Shiver me Timbers, A Pirate Party for Braden!

For Braden's birthday I decided to have some of his friends over for a little party.  Being the second child, he hasn't had nearly as many playdates or special parties as I have had for Sadie.  For birthdays we always do something as a family or with one or two friends, but I knew Braden was excited for his birthday and wanted to make it a special day for him.  So he had 10 friends his age come over for a pirate party in our backyard!

I had 6 activities for the kids to do and after they completed each of the activities, they recieved a prize that helped them become a little more of a pirate. 

First they "pined" the treasure to the map to get their "pirate defense" bubbles

X marks the spot! 

Then they had to shoot their bazooka (nerf gun) at the crocodiles lerking nerby to get their pirate bandanas

Next they gathered on top of the "pirate ship" to cast a fishing line down and catch their next prize: Eye patches!

The next prize, a telescope, was earned after four tries at the bean bag toss through the skeleton's mouth (created by Shelby)

(My little lefty caught in action)

To complete their pirate training they had to walk the plank to earned their swords (glow in the dark!)

Being full-fledged pirates they were only missing one thing... TREASURE!

Of course, it did require a little searching, since it was burried....

 

Before the grubs were served, they had a little time to play.  I also tried to get a picture of all of them in costume, but it was kind of hard to keep them all together, some went down the slide, some down the climbing wall on the other side, etc. but that is ok because that means they were having fun!  Here is one attempt to gather for a picture...

Pizza, Braden's request, was served then cake and ice cream cones.  The cake was from Save Mart, I noticed they were having a sale and one of the cakes pictured was a priate cake.. I know everyone else makes their own super cute cakes and I am a culinary major so I should have made my own... but how could I pass this deal up...

It would have been even cuter if the sails and other accessories that went with it that the lady at the bakery showed me had ended up with the cake, but somehow they were not in the box when I went to take it out.  So I tied some of the fabric I used for the bandanas on as as a last min. improvise.

It was all worth it to get this:

Braden had the biggest smile on his face when everyone was singing him Happy Birthday, it was so cute.

Braden wasn't the only one having a good time...

Here is Mackenzie doing what she does best!

Sadie was having a little bit of a hard time letting Braden have the lime-light but she did enjoy helping Braden open some presents.  He was a good sport and didn't complain.

Thanks to everyone that helped to make this day a fun day for Braden! 

Braden Tyler

Today is my little guys Birthday!  Here is a few things to share about Braden.

Age: 4


Birthday: March 21, 2006

Favorite foods: Pizza, fries, chicken nuggets and ketchup, macaroni and chese

Something that makes me laugh: echoing Sadie and splashing Mackenzie

Favorite toys: Cars, trains, helecopter, playdough

What I like to do: T-ball, ride bike and scooter, playing with my sisters, hanging out with Daddy, writing, coloring and cutting, preschool, playdates, fishing, boating, eating, teasing, smashing into things...

Here are some pictures of Braden over the years:

Newborn

1Year

2 Years

3 Years

4 Years!

HAPPY  BIRTHDAY  BRADEN!

Pictures of Bradens PIRATE PARTY to follow!  Arrrrgh!

EXCiTED ~ for ~ SpRiNG!

We planted our veggies, herbs and sunflowers, hope they will grow!

Next project: FLOWERS! :)

A Tag about Me and My Spouse

When is your engagement anniversary?
Sept. 6, 2001. He asked me on my 20th birthday. He took me to the beach at Half Moon Bay and sang and played the guitar to a song he wrote about me. He gave me a new set of scriptures with a bookmark with a picture of us and "Will you marry me?" on it. We went to the Chart House restaurant on the beach for dinner. Ahh, So romantic.



When is your marriage anniversary?
June 21, 2002 We were married in Utah because we couldn't ever agree on California or Idaho and because my 2 year old brother was in Primary Children's in Salt Lake for cancer and my family couldn't travel far from him because of the severity of his cancer. It was a hard time and a happy time all in one.



