bike rides and birthdays

today we went to jen and ray's house in santa monica to celebrate kira's birthday. she is turning three tomorrow. christina and zena came too. dahlia brought her bike so she could show off her new skill. she is an expert now. kira and her rode their bikes. it was pretty cute.

later we had tacos for dinner and then sang happy birthday to kira. jen made yummy chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting. it was fun to hang out and we ended up staying way too late for a school night.

kitty party

after miles and connor came home from preschool we went to a friend's birthday party. katja turned six and had a kitty themed party. everyone got a headband with little cat ears and they could have their face painted with whiskers and a pink nose. they all did a scavenger hunt with cleverly written clues that led to a basket filled with stuffed kittens. all the kids could pick out their favorite color and adopt it. they then went to a craft table where they made a custom collar with their kitten's name on it. the whole thing was just too cute. dahlia named her cat fluffy, connor named his kitten, and mason named his mr. cute.

the boys were pretty uninterested in most of this. they went upstairs and played legos with katja's brother. dahlia loved all of it though. especially the craft part. they all enjoyed playing with their new stuffed kittens when we got home. it was a fun day.

flower party

dahlia wanted a flower party for her sixth birthday. i loved the idea. we did a flower theme for her first birthday but she of course could not remember it. we had a great turn out. tons of friends and family.

to entertain the kids we set up a planting station. miles and i bought a bunch of paper white bulbs and little metal pots. the kids could decorate their pot with stickers and then fill it with pretty rocks and the bulb. the woman at the nursery told us the paper whites will bloom in about two weeks. they don't have to be planted in soil. just the rocks will work. they were so cute.

we also had pipe cleaners and foam flowers that could be assembled by the kids to make a bouquet. the girls all loved making flowers. of course we also had a bounce house so they could go jump if they got bored. all that along with our play set and tree house and the kids were very happy.

for food we set up a taco bar with chicken, beef, and lots of toppings including various salsas. my sister jen made these really pretty cake pops that looked like flowers. we had jello and cookies along with the cake for dessert. i had originally planned to make two round cakes but changed my mind around three o'clock in the morning when i had not even started them. miles went to the bakery this morning and bought some cakes which i decorated with paper flowers. they looked great.

the party was very laid back. i had a good time hanging out with all our friends. the weather was perfect for an outdoor party. so nice that it didn't rain. there were lots of cute decorations that i put up but i didn't get photos of them. i am so bummed. i always forget to take pictures.

happy birthday dahlia! i hope you loved your party.

dahlia is six

yesterday was dahlia's sixth birthday. my little angel. she is so sweet. she has grown into such a beautiful independent little girl. i can't believe she is six years old. i know i always say this but really, six! it just makes me want to have another one.

we had a mini celebration for her birthday because her big birthday party is coming up this weekend. i wanted it to be special without going overboard. she had school and i dropped off goody bags for the kids. this seemed easier than making cupcakes for the class. her teacher was gone so it worked out great to just sent some treats home at the end of the day.

i went to whole foods and bought her the most beautiful little cake they had. chocolate cake with white butter-cream frosting. it was delicious and very rich. it had a drawing of a turkey and some flowers on top for thanksgiving. it was so pretty.

miles had the day off from work so he helped me make dahlia's favorite salmon dinner. after we were done with cake we set up the movie projector and air mattress in the boy's room. they watched despicable me while miles and i sneaked off to our room to watch world war z. i fell fast asleep about 30 minutes into the movie as usual.

happy birthday dahlia! i love you so very much.

castle party

yesterday we had mason and connor's birthday party. oh man parties are so much work. i do love them though. this party was huge. mason has a lot more friends now and we just keep adding to the guest list. it was a great party.

miles went over the top with my idea of turning the tree house into the castle tower. instead of painting cardboard he made these huge wooden panels that connected to the sides of the treehouse. it looked amazing. he also made shields out of foam core for the kids to decorate with stickers and jewels. the girls could choose to make a shield or a crown or both. this was a huge hit with the kids. they loved decorating their shields. we gave them all foam swords to go with them.

we had a bounce house that looked like a castle. they all loved jumping in this. we didn't play any organized games because i just can not handle trying to get 16 kids to follow directions. i just let them play so the grown-ups could talk.

for food i ordered corner bakery sandwiches. they were delicious. we did this for dahlia's party last year and everyone loved them. i loved them because they were easy. we also had pasta salad, green salad, fruit, cheese and veggies on the side. i made cupcakes for dessert and my sister made her famous sugar cookies. this time they were in the shape of dragons, crowns, wine goblets, and the letters c and m. i kept the party favors simple with chessmen cookies in bags with a custom label.

it was so nice to see all our friends. it seems lately that our kid's parties are the only time we all get together. i loved having a chance to catch up with everyone. happy birthday connor and mason!

camp nicky

this was a party weekend. we went to another great birthday party yesterday. it was for our friend's son nicky. he is now five. they had the party at their house and did a camping theme. everything was amazing as usual. the party was outside and they had these cute little A-frame tents for the kids to play in. connor and kira loved the little tents and thought it was a perfect place to have a snack.

