Soccer Buddies

Back in December, I took advantage of an online deal (I can't remember if it was Living Social, Groupon, or Deal of the Day).  It was for a company called Soccer Buddies.  It included a season's enrollment (once a week classes for approximately 12 weeks) and a t-shirt.  We decided to enroll Melayna in their classes. 

She's loved the experience.  She likes her coach.  She likes to do Red Light, Green Light. She likes to kick the balls around. She likes....you get the idea.  She just likes it all.  Unfortunately, her time is just about up and we cannot afford the full price to re-enroll her for the Spring.  :(

Here are a few fun moments we had at Soccer Buddies.

St. Patrick's Day hiking

My family and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather here in Colorado.  One nice, family friendly "hike" is Garden of the Gods.  It isn't a hike with respect to trails since a good portion of it the path is paved; however, it is a beautiful walk and one that isn't too hilly for the kids.  They loved it!  My dad came along, and having grandpa around, just makes things much more fun.  We meant to go to the parade, but between our hike and haircuts for the boys, we weren't able to make it on time.  Maybe next year. :D

Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

 

 

Snow Day

This winter has been fairly mild compared to the past number of years.  We've had very little snow with little accumulations.  So, when it snowed this past weekend and didn't melt by noon, the kids and I took advantage of our sloped backyard for some sledding fun. 

I also took the time to do some photo editing in PSE 8.  I had fun playing around with various actions.

At the gym

So, I'm currently on a treadmill at 24 Hour Fitness and I'm writing this post.  I am starting to come down with something so, today, I am taking it easy.  Plus the mayor is coming to my work at 3 and I would rather not be too sweaty when I return. 

Anywya, I am doing this to keep my mind occupied.  I am super stressed and I feel like a weight is holding me down.  I want to scream and breakdown.  I want to fall asleep.  I want to cry.  I feel so out of control, like nothing I do can move or shake this burden.

It is nearly every aspect of my life, too.  And I feel hopeless.  It seems as if I take one step forward and two steps back.  There are so many directions I want to go and no idea which path to take.  Such is life.  This is how it will always be. 

Well life goes on in the Hooper household.  We will celebrate my husbands 31st birthday this week.  My son is doing well in school.  My daughter is the crazy little daredevil she always is. 

Sorry for my rant.  My workout is almost over which means I must depart. 

Until next time...

Another year over....

2011 is quickly coming to a close and a new year will arrive in its place.  This year has gone by so quickly, I really just don't know how to take it all in.

Here are a few of my favorite moments...

Vacation in Lincoln to visit the girls on Spring Break

Our wedding

 

Summer fun with the kids!

Jacey turned 8!

 

Tristan started Kindergarten 

Melayna turned 3! 

 

 Target Practice

 

 Halloween!

 

Christmas time

Tristan's 6th Birthday

Angry Birds Birthday Party! Part 4

I can't believe this is taking me four posts!  Anyway, the kids had a blast with the games (covered in post 3) and the edible Angry Birds game (covered in post 2).  I don't think I have ever put so much effort into a birthday party before.

I didn't get any pictures of the food set up (I was just so busy working on everything that day).  But here was the line-up:

• Chicken Tenders (we were going to do Chicken Wings, but figured those would have been too messy)
• Boiled Eggs (I was going to deviled eggs, but glad I didn't.  The kids loved the eggs!)
• Pigs in a Blanket
• Bird Poop dip (recipe here) with graham crackers
• Bird Food (gummy worms and cheese puff balls)
• Veggie Tray 
• Bird Bath Punch (orange sherbet, Hawaiian punch, and ginger ale)

 For party favors, I used a few ideas I found online to create my own bags and favors:

• Solid colored bags using printable faces found online (printables found here)
• Golden Egg (plastic eggs on Oriental Trading Company)
• Filled with a few Angry Birds stickers (found sheets of them at Walmart and cut out individual birds and pigs to fit in the eggs)
• Scroll of Angry Birds cutouts (found here) with an egg shaped label with instructions
• To find the download link on the site linked above, just above the first picture is the following line: Download your very own Paper Angry Birds.  But Download is in a color that matches the background.  Hover your cursor over the blank spot where the word download should be and click.
• Good luck bird and pig made of pom poms, glass beads, wiggly eyes and felt
• Inspired by this blog
• Difference: I glue them on glass beads.  Years back I made good luck bugs for elementary students at a school I worked at.  By putting the glass bead on their bottoms, you can toss the bug any which way and they always landed on their "feet"  I took that concept and used it with the birds and pigs.

 

 Overall, Tristan's birthday was a success!  He was quite pleased with everything.

Angry Birds Birthday Party! Part 3

The cakes were a hit (covered in part 1 and part 2).
Even better were the games we had lined up.

I found a few ideas using boxes and Angry Birds plushes or bouncy balls painted to look like birds and pigs.  These items were then turned into a playable, life-size Angry Birds game.  Unfortunately, my son's birthday is in December.  So, we really couldn't plan on going outside to play.  Our weather is so screwy, that we never know if it is going to be super sunny and beautiful outside, or cold, windy, and snowy.

Anyway, we scaled down the playable game by using the smaller plushes (5"), cereal boxes and the like-sized boxes, and instead of a slingshot, we let the kids have at it.

 

They definitely went after those pigs!

Because my week was super busy, my husband offered to help.  So, I had him do the pinata.  This was his first time doing paper mache.  While it didn't turn out the way we had liked, it still was a big hit!

 We didn't think it would hold up to the traditional pinata beating, so we opted for a more close-to-theme approach.  The pummeled the pig with an Angry Birds ball that we bought at Walmart.

Let's just say the kids love it!  Forget tradition!  This was even better.  It was like playing dodge ball with a very easy-to-hit target.  

Of course the pinata held up to the beating pretty well.  So, to end the pummeling craze, Scott took the pinata in one hand, a plush black bird in the other, and asked the kids "What does the black bird do?"

The kids screamed "It blows up!"
Scott: "That's right! It goes....."

"BOOM!"

We also loaded up Melayna's room with a bunch of green balloons (no helium) and put a sign outside her door that said "Melayna's Pig Pen"

In Tristan's room, we loaded up a bunch of different colored punch balloons and put a sign that said "Tristan's Bird Cage"

And outside our bedroom door, to discourage stray kids, we put a sign that says "Might Eagle's Cave" "Do Not Enter"

We also had a tin can game like this one, but ours didn't look as good.  I ran out of time and was painting these just hours before the party.  We had colored whiffle balls (those light, plastic balls that look like swiss cheese) for the kids to throw at the pig cans.

Up next: Angry Birds Birthday Party! Part 4 (food & favors)