How long have you known your spouse:
10 wonderful years



How long did you date/court before you were engaged?
1 1/2 years



Where did you meet your spouse for the first time?
At a school dance. He was standing outside and too shy to come in so I helped him out and drug him in. Funny that we met there considering Jason does NOT DANCE.



Do you have any children?
Yes



How many - boys/girls:
2 girls, 1 boy



Do you have any house pets:
Nope



Do you live in the country or town/city:
City



What are some of your favorite activities together:
Camping, boating, movies, family vacations and trips, meeting up with friends, spending time as a family.



Do you have a favorite vacation spot:
Anchor Bay and Lake Shasta.



When did you first kiss?
After a month of dating.



What church do you attend?
LDS church



Did you get married in a church?
No.



Do you work or stay at home:
I stay at home and work. I do the office work for our business. I have my Real Estate License and am a Realtor on the side.



Where did you go on your honeymoon:
A cabin at Lake Tahoe



What was the funniest gift you gave when dating?
I gave him a pinata of the Dean of the College. Long story behind that...



How long have you been together?
9 years



How long did you know each other before you started dating?
6 months



Which situation was the hardest on you as a couple?
Engagement. Too much stress to get married. I never want to do that again. So much planning and decisions and drama. We aren't good at that.


Did you go to the same school?
Yes, we both went to college at Ricks.



Are you from the same home town?
No. I grew up in Idaho and Jason is from California.



Who is smarter?
I have to say we are both smart


Who is more sensitive?
I am generally. Jason is more sensitive when it comes to injuries or sickness.



Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We hardly ever eat OUT, but we eat Round Table Pizza IN the most.



Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Arizona, to Jesse and Cassandra's wedding.
(At our stop in New Mexico to see friends he made while on his mission there and to see my friend Merrily)


What attracted you about him?
He was so fun, loved his sense of humor, his common sense, his smile, hair, his tan and muscles, his meticulousness about little things, his determination and accomplishments with school.


Who does the cooking?
I cook. Unless it is Abalone, then I have no idea what I am doing and I mess everything up unless Jason helps me.


Who is more social?
HE IS.



Who is the neat-freak?
He is. I guess. He is a freak about neat but not a freak about keeping it neat it himself.



Who is more stubborn?
Definitely HIM!



Who hogs the bed?
Neither.



Who wakes up earlier?
He does. He gets up early to work out daily. I make it in there once or twice a week.



Where was your first date?
I had to ask Jason... Our first official date was to a movie. Unofficially it was to a Country Dance apparently. I didn't know it was a "date" to him and started dancing with other friends I knew and he did not like that too much.


Who had more boyfriends/girlfriends?
Umm... I guess it is about the same, but he had longer relationships with his girlfriends.



Do you get flowers often?
Sometimes, but not too often. Which is fine with me. It is more the thought than the flowers that I like.

How do you spend the holidays?
We spend the holidays with the family



Who is more jealous?
Hmmm. He is.



How long did it take to get serious?
A month or two after we started dating.



Who eats more?
It depends. We are usually about equal, I'd say. Unless we are talking about desserts, Jason wins.



Who does the laundry?
I do



Who’s better with the computer?
We both are pretty good



Leave a piece of advice for the other couples:
Keep him well fed and never make him go hungry. ;)



If I tag you then you should fill this out and post it on your blog: Cassandra, Torina, Melanie, Brittany

QUARANTINED

Since Mackenzie and I were sick this weekend with another head cold, and sickness has been going around for the last 3 - 4 weeks with one thing to the next at our house, we decided that we needed to stay at home and take it easy. At our home away from home that is, at Anchor Bay! One of the things I love about going there is that we get away from California Aesthetics, no computer, no office paper work, Internet, phone calls, we just focus on having fun as a family the old fashioned way. :)

It was beautiful there with the all the green and the flowers.

Mackenzie looked so cute in all the clovers

Good thing I took a picture, because it didn't last long. The next thing I knew she had found the puddles and became soaking wet and dirty on the way to see the beach.

