A Spongey Party

Brennan had his kid's birthday party on Saturday at One Stop Family Adventure Center - and he had a BLAST!

Getting ready to leave

The center has lots of different moon bounces, arcade games, slides,

air hockey and a go kart track.

Originally he wanted a Superman party, but this place is all-inclusive so to get the most bang for our buck he had to switch to a Spongebob party. The price included 10 kids, pizza, soda, a customized Spongebob cake, plates, balloons and tablecloths (all themed), pictures in his theme, go kart rides (2 per kid) and tokens to use in the arcade.

Needless to say, from a parent's perspective it was fantastic - we literally had to just show up! No set-up, no serving, no clean-up ... what more could I ask for :-) The sad part for me - if sad is the right word - is that we only had 9 kids show up for the party including my own, but in the end Brennan had fun and that's all that matters.

The party crew!

The girls spent almost all their time - and tons of our money (and Maw Maw Barbara's) on the "claw" machine. At the end of it all, I think we came home with approximately 15 stuffed animals...ugh! The go kart rides were a huge hit. None of the kids were old enough - or rather tall enough -to drive, but that didn't matter. The pizza was good, the cake was yummy and he got some nice gifts....all in all it was a good day.

This of course is just round one of his birthday celebration...Wed. is the official day so he'll celebrate at school with cupcakes. And then Friday my dad is coming up from Florida so we'll celebrate yet again with him. It's just a big birthday week for my "baby"! I'll post more after the rest of his parties happen.

Happy early birthday Bud!

Water logged

I'm a little late getting this post up, but hey, better late than never right! A week 1/2 ago we went to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA.

Connor, Jayci, Brennan, Alyssa, Chase & Austin

We had such a GREAT time! There is really something there for every age. When you drive up you are greeted by the lodge. It's an amazing resort that truly gives you that "lodge" feel. It's very rustic inside with animals on the walls, lanterns made from deer antlers and logs all around.

There's an awesome fireplace in the main lobby along with cozy leather chairs and couches to gather around. All the rooms are decorated with wilderness accents and wallpaper and come with a balcony. And then you enter the indoor waterpark....WOW!

They have a wave pool, kiddie pool with slides, the treehouse with mid-level slides and a bucket that fills up and then dumps all over everyone, the surf pool, 4 adults slides and the tornado slide!!! I'm happy to say I rode all of the slides EXCEPT for the tornado. That's too much for me :-) But my mom rode it and so did my mother-in-law - crazy fools! We arrived on Sat. and headed straight for the water.

Brennan's favorite part - the water that came up out of the floor!

Trevor, Brennan, Megan & Alyssa

We were there from probably noon - 7 p.m. before we finally called it a night. The kids...and the grownups....thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We rode the slides, rode the waves and some of us even rode the surf.

Alyssa surfing!

After showering and making ourselves somewhat presentable, we headed downstairs for dinner....finally at 8:30 p.m.! We stayed at the lodge and had a really good buffet. It had everything you can think of and was quick, easy and affordable! After dinner we hung out by the fire before heading to bed.

Sunday we spent several more hours at the waterpark - getting our fill - before finally drying off to drive back home. But first there was a stop at Sonic for lunch. Yay Sonic!!!

Having seen the pictures and heard the stories, McKenna is very anxious to go to the lodge. Not sure when we'll go back, but we will go back. Other than coming home and ending up sick (cold and/or stomach thing), the trip to Great Wolf was a huge success and I highly recommend it!

Americanism

I can honestly say I have never heard that word before...until McKenna's art work of a bald eagle was selected to be judged in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Americanism art competition. On Saturday David & McKenna attended a ceremony and reception to honor the winners - who were chosen from a pool of approximately 50 pictures - and it was a very proud day for Daddy! In the end, there were 12 winners and the art work included bald eagles, American Flags, and the Capitol.

McKenna showing off her artwork with Mrs. Cowan (art teacher)

The program included remarks by the hosts, the students "showcasing" their work to the audience by walking it around to each table (about 30 people attended), and then an individual award presentation to each student.

Accepting her award

Proudly displaying the award certificate

Each child received a framed certificate and am American Flag gift bag that included a beanie baby Bald Eagle, a camo teddy bear, a $5 gift card to McDonald's, along with crayons, flag paper and other goodies.

But her fun weekend didn't stop there - she had 2 full days of one-on-one time with David which they both throughly enjoyed! After the awards presentation he took her to dinner at the Greene Turtle and then to Bert's for ice cream. They went to Toys R Us, rented "Alvin & the Chipmunks", and had popcorn together, cut the grass, watched Animal Planet, made brownies and played board games. Needless to say, she loved every minute of it and kept telling David "this is the best day ever!!!" Although I missed having her with us at Great Wolf Lodge, I'm very happy she had a great weekend with Daddy :-)

I'll post about our weekend at Great Wolf Lodge when I get pics from Kerry - I had to leave my camera for David so I could see what I was missing!

Our budding artist

David called me on my way home today and said McKenna came bouncing off the bus with 2 letters in her hand - the school had sent them home. At first, I must admit, I thought she had done something wrong. Boy was I WAY off base (thank goodness)!

