Baseball and Karate

The morning started with opening ceremonies and a baseball game.

Then we went to a friend's karate birthday party.

They had fun playing all kinds of games.

They played Karate Ball (similar to Dodge Ball) and tried not to get hit by the ball.

They tried to hit pads out of the air with swords.

Owen Races to Evan's Birthday Party

Evan's parents threw him a surprise party for his 9th birthday.  We surprised Owen with it, so he had no idea he was invited until the day before or where it was until we pulled into the parking lot of Andretti Speedway.  Evan was surprised and Owen was thrilled to see his friend.  So much so that he had to lift Evan right off the ground.

The Three Musketeers.  Owen, Lou and Evan.

Owen had quite the blue tongue after eating birthday cake.

He was excited about racing in a gokart by himself.

So.  Very.  Excited.

Bunny ears are quite popular around here.

Once Owen was in a gokart, his feet didn't reach the pedals.  So he had to switch to a two-seater and ride shotgun to his Momma.  He giggled the whole way around the race track.  And giggled louder as our helmets knocked together going around curves.

After racing around the track, the kids were given cards to play arcade games.  Owen used up the majority of his card on games like the claw where you use a joystick to move the claw before it drops and feebly attempts to pick up oversized toys.

As we walked out to our car through the parking lot, the tears started and didn't stop for some time.  The boy said he didn't have any fun.  None.  He could have fooled me.  I think he was a bit tired from a full day and over-stimulated from the raceway.

Rock Climbing

Chloe was invited to Bridget's birthday party at Lifetime Fitness.  The first hour was spent climbing the rock wall.

Do you see Chloe on the far wall about 6 feet off the ground?

She was very adept at finding the unsupervised lines and getting extra time to climb or dangle.

Such a little monkey.  I think she would have been content to climb all day long because she was having so much fun!

A Birthday Party

After we got back from the creek, our friends left and the kids changed clothes so we could walk down the street to our friend Nate's birthday party.  He turned eight.  Kelley managed to avoid mingling with adults by sticking her camera in kids' faces.  That worked out well.

Owen and Chloe were both close to the action, singing loudly and helping blow out the candles.  They had an insane amount of fun all day long.

They were disappointed when it was time to leave (shortly after the cake was consumed) because they didn't see anyone else leaving and the majority of the kids were all still there.  But both kids walked back home nicely without complaining, arguing or crying.  And they were praised to high heaven for that, too.  :)

A Birthday Party

Jamie was turning six and invited Chloe to her cooking and craft birthday party.

The girls started of decorating their own aprons with puffy paint.

Then they got to create their own pizzas.  Chloe was quite adventuresome and added pineapple to her pizza.

Happy 6th birthday, Jamie!

While we were at the birthday party, Todd took Owen to Stevie B's pizza.  Two different times, Owen had trouble with the arcade games or tokens.  Both times, he resolved the issue on his own by seeking out a restaurant employee to help him.  Our shy boy is acquiring more confidence in himself and becoming a little more out-going in solving his own problems.  Go Owen!

A Day of Christmas Fun

After Owen's soccer game and lunch, we drove downtown to go to the Alliance Theater to see The Christmas Carol.  This was the second time for Owen and me.

But the first time for Daddy and Chloe.  They both enjoyed the play AND the candy canes.  :)

After the play, we swung by the house to whip up a quick dip before going to our friend Ozanna's Christmas party for family, friends and coworkers.  She was prepared with special glasses and art projects for the kids.

There was plenty of good food to be eaten because everyone brang their own dish.  Owen liked the brownies.

The kids asked me to take them for a walk to get out of the house for a bit and then asked me to take a pic of Christmas lights on another house.

We came home to our own Christmas lights, a wall filled with new photos and Owen's snowflake that Santa brought from the North Pole when he was three years old.

What a busy, but very fun day together!

Party At Chuck E. Cheese

We celebrated both of the kids' birthdays in one party at Chuck E. Cheese.  About ten kids came and they all had a blast using tokens, cashing in tickets, eating cake and playing with the prizes.

They danced in front of the blue screen which put their images right into a movie on the big screen with Chuck E.

They aimed plastic guns at moving targets.

They played ski ball.

Climbed on top of rides like little monkeys.  

Birthday balloons galore bounced over their seats.

 

 

The birthday cake had plenty of candles on top to be blown out.

Owen's last day with his buddy Gabriel.  Gabriel, Nicolas and Owen pooled all of their tickets together to get the biggest prize they could win from behind the counter.

They each got special crowns filled with more tokens for games.

They worked together to blow out the candles.

Then they got to go into the Ticket Blaster Booth together and grab for tickets that were blowing and swirling around.

There were high dollar tickets in this crazy booth.  Owen caught two of them that were worth 500 tickets each!

They both thought this was pretty cool.

Before the party ended, Chloe got hugs from Chuck E. Cheese.  Owen passed, but never explained why.  Perhaps he is too old for hugs from Chuck E?

Grandma Vicki's Retirement

Monday afternoon we drove over to the Mayo Clinic to join Grandma Vicki for her retirement party after putting in 23 years.   For the last ten or so years, she worked in the furniture department and helped people set up their cubes/offices with ergonomic solutions through specialized chairs, chair settings, wrist rests, computer placement and many other nuances.  I know she found it very fulfilling knowing she was helping others to work more comfortably and without pain.

Her boss Rick stood at the front of the conference room and talked about how much Grandma Vicki made a difference in the department and how much they would all miss her.

Then Grandma Vicki spoke about how she started working at Mayo and the different positions she held.

Her coworkers gave her cards and flowers.

And the largest German Chocolate cake I have ever seen.  It was delicious!  The kids helped hand out plates of cake to everyone in the room before they sat down to eat theirs.  It was really nice seeing them behave so helpfully and grown up.

Before it was time to go, Chloe chilled in Grandma Vicki's lap while the adults reminisced about past work experiences and how they all survived.