Somehow Mackenzie managed to go through all the clothes I had brought up for her before noon. While I was cooking lunch I found her in my make-up AGAIN.

I don't think this foundation is her color, what do you think?


The waves at the beach yesterday were huge! There was actually a Tsunami Warning, which made me a little nervous.

The water was washing over the wall and carrying big logs and rocks onto the beach and campground. I tried to get a comparison shot of the waves behind Braden...Later on we were actually able to walk on the beach and check out a huge log that had washed up about 5 feet in diameter! (check out how big it was next to Jason in the below picture)

But during the day we did stay away at the trailer, higher up in the campground. We had fun reading books, playing with Playdough,

Going on a little hike, playing ball,

had a nice dinner at the Redwood Cafe and a watched a movie that night with the kids.

It was fun spending the day hanging out with the kids and relaxing at the trailer. I swear one day there feels like two days at home. Time slows down and we are able to enjoy our day.

Counting my blessings

I am counting my blessings and have so much to be thankful for. I am really enjoying this winter. I am so glad we are getting the rain we need. Even though I am a fan of the summer, I really appreciate the winter here in California. I LOVE the rolling green hills, the twisted bare Oak trees, the mild weather.... it is so beautiful! I feel so lucky to live here.

Here is a picture of the hills as we were traveling the other day

Off Vasco road near our house

Rolling Hills and Windmills

Another thing I love about this area is all the things we have available around us. We have been exploring the awesome local museums, going to the snow to sled and make snowmen, enjoying parks and riding bikes (Braden learned to ride w/o training wheels, woo hoo!)

Chabot Science Center in Oakland:

Astronaut Sadie Carter

Astronaut Braden Carter

The Academy of Science:

We couldn't believe how big this catfish was! It was seriously as big as Mackenzie!

See?!

Sadie and Braden want their picture by the catfish too!

No Training Wheels!


We also started the kids in some new activities, Sadie is in Dance and Braden is in T-Ball. They are both really excited. Braden turns 4 next month and 4 is the youngest they can be to start so he is probably the littlest one on the league.

Sadie is learning ballet and tap in her class. I don't have a picture of her in her dance outfit though.



I am also grateful Jason's business has been able to survive through one of the toughest times for our economy, especially for his industry. We have had some rough spots but we have really been blessed overall. We were able to do one of the projects we have been saving for and wanting to do for a while and get some new furniture. We outgrew our old couch and love seat and never got furniture in our living room (but it did made for a great skateboard, bike and scooter area! :) so we finally decided to get it done the way we have wanted. Patty requested that I share pictures so here are the finished products:

These pictures I have to share just because they are so cute. The other day Jason was trying to find some clothes for Mackenzie to wear and if I don't get the clothes ready when Jason is dressing the kids they always end up wearing something random or weird or clothes for the other sibling. So this time she ended up in one of Sadie's dress up dresses!

This week we enjoyed the company of my Dad and my brother Zackary. Of course we were dealing yet another sickness with Mackenzie when they were here which kept us from doing to much, but it was great spending time with them.

My dad was so thoughtful and bought some flowers for me that he saw in the Grocery store, just because. Oh, and the oranges in the middle were from my mother and father-in-law's tree, so yummy!

"King Zackary" being a good sport and entertaining the kids. I have to brag about my brother Zackary for a second because I think he is awesome. I wish I had recorded how amazing he made our new piano sound, I hope I can get as good as him someday. Funny because when I was his age and he was about Sadie's age he told me he wanted to be as good as me at the piano when he grew up! He even wrote music and lyrics for this beautiful love song he wants to sing for his future wife. He has a great voice too! He is band leader, plays all kinds of instruments, straight A student, lead actor in drama, He is one of those guys that is good at everything he does. I really "look up" to him (he is only 1 inch taller than me :)

So that is a little bit of what has been going on around here in my blogging absence. I am especially grateful for my family, I love them so much. I am so lucky that I can stay home with my kids as they are growing up and be a part of their life.