there was a fun scavenger hunt that kids could play anytime they wanted to. you just grabbed a list and went around looking for the various objects. they also had crafts to make owls and pages to color.

there was a huge dessert table filled with adorable sweet things. there was cake, peppermint cupcakes, cake pops, chocolate truffles that looked like acorns, caramel apples, and a smores cake. then later they set up a s'mores station to make the ultimate smore. they had tons of different chocolate like andes, reese's peanut butter cups, and dark chocolate. the marshmallows were homemade. wow. dahlia said they were the best marshmallows she had ever tasted.

if you were in the mood for something savory they had a taco guy there making taco's to your liking and quesadillas for the kids. we were very well fed.

the kids spent most of the time in the bounce house. when it was time to go all the kids got to take home a lantern, homemade binoculars, and some bunny, fox, raccoon, or bear ears. jen and ray spent the night with their kids. it was a fun day.

mayors park

we went to the sweetest little birthday party today. it was held in a tiny park in la cananda called mayors discovery park. there were only about ten kids and the parents so it was a nice intimate group. they had lots of classic park games and a few new ones that were really fun.

the party started with a large spiderweb made from string. every child was given an end of the rope and a stick to wind it. they had to wind up their string until they reached the end. on the very end there was a prize. all the kids loved this game. it was nice because everyone won. there were also classic games such as walking with an egg on a spoon and the three legged race. they played another fun game where each team of two kids were given wooden blocks to assemble into the tallest structure they could without it falling down. they had two minutes to finish and keep it standing until the whistle blew.

dahlia was the big winner of the day. she is crazy competitive and took home three first place blue ribbons, and a red second place ribbon that she gave to connor. i was actually feeling bad for the other kids because she won every game. the parents thought it was very funny that she was beating out the older boys. poor mason and the birthday boy ended up crying at the end because they didn't win. luckily all was forgotten by time we had some birthday pie. homemade apple pie. yummy.

they did a cute craft where they got to decorate a large first letter of their name and then they all got goody bags filled with color pencils, notebooks, and scented markers. i loved the little party. such a nice treat to have fun without a big production.

mason is eight

mason turned eight today. wow. time is just flying by. it kind of makes me sad. he is so grown up now. eight seems very grown up to me. at least he is my oldest child and not my youngest. i still get to play with connor. mason is very sweet though and still likes to snuggle with me. thank goodness for that.

we started our day with lounging in the big bed and then miles and i surprised mason with his birthday present. a giant castle lego set. he was very excited but not at all surprised because dahlia spilled the beans about his gift two weeks ago. it did not take away from his excitement though. he got to work right away building it. miles helped and they had the whole castle done by lunch time.

miles' mom came to visit for the weekend to celebrate his birthday with us. we had a yummy salmon dinner and then mason blew out eight candles on a pumpkin pie. his favorite. i bought the movie "the croods" and the kids got to stay up late watching it. happy birthday mason. i love you very much.

koi fish and carrom

we went to a birthday party for dahlia's friend from preschool. dahlia has her favorite friend that she met on her first day. as luck would have it i happen to love her mom. she is so fun and nice. that is the way you always hope things will go. she and her husband had a little birthday barbecue for her daughter today and our whole family went. it was the first time i had been to their house. it is absolutely lovely. they have the most beautiful and peaceful looking koi pond right in their backyard.

the kids had so much fun playing on her new swing set. it is really nice. they just finished landscaping their backyard so everything looks so nice. they had these really fun wooden carrom games for the kids to play with. mason loved that. it was a little bit too advanced for connor, but he had fun trying to play.

the food was delicious. grilled burgers and the best bruschetta i have ever tasted. we had lots of fun.

owl party

yesterday we went to a birthday party for our friend's daughter madeleine. they always throw the best parties. the decorations are always so pretty and the food is delicious. they also happen to be super fun to hang out with so it a win win.

jen and ray came with bodhi, kira, and zena. the party was of course a blast. they had a bounce house in the back. my kids took off their shoes and right away jumped in. this year they had an owl theme for the party. she had paper lanterns decorated like owls, and tons of balloons. there were owl shaped sugar cookies and graham crackers that looked like owls with marshmallows eyes and a candy corn nose.

there was a craft station where the kids could make little owls out of foam stickers. tons of sweets were everywhere. cake pops, cake, cupcakes, candy, cookies. there was a bit too much sugar sitting around. luckily my kids were too distracted by the bounce house and little cars to indulge.

we stayed super late until connor started crying. we always stay just a little bit too long. for party favors they each got to pick out a stuffed owl that she had made herself. they are just adorable and just a little bit different.

after the party we all went back to our house and had a big sleepover. the kids snuggled with their new stuffed owls and fell asleep. it was adorable and such a fun day.

happy birthday miles

it is miles birthday on tuesday but we decided to celebrate today. we invited jen, ray, and their kids over for a little barbecue. i got some steaks and shrimp for a mini feast. we had a delicious dinner with asparagus, cucumber salad, and roasted potatoes.

miles has been working six days a week so he was happy to have a day at home and relax a bit. we all enjoyed being outside. it was fun to chat with jen and ray. the kids of course were thrilled to have their cousins over. now that we are back in school and have all our after school activities i long for those lazy summer days. happy birthday miles! hope you had a fun day.

