JAKE IS 7!!!

Jake turned 7 years old on Friday, a day he has been planning down to the last detail for months. He was so excited, he woke up at 5:23 am and was ready to go for the day, bringing his sister out with him!

Happy Birthday Jake - up before the sun!

So we started off with a small present to play with until breakfast was ready.

Puzzle Time

For breakfast Jake wanted french toast (for the 3rd day in a row), so we made Grammy's fancy Decandant French Toast as a special treat.

Birthday Breakfast

Don was going to be gone during most of the week-end, so Jake got to open a couple more presents early in the morning so his dad could see... Jake was more than happy to oblige :)  It was a Star Wars type of morning.



Opening Padawan Menace DVD with Dad



Clone Trooper Jake

Jake got visits from both sets of his grandparents that afternoon.  My parents made it into town just in time to meet us at the school for pick-up, which made Jake smile from ear to ear.  A little while later, Don's parents came by for more fun and presents. 

Hugs for Grammy

Jake wanted pictures with everyone, including one of "just the guys" since we had already snapped a photo of him and his grandmothers.

An excited Jake with his grandparents



 

Pokemon was the theme of the afternoon, and before Grammy and Grandaddy left, Jake had acquired several new Pokemon action figures and got to blow out his candles on his PokeBall Cake.

Our Pirate/Star Wars/Pokemon Master making a wish to save the world

The cake was a big decision for Jake.  For the last 4 years, it has been all Star Wars lightsabors, in a variety of colors - green, blue,and double Darth Maul red, and Jake had a hard time deciding what he wanted this year.  But Thursday he finally declared he wanted a Pokeball cake and he was pretty excited to see it when he came home from school on Friday.  He did think the only thing that would have made it cooler is if there were real Pokemon figures in the middle of the cake.  Crazy kid.

The  Cake

After cake it was time to switch gears again for his last present.  For a long time Jake has been eyeing the Lego Pirates of the Caribbean Wii video game.  He loves jumping around to the "He's a Pirate" song and playing pirates.  So for his big gift, he got the game.  I also found several fun pirate things at the dollar store and I stained a wooden treasure chest I found at Hobby Lobby.  It was a huge hit and our house has been filled with pirates all week-end long.  Even Luke is walking around with a telescope and compass saying "Arrgh". 



Jake and his Treasure Chest

 


It's a Pirates Life for us




Trevor



Grandmommie getting into the action

Michael



After all the excitement of the day wound down, Jake found time to snuggle for a story with Grandpa before bedtime. 

Jake is a fun loving-kid who squeezes absolute most out of each day.  He has an unique enthusiasm for life and is a very passionate person.  Jake adds such a element of fun and excitement to our house.   It was so great to celebrate Jake this week-end.

Happy Birthday Jake!  We love you!!

Volunteer Pride

While we are definitely a BYU family, there is another team we ALWAYS cheer for - my Tennessee Volunteers. The 3rd Saturday in September always bring an extra flurry of orange and excitement as we face off against the evil Florida Gators. To stir the rivalry, my brother who is a Florida Alumni, is always trying to corrupt my kids by sending them Gator apparel, tagging me in Gator pictures on Facebook, etc. So we have to retailate with our own fun, like making Gator sandwiches. It was a fun afternoon, even if the game didn't turn out the right way this year!

 

GO BIG ORANGE!!

Clone Wars Season Premiere

The countdown is over.  Since May, Jake has been counting the weeks until Star Wars, The Clone Wars returned to Cartoon Network.  So in preparation for the big night, Luke helped me make Star Wars cookies while the others were at school. 

We celebrated the big night with a small Star Wars dinner, Tie-Fighter Hot Dogs, Darth's Doritos, Greedo's Grapes, Star Wars Fruit Snacks and Yoda Soda to go with the fun cookies.

The only thing better than tonight's festivities is that next week, for show #2, which "looks totally AWESOME!", according to Jake after watching the sneak peek, will be on Jake's birthday.  Bonus.  The force is definitely with us!

Life with Luke

With everyone back in school, and me not babysitting other kids this year, this is the first time it's ever just been Luke and me during the day. 


"Me and my Mom"

It has been a lot of fun, seeing Luke's personality and vocabulary expand during the last few weeks that we have been on our own.  We have developed a routine after carpool drop-off that includes exercising and playing at the Y (with the highlight every morning being getting a sticker and a friendly five from the sweet elderly greeter, Mr. Marvin), running errands, going to the library and storytime, playgroups, and doing lots at home. 

Luke is my helper and everytime he hears me in the kitchen, he pulls up a chair to help. It is fun to play with him and watch his imagination at work, he has definitely been influenced by his older siblings but will put his own spin on things when he is in charge.  We've even done things like paint together.  I laughed when I saw this picture with his tongue sticking out when he was painting.  Trevor has always done the same thing with his tongue when he concentrating on something too.

Concentrating hard

These pictures were after taken after Luke had helped make banana bread.  I was putting the bread in the oven and turned around to see him cleaning the bowl for me.  He managed to get the batter all over his head and shirt, which is what happens when you stick your whole head in the bowl to do the licking :)

Painting a masterpiece

But not to worry, he also apparently knows how to get clean in very resourceful ways, like getting a chair, climbing into the kitchen sink and turning on the water while I am in the other room changing the laundry.  He is definitely a busy 2 year old!

Washing Up

But Luke's favorite time of day would be when it is time to go pick up people from school.  He loves his older brothers and sister and can't wait for them to get home to play, read, or just chill with him.  And they all seem to love their Luke time just as much!

Trevor reading Luke books

Just chilling out together afterschool

Karate Girl

It does pays to be in the right place at the right time.  Hayley was the lucky one standing beside me when a friend gave us a Groupon deal she had got for 20 free karate lessons.  Hayley's face lit up and it was off to Karate for her.

She has only had 3 lessons so far but loves coming home and teaching Jake and Luke what she learns. It has been a lot of fun - thanks Carrie!

 

Our Boy Scouts

Michael and Trevor had a Court of Honor for Boy Scouts the end of August.  Michael had earned 4 obscure merit badges at camp this summer, including Indian Lore.  He gave a fun demonstration on a couple of things they did.

Trevor advanced to Second Class earlier this summer and received that advancement.  He also received his first 3 merit badges that he had earned in June when he went to camp with his cousin Alex.  His merit badges were Fingerprinting, Leatherwork and Citizenship in the Nation, which is his first required one for Eagle Scouts.  Since this Court of Honor, he went camping on the beach, finishing up his last campout required to earn First Class. 

Labor Day Fun

On Labor Day we grilled and had Don's parents and cousins over.  It was great to catch up with everyone.  Ashley was such a great sport playing and dragging the kids around, all screaming with joy.

We all loved the yummy cupcakes Tracy made, especially Luke!

Tracy brought the card game Monopoly Deal to play and we were hooked. She was so sweet and left it here for the kids to play and it has been so fun. It is a great incentive to get homework done fast so we can get in a game or two before dinner.