan. We saw her but didn't manage to get a very clear picture.  She's down there on her mama's lap.  

Trying to get our fifty cents worth!

Baby lion cub.

Muscle man. He often at night before going to sleep, will make this pose, beat his chest and exclaim, "I'm the king of the jungle!"

The kids waited an entire day to open their presents.  Maybe they become more patient with age???

We immediately searched for treasure and played some cornhole!

Phoebe has been using a little flash light to stay up and read after lights out so Nana helped her out and got her a book light.  I love that she loves to read!!!

She got her fuzzy pom keychain that she's been eyeing the last six months.  

Saturday afternoon, all the grandkids went to see Zootopia with Nana and Papa.

Sunday morning, our FIVE YEAR OLD woke up to a room full of balloons.  Surprise!? 

He had a hard time staying quiet, playing with them while he waited for everyone else to wake up!

After Nana and Papa left, we did a little online church and then got ready for the day. Birthday boy picked Taco Bell for lunch...

Then we headed to Ninja Zone where one of his friends was having his birthday party (the exact same place we'll be for his party in another week!).

Eating the blue frosting off his cupcake.

We met YiaYia, Papou and Auntie for more Mexican food for dinner where our little guy decided he was taco'd out and opted for a cheeseburger - his other staple food choice.

He got to open a few more presents when he got home, too.

Monday, we took the kiddos and Papou up to Taylor to celebrate Auntie's birthday and check out her new office space as they'd recently renovated and moved locations on campus.

Maybe she'll attend chapel here every Monday, Wednesday & Friday one day...

No visit to Upland is complete without a stop at Ivanhoe's.

Papou was a trooper and stopped with us at Rural King.  They had chicks and ducks galore!

Tuesday, I took the kiddos to see Spy Kids at Flix.  They loved being up close and ordering off a menu.  It's the little things...

We made a quick stop at a nearby park since it was so sunny. Unfortunately, it was still quite chilly so we didn't stay too long.

Instead, we ended up back at Uncle Bill's to check out more puppies.  Ryan met us there to offer his opinion on the matter.  This little guy named Dozer, won all our hearts.  Unfortunately, his estimated size and price tag were both more than we were looking for!

And Phoebe learned the hard way that puppy teeth are sharp!

We test drove a mini poodle too and she was instantly in love.

Aunt Carrie sent birthday presents as well, which had to immediately be played with!

Thursday morning, we packed (for TWO nights, folks) and head to visit Uncle Steve in Chicago.

The weather was going to continue to be uncooperative and the traffic followed suit.

First stop, a late lunch at Rainforest Cafe.

Maverick still isn't much of a fan.

We had to check out Dylan's Candy Bar. 

Then we hit Maggie Daley Park.  If it had been warmer and sunny, this place would have been packed.  There was something to having it all to ourselves, but the freezing rain sort of managed to still put a damper on the experience.  

Mirror maze fun.

It was an awesome park - we'll definitely have to go back, when it's warmer!

We had to make a stop at the Bean.

We came back to Uncle Steve's new digs to warm up.  The boys tried to teach the kids a lesson in pool.  

Friday morning, Phoebe and I headed out to pick up breakfast.

And because we were desperate to stay inside, we hit up the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier.  The one in Indianapolis has spoiled us being so very large but the kids still had a great time.

They burned LOTS of energy!

The things we do for our kids amazes me at times.  

So far, we're safe and no head lice has been detected! 

Their water feature was pretty cool!  I loved them in their raincoats, too.

Doing a little dinosaur excavation.

Trying his hand at various tools.

Checking out the dancing waters in the Navy Pier garden.

And the rest of the crew showed up just in time for lunch!

I love how the kids love their extended family members and how they're loved in return!

Here's YiaYia telling Phoebe a story about how when she was little she always wanted a Barbie but they were too expensive...and then Phoebe got to go pick out her very own American Girl.

She picked, Lea, the doll of the year - because she loves animals and is from Hawaii.

One happy little girl.

Maverick checked out the Lego store while Phoebe shopped.

Then we headed back to Uncle Steve's to play with their latest presents.

Maverick and YiaYia playing his new pirate ship/jenga game from Uncle Steve.

Phoebe tried on all of Lea's different outfits.

And Ryan and I snuck out for dinner and a show at Second City.  

It was a bit cozy being this close to the stage but we laughed.  A lot.  

And then braved the snow on the way home when our taxi couldn't quite figure out where we needed to go.  Crazy spring, that's for sure!

Nothing says vacation like s'mores pancakes!

Or oreo pancakes for that matter...

Goofing off while figuring out what to do next.

We decided to hit the SkyDeck at Willis Tower since the sun was finally shining.

We made a stop at the French Market and had to check out the desserts!

We then went back to celebrate with one more round of presents.

Maverick tried to help Auntie open hers.

Phoebe got the second boxed set of Ramona books.  She read the first four on the first part of break.

Another beanie boo - yay!!!

We headed out to the suburbs to see my Aunt Mary and Uncle Harold.

We had a lovely visit over dinner together and then headed back to Indiana.

Not before getting a little Aunt & Uncle sandwich.

Dancing our way home.

It was nice to get back home and sleep in our own beds but we had such a great time with family over spring break - even if the weather didn't cooperate.  Now we're on to celebrate Phoebe's birthday and both the kiddos' parties in the coming weeks.  And soccer season is about to get under way.  I just don't remember Spring being this busy before...and next week we go for Kindergarten orientation.  Let's just slow down time, ok?  Yikes.