A Chuck E Cheese Birthday Party

Hannah really wanted a Chuck E Cheese birthday party this year.  (Mostly because she wanted to do the ticket blaster booth.)  I had to think this over for awhile.

See...a CEC party is about $12/child......and we know lots of children!  I was looking at spending an easy $400 if not more.  So I made a compromise.  We would have her party at CEC, but we would only have Hannah, Eli and their 3 cousins.

A $60 party sounded much more better.  (To put it in Hannah terms.)

So that's what we did.

Our neighbor and buddy Mrs. Kim made Hannah's cake again.  This year she wanted a pink dinosaur and Mrs. Kim did not disappoint!

Hannah loved it!

And she loved CEC.

I scheduled the party for 9:30am on Sunday morning.

This is my favorite time to visit CEC because there is no one else there.

We had the whole place to ourselves for about the first hour, and then one other family arrived.

Hannah (and her parents) were able to relax and enjoy her birthday in peace.

Only Eli had stress......see...he's scared of Chuck E Cheese.  This is him sitting on the other side of the room while CEC sang Happy Birthday to Hannah.

Hannah had no problems with CEC.

And then it was time for the amazing ticket blaster booth.  This was it....the whole reason she wanted to have a party at CEC.

And she completely freaked out!

Screamed for the first 12 seconds or so, and then remembered she was supposed to be grabbing tickets.

After she came out, she told me she was never doing that again.  (She grabbed 250 tickets.)

At least she had a good time.....and since we had been saving our tickets the past 4 or 5 visits, she had 2,000 tickets to purchase a prize.  I am very proud to say that she picked out a ball for her brother (one of the rare nice moments towards him), and then she picked out a really cool stamp set.

It was a great time, and I'm very glad she enjoyed the low key party.

The Beginning of Hannah's Birthday Celebration

We began Hannah's birthday celebration by taking her to Toys R Us to pick out a new bike.  (She was getting too tall for her old bike.)  We didn't tell her where we were going.  Just simply jumped in the truck and started driving.

She was over joyed when we pulled into the toy store parking lot.

She and her Daddy went to check out the bikes while I kept The Boy busy so I can't give details on how the bike hunt went, but I can say she picked out a great bike!  It reminds me of the old Schwinn's (maybe cause it is a Schwinn).

The bike is a tad too big for her, so she has a bit of trouble getting it started.

 But not too worry, Daddy was there to explain where to put the pedals and how to start standing up.

 This was all new to Hannah, but she got it down pat in about three tries.  I was impressed.

 LOVE this shot!

After our bike purchase, Ben explained to me that Hannah really wanted a pogo stick.  Thankfully I knew that Target had them on sale so we headed over there to purchase a pogo stick for her as well.

This was so much fun to watch.  She was very determined to get more than three jumps in a row.

I think the most she was able to achieve was five, but that's still pretty good for a beginner.

LOVE this shot.

Eventually she wore herself out and had to take a break, but she was thrilled with her birthday gifts which made me a happy Momma.

But there was still more celebrating to be done.

On her actual birthday we took her to the movies to see Rio, since the movie premiered on her birthday it just seemed fitting.

She loved the cartoon, and the popcorn, and the soda, and the candy.

It was a great birthday celebration and a nice prelude to her small party we were having at Chuck E Cheese on Sunday. 

More on that to come.

She's Six.....going on 30

Super girl turned Six years old on April 15th.

(Yes I know this post is a little late.  I started it the day after her birthday, then life happened.)

Hannah is an amazing child in so many ways.  She is smart, sassy, funny, and hard headed.  She is eager to soak up all the information the world has to offer, and is inquisitive, always wanting to know more.

She was born in a hurry, and has been in a hurry ever since.

Every Mom I know is saddened by the idea of their kids growing up.  I'm not.  I'm in awe of her.  She is the most amazing little person I've ever known.

She always has an opinion.

About everything.

And that opinion started to show at 2 years old.

She is her own person, and nobody is going to make her do anything she doesn't want to do.

She's always been beautiful.  Beautiful big brown eyes, gorgeous curly, long hair.

And then you find her in the backyard elbow deep in dirt and mud because she's trying to catch a bug or lizard or frog.

She is always a contradiction.