movie party

you would think that one party would be enough for today but not for us. we went to two! zena was having her birthday party today also. she is twelve today. yes, twelve. that is just crazy.

christina had an outdoor movie party. she borrowed our projector and we watched E.T. the extra-terrestrial. the kids had not seen that movie before. it was really fun. she had lots of chairs set up in her backyard and there was tons of movie candy, popcorn, cinema dogs, and nachos. after all that there was cake too! the kids just loaded up on all the sugar. it was really crazy. it was fun to have the whole family outside watching a movie though. i can't remember the last time i saw a movie with everyone. she said we will definitely do it again without all the sugar.

scooters

we went to a super fun birthday party this morning. it was at this place called scooters jungle. it was one of those indoor party places with a huge blow up slide and bounce houses. they also had a zip line and air hockey. it was so cool. the nice part about it was that the whole place was reserved for the private party. i didn't have to worry about the kids getting lost or taken. i could let them run around and play.

connor loved the big slide. he was happy to go on that the whole time. i went on it a bunch of times too. it was super fun. dahlia and mason both liked the zip line and the air hockey. they loved the big slide too. it was a really great place to throw a party. i would consider having our parties there but it was really far from our house. it was over an hour drive. i wish they had one close to us.

party in the park

miles and i took the kids to a birthday party in the park by our house today. it was crazy hot. over 100 degrees. we really didn't want to go but it was super close and for two of our kid's good friends.

it has been a rough week. both dahlia and mason were sick this week with the flu. that on top of the insane heat has made things unbearable around here. we have been hiding out in the air conditioned part of the house.

anyway we went to the park and stayed for three hours. the kids were being antisocial and wanted to play at the playground instead of participating in the games so i took them over there. i did manage to get them back to the party when it was time to break the pinata. nobody can resist a pinata. we didn't stay for cake. it was too hot to eat cake and we were all super tired. i was happy we went though.

party at the gym

miles and i took the kids to their friends birthday party today. the party was at the little gym. not our little gym but a newer and larger one. it was super nice. our little gym is much smaller.

dahlia and mason felt right at home there in the gym and got to show off all of their skills. dahlia was hula hooping and doing cartwheels. mason did a handstand when they "slammed the cheese." they had a great time. the best part was that connor got to join in the fun. he has not taken a gym class yet and i can tell that he is really ready for it. he had a blast hanging on the bars, walking on the balance beam, and jumping on the blow up mat. i really need to sign him up for some classes this coming year.

after we got home dahlia wanted to go out to eat so we took the kids to a soup plantation near our house. it was the very first time that all five of us were at a restaurant together. it was so fun. i wish we would eat out more often. i am tired of cooking all the time.

camping party

jen and ray had a birthday party for kira and bodhi at our house yesterday. kira is turning two in april and bodhi turned five yesterday. they decided to have a combo party and make it easier for them. of course we were running around like crazy people the two hours before the party started. there is always more to do than we think.

they did a camping theme. i thought it was a really clever idea for a boy/girl party. of course jen had lots of adorable details that made the party really unique. outside we set up a small tent, fake fire pit, and camping chairs. she also had a bounce house and a pinata shaped like an owl to entertain the kids. inside we had a teepee set up that jen and i sewed the previous week. we put floor pillows on the inside so the kids could go in and read books or relax.

for food they served hamburgers, coleslaw, potato salad, and fruit skewers. they had a make your own trail mix bar with all the favorite dried fruits and nuts. there were s'more pops made by dipping marshmallows in chocolate and then graham cracker crumbs. the food was served with wooden forks and spoons that they stamped with the words "i love camping." such a cute detail.

for dessert there were camping theme sugar cookies, a bowl of cuties, and two separate cakes for the birthday boy and girl. poor kira missed the happy birthday song. she was taking a nap.

at the end of the party they handed out little battery powered lanterns as favors along with a make your own s'more package. it was a wonderful party and everyone had fun. happy birthday to my cute little niece and nephew.

balloon animals and magic

we went to a super fun birthday party for my friend kimberly's daughter maya. she is turning four. her parents had the party at her preschool. the preschool rents out their space on weekends. it was so nice. i loved it. there was a huge play-set and everything was enclosed so i didn't have to worry about the kids running off. i could just let them play while i chatted with the grownups. that almost never happens.

she had hired the most amazingly talented guy to make balloon animals for the kids. they were all so detailed. dahlia wanted a little doggy on a leash and connor wanted ariel the mermaid. the ariel was really good. he also made a spiderman for this other little boy that was so cool i almost asked for one for me. when he was done with special requests he made crazy hats for some of the kids and adults. so funny. he also did a short but funny magic show. the kids loved it. i was surprised to see them sit and be fully engaged for so long.

there was lots of good food. they had mediterranean cuisine for the adults and pizza for the kids. my kids didn't eat anything. they were too busy playing on the play-set with the other kids. we ended up driving to orange county for dinner with my sister at our favorite soup plantation after the party ended. i loved that the kids played outside all day. it was so nice to have them all tired when it was time to drive home.