Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Double Digits

Logan is officially 10 years old. It has been a great decade. Here are some pretty fantastic things Logan did in his 10th year:

- won a baseball championship
- went to his first concert: Star Wars
- shook Pat Hill's hand!
- won most of his Cross Country races & was awarded MVP for his team
- placed 9th in Cross Country District Finals
- earned his Bear rank in Cub Scouts (and several arrow points, belt loops, and beads)
- learned how to knee board
- won all but one of his wrestling matches
- went snow skiing several times
- took first place in Regional DI competition

Just for funsies, here are all the different "cakes" Logan got at his multiple birthday parties (remember Logan does not eat sweet or anything with too much sugar):
1. family party: Toaster Scramblers (top L picture)
2. Duran family party: french fries (bottom L Picture)
3. Ward family party: tator tots

Logan learned a little trick last year...he asked only for ca$h on his birthday wish list and ended up with enough money to purchase his own 32 gig iPod Touch. That was last year. This year he had a different expensive item in mind - a PS3. He put out his wish list again and he was gifted enough money to purchase a new game system. Here he is with all of his loot. WOW. That is a lot of cash for one kid. My favorite is the dollar bill boa necklace. Nice. :) (Special thanks to all the grandmas, grandpas, cousins, aunts, and uncles that obliged Logan's request for birthday $$ - you made his day!)

Here are the things we will always remember about you at 10 years old. You are a most obedient boy, always trying to do the right thing. You are a master at finishing your chores in record time. You are already an excellent co-babysitter - paying attention to the kids and cleaning up before mom and dad get home. You give the best goodbye/goodnight kisses. We love that you say, "I love you" as many times as possible at bedtime. WE LOVE YOU TOO. Happy Birthday, Logie Man.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Book Page Wreath

The last several weeks have been busy as usual, but I caught a small decorating bug. If you've ever done some decorating in your home you know what happens when you start one project... it snowballs. The above cabinet space in the kitchen needed to be revamped after Easter, as did the shelves in the dining area, the art above my couch has been screaming at me for months, and so has the family picture above my piano. Rearranging and repurposing items from around the house creates even more projects.

Soooo, instead of doing all those other things, I began with a craft project that I knew could be finished started and finished within a couple of hours. Those other projects would take much preparation and planning.

Here is the idea I found online. Read her blog for directions and tutorial on putting this wreath together. Here is the list of supplies needed for this project:

1 9 inch foam wreath (I used a wicker 12 inch wreath)
1 pack of mini glue sticks (and glue gun)
1 paperback book (I got a big hardcover book) 300 + pages
black, gray, gold paint (I used whatever spray paint I already had in my garage)

TOTAL COST: $2 + glue sticks

I purchased the wreath and book at the Dollar Tree. The small difference in the inches of the wreath made a HUGE difference in the end. And the size of my book was pretty big too. A paperback would have been easier for ripping out pages too.

Total time to complete this project. 2 hours (including a break for visiting with neighbors). Perfect for a Sunday afternoon.

The wreath I made turned out really really big. Much bigger than I imagined. It is nearly 2 feet across! I should have known this would happen - start with a 12 inch wreath and all that paper will double its width. Lesson learned. You want a small wreath...use a small wreath to begin with. I am happy with the results. And the enormous size has grown on me. I like it. It makes a statement.

As much as I like my new handmade decoration, I still prefer the look of the inspiration wreath. Mine is very fluffy while hers is more compact and scrunched looking.

Here's what I'd do different next time:
1. use a smaller wreath
2. use a smaller PAPERBACK book with words that stretch to the edge of the page
3. paint the edges of my paper even more
4. make my paper more scrunchy

For now, my paper pleasure will delight visitors as it greets them on my front door. (I have nowhere else to hang something this large.) And if you make one, please post pictures somewhere and leave a link so we can compare notes.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

kids say the darndest things

Jackson and I are pumping gas at Costco when the freak hail storm hit us last Monday. The hail is hitting the ground and bouncing all over the place. I think to myself, Jackson's got to see this up close! I call him to get out of the car and check out all the crazy hail. As he's hopping out of the car some stray pieces of hail make their way into the car. Jackson sees them and yells (loud enough for all the other gas pumping people to hear), "WE GOT TO GET THE HAIL OUTTA HERE!"

Yes, that is my child. He is hilarious!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Take you to Rio, Rio

It's STAR testing at our school this week. That means that our kids do NOT have any homework for a solid week! Yippeee! What do we do to celebrate these extra few hours of freedom? We go to the movies of course!

The only family friendly movie that fit into our Tuesday schedule was the vibrantly colorful Rio.

This movie was made by the creators of the Ice Age movies. There is an Ice Age short just before the feature film begins. It was quite funny. That Scat (squirrely prehistoric creature) is a comedic character that we all muchly enjoyed.

Here's what we liked about Rio:
1. It had GREAT music! We'll be downloading several songs from the soundtrack for sure.
2. The colors were so vibrant
3. The setting was gorgeous - never been to Rio, but would like to see for myself if it is as fantastic as it was portrayed to be.
4. It was fun to hear a star studded cast of animated characters: will.i.am, Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network guy), George Lopez, Tracy Morgan, Jaime Foxx, Jayne Lynch.

Here's what we disliked about Rio:
1. The story was only ok. Not super engaging.
2. There were some skanky costumes towards the end (they go to Carnival in Rio) It seemed sort of inappropriate to watch a character in a children's movie walking around in a bikini.

We give this movie 2 1/2 drooling bulldogs out of 5.

Go see this movie if you're up for a family friendly experience. But take care to go to the $3 theater.

Don't go see this movie if you dislike talking animals, great music, or if you plan to just rent it at Red Box for free.

Or, just watch the Ice Age short and download the soundtrack from iTunes.