She never does what you expected her to do.

She enjoys life and the world.  Always capturing the little details that I miss, and slowing down just enough to stop and smell the roses before moving on to the next great adventure.

I love this child so much it hurts.

She's difficult, strong-willed, and a bit overwhelming at times, but all those things are what makes Hannah, Hannah.

She's out spoken and has no filter.  What ever she thinks, she says.

And isn't afraid to let you know her mind.

She can always make me laugh....no matter my mood.

She is simply amazing to me.

And I look at her beautiful face I think, "Wow, I made her."

Then she opens her mouth with some "smart ass" comment and I am lost to hysterics.

Hannah was given to me for a reason.  She helps me see the world as amazing, and as an adventure to be enjoyed.

She is six years old, going on thirty.

Happy Birthday my Girl.

I just hope that whatever you choose to do in life....that it's legal....cause you're going to be really good at it!

I love you.

The Boy Has the Water Hose

Eli wanted to play with the water hose.  Ok, no big deal.  It hasn't been raining enough so you can water the bushes and the grass.  Such a sweet boy wanting to help his Mother out.

He had other ideas!

Look at that face!

Lucky for me there was a tree near by AND I (by I, I mean my husband) bought myself a new camera lens for my birthday......it is an 18-200mm lens so I can be pretty far away and still get close up shots.

"You can't get me, na na na na boo boo!!!"

Yes, I really did sing that to my 3 year old son....and no, I'm not telling you how old I am.

Hannah wasn't as lucky to find a tree.  She used what she had handy to shield herself.

Eli accepted that as a challenge.

Um, Hannah, that's not going to work for too much longer.....

I'm thinking you better run!!!

Smart girl.

Thank goodness the hose won't reach to the neighbor's house.

I just love warm spring afternoons.

A Dinner You'll Find Only At My House

A don't care for cooking.  It's not my favorite thing.....it's one of my least favorite things, and I avoid it if I can, but with this new intention of trying to eat a bit better.....well.....I kind of have to cook to make that happen.

Last night, I really wanted Taco Salad.  The kids don't care for Taco Salad, so rather than make them chicken nuggets like I would normally do, I decided to go a healthier route.

 Thus, the Taco Salad, broccoli with cheese, strawberry, and yogurt dinner was created.

 And my minions kids were pleased.  Hannah gobbled up the broccoli like it was going out of style.

And Eli chowed down on two yogurts.  (The cheetos were left over from his after school snack....and yes I know that is not a healthy choice, but we're not even close to leaving cheetos out of our diet yet!)

As weird as the meal was to put together, and to see it on a plate....the kids liked it. 

And that makes me a happy Momma!

Can't Leave Him Alone for a Second

It was beautiful yesterday afternoon so the kids and I decided to spend it outside.  Hannah and Bella (the girl from next door) were off on a bug hunting adventure, while Eli and I played in the front yard.  (Well, Eli played and I followed him around with the camera.)

I hadn't seen the girls in about ten minutes so I walked far enough into the backyard just to get a visual on them, and make sure no one was bleeding or anything.  This left Eli alone in the front for about 30 seconds.  I didn't think he could do much damage in 30 seconds.

Thank goodness I did only stay for 30 seconds cause homeboy could have done some major damage.

 Somehow he managed to climb up on top of the work bench.  (I know those boxes underneath look like the perfect step stool, but in all honesty they are pushed under the bench and aren't as easily accessible as they appear.)  Thank goodness that I had the sense months ago to unplug the miter saw, and wrap the cord around it.  That makes it pretty difficult for it to be turned on.  And thank goodness Ben built a shed over Christmas so most of the tools have already been moved into there.  (The saw hasn't cause it's too heavy for me to carry.  Just cause I know you're gonna ask.)

 Off all the torturous instruments he could have chosen, The Boy went with the new nozzle I bought for the hose in the backyard.

 I'm greatful for this.  I mean...any other choice could have really messed up such a nice afternoon!

And it made it so much simpler to get him down.  I simply let him take the nozzle with him.

Of course, then he wanted to play with the water house.......but you'll have to wait till my next post to see how that turned out.

Although, if you've been reading this blog for some time, you'll know that it turned out interesting as things always do whenever The Boy is involved.