Organ Practice, Grandpa Vs. The Stratosphere and Library Easter Time

I have been called (well, it's been months now) to be one of the ward organists. It first started as being called to replace the girl that had just had her 2nd child. She was never released, so there were two of us. Now, a third organist has been called and we switch off playing 1 month out of every 3. Not too shabby. I have always wanted to learn how to play the organ - here is my chance. We'll see how it goes. 

So, during the week, I go and practice the organ a couple times. Well, March 21st Eve, Aria, and I went to the church and I practiced the organ. Eve practiced her picture-taking skills. Aria practiced smiling for the camera. Here is what we came up with that morning:

Aria's smile

A birthday invitation that we never gave to Mary, Evyn, and Isla hand-written by Reed. 

A nice upside down shot of me playing the organ. 

On March 22nd, Grandpa Walker jumped off the Stratosphere. Luckily, he had a harness on and loved every minute of it.. Grandma Walker was not as excited about the jump. In fact, she even requested Tyson's presence at the jump to calm her nerves a bit. Grandpa was jumping to support the Boy Scouts (but really I think he would have jumped anyways - he loves that kind of stuff). The jump was a success! No one died, no one had a heart attack, and there were no broken bones. Good day. :)

On March 26th we went to our story time and had fun learning about bunnies, Easter, and Spring. We even got to make bunny hats. Eve and Aria were happy to show theirs off, but Reed was not so enthused. 

Aria's hat

Eve 's hat and showing off her fancy dress

My girls 

Reed's Birthday Party

Two days post birthday (March 16, 2013), Reed had "his other birthday" a.k.a. his birthday party. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge the camera, so only got a few photos, but it was awesome! We decided to do Super Hero School (thanks to a few ideas on Pinterest :) ). We invited all Reed's Las Vegas cousins, the kids in his church class (old and new ward), and his preschool friends. All-in-all, I knew we were going to have a large turn out. We ended up having 27 kids there! Yeah, 27 kids.....it was a little crazy, but I think everyone had a good time. So, before I get to the party, these were my 2 creations (again thakns to ideas on Pinterest) to go with the Super Hero theme: cupcakes and a fruit/cheese bowl. 

I am super proud of my Avengers cupcakes. From top to bottom: Hulk's face, Thor's Hammer, Iron Man's face, and Captain America's shield. 

The Captain America shield made with fruit and cheese (and a paper star). We also had Hulk Punch and Invisible water to drink. Plus, a veggie tray and super hero pizza. Needless to say, no one went hungry. :)

The party: I had a bunch of different activities planned that were super hero-themed. The best one (in my opinion) was making our own shields. The kids got to paint their own shields (I had cut out of cardboard) and then I put some duct tape on the back so they could actually hold the shield. They all seemed to really enjoy the painting.

After the painting we went outside and used our super strength to throw water balloons/grenades at the wall. We also used our web-slinging abilities to sling the bad guys (used silly string on pictures of bad guys). We also had to test our speed and agility. I put up paint buckets and we ran around them (who says you have to have grass in the back yard to play?!).

Next, we went inside to have a little target practice. I set up targets up the wall (I have T staurs) and the kids took turns shooting the targets with squirt guns (sans water). Then, we went into another room and had to show off our ninja skills. I had balloons as the bad ninjas and the kids took turns punching them down and even doing a few high kicks. Lastly (although I had planned more, but forgot about it), we used our iron man power (glow sticks in your hand in a circle) to push back some bad guys (they were really agents at the school who were pretending to be bad guys) and then they were tackled.

By that time, all the super heroes-in-training, so we had our super hero lunch. After lunch, came presents. I love watching how excited kids get to see what the birthday person gets. They all had so much fun looking at the toys and even cleaning up the paper after it was all over.

All-in-all a successful Super Hero School. It was a bit overwhelming at times, but the kids were excited and had a good time. I forgot to have them run on the bubble wrap and "dodge the bullets" as they were leaving. I was also going to do something with popping bubbles and lassoing stuff, but we ran out of time. I guess that could be Super Hero School: Part 2!

Pink Eye, Park Fun, and My Baby Turns 5!

As mentioned in the last post, my kids ended up getting pink eye after coming back from Arizona. I thought we were safe since we had been back for 5 days and there were no signs. But, on Saturday, February 23rd, Eve had goop in one eye. I noticed it when they were in the bath and thought, "Oh great....here comes pink eye." We took her to a quick care place in CVS and got some drops. She got it in her other eye the next day. Luckily, it went away quickly, since we had hopped right on it. I thought we were safe since no one else had any symptoms and Eve's eyes were clear. I was wrong. 

Reed was the next victim. He woke up goop in an eye on the next Tuesday. He couldn't go to preschool (which really upset him) and I took him to the same place to get the medicine. After 24 hours, the medicine is in full effect and they are no longer contagious. He did get it a little in the other eye, but it cleared up nicely. We kept doing the drops for the 5 days. I thought Aria was safe, but no. 