The letters were from her art teacher. The first one informed us that her art work had been submitted to the VFW Americanism contest and she had won either 1st, 2nd, 3rd or honorable mention out of all the entires submitted for the ENTIRE state of Maryland. Not just our school, or our county, but the entire state. I was amazed! And she is sooooo incredibly proud - it's just so cute.

So this Saturday the VFW is hosting a reception to announce what place each person won and honor them at an award's ceremony for the Americanism contest. Sounds great right?! Well yes....except....we have tickets and a hotel room at Great Wolf Lodge. What to do?! Well we gave her the option and as of now, David & McKenna will be staying home to attend her ceremony (which he will videotape for me to see later) and I will be taking Alyssa & Brennan to the indoor water park with my mom and the rest of the folks scheduled to go with us.

I'm disappointed that I can't attend the ceremony, but at the same time, I can't make Alyssa & Brennan miss out on a weekend they're very excited about. And needless to say, David & I are so very proud of McKenna's accomplishments! The good news is I will get to see the video of it AND she's being honored at another reception on April 24th for the piece that was selected to be on display at the Board of Ed...so I'll at least get to see that!

WAY TO GO MCKENNA...we're so proud of you!

The years go by too fast

How in the world did 5 years (almost) go by so fast? What happened to my baby boy?!!! On April 30, Brennan will turn 5 and for me that's always been when it went from feeling like a "toddler" was in the house to having a "kid" in the house. It just seems like when they hit 5 years old they've crossed a line of sorts - they're more "grown up". While I don't always miss the craziness of him being a baby...who had reflux, colic and sleep apnea (ugh!)... sometimes I wish time would slow down just a little...I guess we all do :-) Here's a look back in time - some of my fave photos of him - from not so long ago.

My dad & Lisa bought this outfit for Brennan-their first grandson- and I have always just LOVED this picture of him. He's about 8 months old here and holding one of my dad's duck calls. He's not a hunter yet, but David hasn't give up on that either!

The hat says "Papa's Little Hunter"

In this next picture, Brennan is 1 1/2 years old. We decided on a whim to go to VA Beach over Labor Day - just the 5 of us - and we had the best time! As you can see, he loves ice cream :-)

Here's my lil man having fun at my brother's rehearsal dinner...he was just barely ONE!

And last but not least, doing one of his most favorite things...EATING! He's 20 months old here.

Thank goodness for pictures and videos. They help me hold onto him as a baby while he continues to grow up right before my very eyes.

A sleepover with cousins

Last Friday Megan & Trevor - our niece and nephew - came over for a slumber party. A month or so ago we had invited them over, but Megan got sick and was unable to stay - Trevor did - but she missed out. SO, we tried again and this time were successful!

Strike a pose!

We had pizza, ice cream sundaes and the kids spent most of the night playing before it was time for a movie and bed. Dress-up was the theme of the night....from Batman to Belle (the princess) to Batgirl....we had a variety of "celebrities" hanging out with us that night!

Brennan (as himself), McKenna (cheetah girl), Megan (Belle),

Alyssa (Batgirl), Trevor (Spidey)

Unfortunately, Saturday morning came WAY too early in our house...they woke up at 7:15 a.m. UGH! Luckily they watched a movie that allowed David & I...along with Brennan who found his way into our room (as usual!) during the middle of the night...a chance to sleep in some. We finished off the slumber party with breakfast, more "celebrity" sightings and lunch before Jimmy came to get them.

Show me your muscles!

I think everyone had fun and they're looking forward to their next sleepover!

Fun at the Circus

Last week, Kerry, David, Jayci, Alyssa, McKenna, Brennan and I went to opening night at Verizon Center to see the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Waiting to go in

This was the 1st time our kids had been and overall, they had a really good time! Brennan got a little antsy towards the end, but he still had fun.

From a parent's perspective - a bit boring at times, ridiculously expensive (think $12 for cotton candy!!!), but fun to watch the looks on the kids faces :-) Of course all of my kids LOVE animals and were delighted to see zebras, horses, dancing dogs, elephants, lions, tigers....along with clowns, gymnasts and dancers. The best part - believe it or not - was the dogs. They were hilarious- dancing in tutus, riding scooters...yes, really riding a scooter and pushing it along with one paw - doing crazy jumps....just all kinds of fun and entertaining stuff.

Pretending to be clowns....or wait, are they pretending?!

Enjoying the confetti that fell at the end - I just love this picture!

Before the show, we got to go down on the floor to interact with the clowns, try on their outfits and supposedly get up close to some of the animals. Well that part never happened - it was way too crowded to even think about that happening! Brennan was scared so him & David headed for our seats - which were surprisingly close - and the rest of held out a bit longer. McKenna was the most willing to participate

Alyssa had to be forced to try on this outfit!

Hey - I paid a lot of money for those tickets - I wanted some participation from the kiddies :-)
HA HA!

Jayci showing off her crazy hat and clown nose

Yay - a family shot!

McKenna enjoying the confetti ending

Finally, after a long drive home, we got in bed at 11:30 p.m. Thank goodness it was spring break week for them - and the next day was Friday - they were tired babes!