K2 turns 4 with a Narnia - Voyage of the Dawn Treader Party!

We had a rousing party yesterday for K2 as he celebrated his 4th birthday.  His request was to have a Narnia - Voyage of the Dawn Treader party.  We fulfilled his wishes complete with a water entryway, Dawn Treader cake and Prince Caspian costume.  A fun time was had by all and the feast at Aslan's table was magnificent.

Here is the invitation:

Here are the photo highlights:

 

Thank you to all who attended and participated in the festivities.  We're very proud of our little man and the boy his is becoming.  

Success at the AWANA Grand Prix - We have a winner!

Tonight was the AWANA Grand Prix.  Beanie and K2 both entered cars in the race.  Out of 35 cars Beanie won 1st Place!!  Her car had the fastest time and she took the trophy.  We are so proud. 

In the heats where they raced together Beanie and K2 took 1st and second every time.  We're pretty sure he came in 4th overall.

Daddy is pretty proud (he designed the cars) and you'd almost think he won first prize.

Way to go Beanie (and Daddy)!

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Nerf gun memories with K2

Today, I got to go on a date with my little man K2.  Just the two of us as Beanie was off with Oma doing "girl stuff." 

We started out our adventure by stopping by WalMart to purchase some bullets for our Nerf guns.  Then we went to the park to shoot stuff.  We shot bears, dear, elk, tigers, antelope, an elephant and an occasional sloth.  We also set up dinosaurs, Toy Story figures and anything else we could find to shoot at.  We had quite the shooting range going.  Oddly enough, I was the only mom at the park down on her belly trying to take out Buzz Lightyear.  Go figure! 

We were interrupted a few times by other boys coming by to see what we were doing and to try their hand at shooting.  But for the most part we spent a lot of time running and hiding behind trees, firing our guns, retrieving our bullets and talking to each other on the walkie-talkies. 

On a date level it was totally fun.  We ran and jumped and explored (thank you P90X).  I have a very creative son who kept me thoroughly entertained and moving the entire time.  I think our final take-down tally was 71 by K2's count. 

On a mom level it was a priceless day that I will remember forever.  Just me and my three year old running, laughing, exploring and making memories together.  To watch and see my son turning into a boy is amazing and it made my heart sing.  

Afterward we were of course hungry so, upon K2's request, we at lunch at Pastini - because "they bring the food really fast Mom!"  We sat and relived our shooting spectacular and feasted on great food.  All in all it was a really good day!

We're expecting a White Christmas!!

It's been snowing the past couple of days so we're expecting a White Christmas.  Yesterday we went out to get our tree - we're a little late this year, but that's ok.  We found one and it was quite an adventure.  The snow up near the mountains was much deeper than at home.  Go figure!  Here is what we were up to......

She's A Daisy - It's Official

Yesterday was investiture day at Daisies.  Daisies is the kindergarten and first grade division of Girl Scouts.  Beanie joined a local group this year.  It is just up the street from our house at Trinity Lutheran School and they meet twice a month. 

For the first few weeks the girls have been learning about Girl Scouts and each other.  Yesterday was the culmination of this time together.  They had a short ceremony where they were finally able to wear their uniforms and each girl received her Daisy pin.  We're very proud of our new Daisy!!

Here is what it looked like:

Cowgirls live here too

Well, by now you know that we have a full fledged cowboy living at our house.  But did you know we have a cowgirl too? 

Any doubts that we had were wiped away just yesterday when Beanie got to go out to Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch and ride a wonderful horse named Halo with her "Uncle" Jeff.  It was amazing and beautiful and fun to see such a little tiny body up on a big strong animal such as Halo.  Beanie was a great listener and she learned very fast and looked like a natural as she rode around the Sandy Pants Arena at the ranch. 

There is great joy in seeing your children experience joy.  And I am proud to have two cowpokes in my house. 

The cowboy who stole my heart

K2 is a HUGE cowboy fan.  He introduces himself as an "original" cowboy to everyone he meets.  Daily he is organizing rodeos, feeding pigs, corralling horses and rounding up cows.  I love his imagination and I admit that I encourage it, wholeheartedly.

Of course, every real cowboy needs a sturdy pair of boots, hat, gun, chaps and jeans.  K2 has all these things. And they get a lot of use.  The heels on his boots are almost gone, his hat is well worn and his gun has seen better days.  But he's the darn-cutest cowboy I've ever had the privilege of knowing and he long ago stole my heart. 

As we all know, these days are fleeting.  Before long he will be into robots or rockets, soccer or skiing and the hat will sit on the shelf and the gun will collect dust.  But before it does, I took him to Wal-Mart to get this boy, this sweet, handsome, gentlemanly cowboy permanently recorded for posterity.  And I'm so glad I did.