A few days later (on Saturday), Aria's eyes both went super pink. The other kids had a bunch of goop. Hers was less goop-filled, but much more pink. I didn't even need to go in. I knew what it was. I used the drops (don't worry they were sterilized and never actually touched an eye) from Eve on Aria. She got cleared up quickly, but just to be safe the kids didn't play with other kids (aside from Reed going to preschool) for the next week. Yeah, we were all done with being inside our house. 

Luckily, there was a beautiful day that came. 

March 12, 2013 - We went to Red Ridge Park and had a blast! We didn't need jackets and even wore flip flops! Love it :) The kids had so much fun and Kimber and her boys were able to meet us there. Eve got a hold of the camera and took some interesting pictures. Who knows, she may be a photographer, too. :) 

Courtesy of Eve - Love Kimber's face

Eve taking a picture of her shadow. 

March 14, 2013 - My baby turned 5! I can't believe it! Reed is such a little man. He is so excited about going to Kindergarten and playing with friends. He is a super smart kid and ultra observant. He also remembers everything you say - pros and cons to that one. He loves anything to do with Super Heroes, but also loves playing house with Eve. He is a great older brother and takes care of his younger sisters. He loves singing, being silly, reading, playing the Wii with daddy, swimming, and even helping me with jobs.

Reed went to school on his birthday and had a great time. After school he got to pick lunch and dinner. For dinner he chose gnocchi. Yes, that's right, gnocchi. He just loves that potato pasta. I love that he even knows what that is. Reed, Eve, and Aria all made Super Hero capes out of men's white undershirts after quite time. Then, they ran around the house saving the world. It was the cutest thing. :)

We had whatever family that could come show up after dinner for cake and ice cream. He wanted a Spider-man cake for "this birthday" and Avenger cupcakes for his "other birthday" (his party). We opened presents, played and had a great time. Ah the life of a 5-year-old. Happy birthday little man! I love you!

The capes

The cake - I think I did a pretty good job on that spider :) 

The rest of February

Where did the months go? It seems like time is speeding by and I have a million things to do. My poor blog has definitely taken a back seat. My goal for the summer to keep it updated with pictures of my beautiful family and fun experiences we have together. It just takes time - I know, I know. Anyways, here is what we did:
February 13, 2013 - I have been getting these emails from Freebies2Deals and just happened upon the announcement that Jamba Juice was selling their smoothies (I believe the original size, or maybe the junior size) for $1! Yeah, I hopped on that and told Grandma Walker and Aunt Kimber. We all had our morning smoothies. Fantastic!

Reed and Eve made Valentine's for classmates and some cousins. I chose owls this year. So cute - "Whoo's the best?" and then when you open up the card it says, "You are!" Reed did all of his own writing for his classmate's valentines. We also made valentines for the grandparents (apparently, I forgot to take a picture- boo!). I measured their arms and then we put their hands (traced, not actual) on the each end and called it a hug. It was adorable :)

We played at Aunt Kimber's house for a bit and Kade and Aria had a blast! Those two just love hanging out. Such cute kiddos!

Eve also liked to jump in with them to be the mom and help them do things. Her nature is definitely that of a helper/nurterer. She is a sweet girl. :)

She also just likes having her picture taken.

 February 15- 18, 2013 - The kids and I took a road trip to Gilbert, AZ. Tyson was still busy with "busy season" so it was best for us to get out of the house. I was a little nervous to travel all by myself with the kiddos (especially driving), but it ended up being just fine. They watched movies, I drove, we stopped for food/bathroom, and made it in one piece.

One of Reed's best friends from VA moved there a month after we moved to Las Vegas. Taryn and Reed are two peas in a pod. They have been playing since they met. When I arrived on Friday night, they played like they lived next door. I love that their friendship is still there, even though we live far away now.

Arizona had some beautiful weather while we were there. I loved being warm in February - so much better than February in Virginia.

Taryn's 5 birthday party was Saturday, so we had to be a part of it. We played at the neighborhood park, ate yummy food, and just chatted away. I am also good friends with Taryn's mom, Jana, so we all loved it! I miss having them close. Jana and I were even able to have a little girl time and go shopping, eat frozen yogurt, and just chat. Love it :)

We left Monday and headed back to Las Vegas. The kids were sad to say goodbye, but we had to go. We did take some pictures of our crazy kiddos before leaving.

Left to Right: Taryn, Nyah, Maylie, Aria, Reed, Eve 

The only down side to the trip was that Nyah ended up getting pink eye. We tried to be careful, but all my kids ended up getting pink eye a week later. It was one right after the other: first Eve, then, Reed, then Aria. Luckily, I never got it and Tyson was safe as well.

February 21, 2013 - We took a trip to Target and Reed snapped a cute photo of Aria!

February 27, 2013 - We had a gift card to Sweet Addiction and I decided to take the kids for ice cream. Busy season had been pretty brutal on all involved and ice cream definitely made us all feel better, except Tyson who was still working an insane amount of hours.