Bronson's "Despicable Me" 6th Birthday Party!

 



minion goggles



Dr. Nefario's Anti-Gravity Syrum

Yesterday was Bronson's 6th birthday! we had a despicable me party. It was a ton of fun! a lot of work too of course, but a lot of fun. We had a family party. JUST family. around 50 people there. seriously. it was a madhouse. total chaos. but i think everyone had a nice time. we started out by watching despicable me while we were waiting for everyone to arrive. once everyone was there i hid the gifts- and then the party really got started! i asked all the kids to come downstairs to open the gifts, only to find they were missing! in their place was a note telling them that their"minion training" had begun!

 their first task was target practice. we set up some UFOs- like the carnival game in the movie- and they shot at them with dart guns.

 

 

the next clue sent them to choose their weapons. i had made a punch board with squirt guns and the next clue inside.

 

 

 

 

 

Once they were armed we went on to the next task. sneaking passed Kyle (you know, Gru's monster/dog). we had a beanbag toss.

 

 

 

this clue sent them to "disarm bombs". we had filled the sun room with balloons to pop, one of which held our next clue!

 

 

 

after this we were sent to "gather the minions!" I had made minion eggs with each child's name on them. this game took the longest.

 

 

our final task was to defeat the decoy minion. so we went out front to destroy the minion pinata!

 

 

 

 he was filled with glow sticks! the kids were very surprised!

 

inside the pinata was their final clue, simply telling them that the gifts had been returned. we sang happy birthday, opened presents, had some cake and the kids all chose some candy to take home.

 

phew! it was fun, but i am glad it is over! Bronson is already planning his party for next year. sigh.....

Grinch Party and Santa

I saw a cute idea on Pinterest for a grinch dinner. I thought it was such a fun idea, I just had to have my own! We made a turkey for the 'roast beast' and we had a hash brown casserole for the 'who hash' and pistachio pudding cake for the 'who pudding'. I did the best I could to make our kitchen look 'whoville-like'. The boys loved it and think we should decorate our kitchen like this every year. We will have to see.

I found these cute photo props on Etsy, and we had a great time trying them out--even before the party!

We had our Ward Christmas party on the same day- it was more of a brunch. Each of the boys got to sit with Santa.

I love how the place settings turned out. But I made the mistake of putting candy on the plates to make it look cute, the kids wanted to eat them THE WHOLE NIGHT! But, it sure makes it look pretty, don't you think?

My dad was a good sport and read "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" to all of us. He had fun tweaking it here and there to add-in the children!

I think they weren't too sure about it........

But they played along anyway!

Yay! Mistletoe!

Just LOVE Cory's face in this one!!!

aww!

 

We had such a fun night! The kids didn't care about the food or activities, they were just so excited to get to play with their cousins! I think we will either do this again next year, or maybe choose another Christmas movie for next year. A very fun time!

journal entry

As I started reading 2 Nephi chapter 2 tonight one line really stuck out to me. "....and He shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy good." I thought to myself, "what are my afflictions, and how have I benefited by dealing with them?"

Obviously, for me, I would say that my biggest affliction has been endometriosis and all that has come with it. From infertility to chronic pain, from a miscarriage to having to come home early from my mission. Endometriosis has cost me a lot in my life, it really has. But have I gained more than I have lost because of it?

What have I gained or learned from having endometriosis? The first thing that comes to my mind is empathy. I think that has been the biggest thing that I have been blessed with. I can cry along with those that have miscarried, (in fact I did that just yesterday), or even those that are having a hard time coming to church because of an illness. I know others who have endo, and when they are suffering, I can understand their pain. Even those that are going through trials I can understand better and know that what I am struggling with, while different than theirs, Christ understands us ALL, and He alone has suffered all and that helps me feel more connected to Him and others who are struggling

I was told at 18 that my chances of having kids at all was about 50%. But, we have been blessed with two beautiful boys. TWO! Yes, I am sad that I don't have more children, but I need to remember how blessed I am to have any children at all. I need to remember to take joy in even the mundane.

I have also learned that receiving help is so much harder than giving help. I can't remember the number of times that I have had wonderful friends and neighbors help with dinner or watch my children on a particularly bad day. It is so hard for me to ask for help, but I have to remember that when I offer someone else help it is because I truly want to help, and the people offering it to me likely feel the same way.

One odd thing that I have "learned" from having endo is that I love to craft. I didn't know this until I started thinking about Bronson's first birthday and how I wanted to commemorate it. It has since spiraled (very possibly out of control?). Because I am sick so much, I get bored quickly and a project in my hands is a wonderful way to keep myself occupied and also feel productive. I wonder if I would ever have developed my love for crafting if I hadn't been bed-ridden so often?



This is from a journal entry I started tonight which, oddly, felt like I should blog it. I am sure there are many other blessing that I have received in my life because of endo, this is just a quick list that came to me tonight. I encourage you to look at your life, and your trials and afflictions and try and find the good and the blessings that you have received through your struggles. I would love to hear your realizations. 

Logan's SEVENTH birthday

Bronson's poor lip

Bronson had some dental work done a few weeks ago. His mouth was numbed and (although he was told not to) he chewed on it the whole way home ( about 2 hour drive, Steve's dad is a dentist in Provo). It is all better now, but for several days it was a mess. it was so so sad!

Jumping fedoras

I decided I needed to update my photo wall.Luckily, when I was at Wal-Mart the other day I saw these cute fedoras for $6. I knew immediately what I was going to do.  The boys were good sports about it, we had a great time trying to get them to jump at exactly the right time. or not. it was actually kind of frustrating. I took probably 30+ pictures of the boys jumping and only had one where they were jumping together and I could see both their faces and it wasn’t too blurry. A professional photographer I am not! Enjoy!