Month: October 2011

Bowling Birthday Party

Sarah Cakes, Carolyn

Today we had a birthday party for Carolyn at a bowling alley.  What fun!

Birthday girl on a bench

We only had to bring the birthday child and a cake.  Or, in this case, cupcakes.

The bowling balls and pins are fondant.
A tower of birthday cupcakes!
I hate writing directly on cakes, the banner is much better!

I was heavily inspired by these twobowling cupcake projects.  And honestly, this was probably the easiest birthday “cake” I’ve ever made.  Cupcakes, piped swirls of icing, and fondant decor.  There was so little work and they turned out so cute!

A souvenier bowling pin for everyone to sign!

Everyone seemed to have a great time!  The fancy shoes on the slippery floor were an especially huge hit.  As were the “lightsaber” battles with the glow stick necklaces we gave out…

Super stylish footwear. With velcro, too!

Neither of my children have bowled very much – actually, this might have been Anna’s very first time.  Luckily, they were far more interested in throwing the ball down the lane than their scores!

Watching the ball...how many pins will fall down?
Three hands are better than two!

I would definitely do a bowling party again.  It’s by far one of the easiest birthday parties we’ve had for either child.  Carolyn was absolutely thrilled with it!

Happy Birthday, Carolyn!

Spelling Homework

Sarah Carolyn, School Days

This is our first experience with daily homework: spelling lists.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday have pretty normal assignments.  Thursday is a more open-ended assignment, where we have to, as a family, come up with a “creative” way to use & practice the words.  We knew it would be tough, since we are so new at this, but we realized that if we put our heads together and thought about it, we could figure something out!

We had to get even more creative to make them fit!

Just Stay Little

Sarah Motherhood

This afternoon I tried to clear off our overflowing bookshelves.  When the books are all crammed together it’s hard to find anything, and the kids get frustrated looking for what they want.  I thought, OK, I can get rid of most of the board books – I’ll keep a few for when Anna starts reading, but let the rest go.  They’re covered with dust.  Nobody looks at them anymore.

But I can’t.

I tried.  I really did.  There are piles of books strewn all over my living room as evidence of my failed attempt to let go.

Sandra Boynton, Karen Katz, Eric Carl, Eric Hill.  Lift the flaps and crinkly, noisy, touchy books.  This beautiful library of board books started both girls down the path of loving to read.  How could they have been left behind so quickly?

In my head I know that keeping board books won’t keep my girls little, but my heart just isn’t ready to part with them yet.

Pumpkin Picking

Sarah Anna, Carolyn

Halloween is just two weeks away, so we needed to get some pumpkins!

We headed to a local farm market and parked in what must have been the last space available – everyone had the same idea for this drizzly Sunday morning.

Girls sitting amongst the pumpkins.
Pumpkin perfection. Where's the carving knife??

We checked out the pumpkins and walked through the tepees they had set up.  Those were very cool, they were dark inside and there were dozens and dozens of carved jack-o-lanterns lining the walls of the biggest one.

Just a few of the amazing carved pumpkins.

We skipped the hay ride because it was cold and rainy, but it was very popular.  Hopefully next year the weather will be better!

Anna's pumpkin is nearly as big as she is!
Carolyn really liked this little white pumpkin.

When all was said and done, we came home with three pumpkins, a half dozen pumpkin donuts, some cider, a butternut squash and Indian corn to hang on the door.  What a fun way to spend the morning!

Sharing is Good

Sarah Anna, School Days

Anna is so excited to have the “sharing bag” to bring to school today.  Since the color of the month is orange, she has to bring in an orange mystery item for her classmates to guess.  Her clues are:

1. You eat it.
2. It’s crunchy.
3. It grows in the ground.

Any guesses?

No?

It’s a carrot!

Also, she gets to be the “star helper” for the morning.  Like I said, she’s excited!

Say "cheeeeeeeese!"

Columbus Day & Cousins

Sarah Family, Holidays

We went to my great aunt & uncle’s house today for a cook-out since the kids had off from school.  They live on a small, mostly retired farm, next door to another great uncle who cares for a retired race horse.

The girls had a good time playing with their little cousins and feeding Brownie!

Lots of little cousins in sunhats!
The sunbonnet isn't doing much good there!
Brownie likes grass just as much as apples.