Birthday Frenzy

Looking back at May and June I don't remember much, it's all just a fuzzy blur mixed with a feeling of running to the next big event. In reality our life is much simpler than many other families we know. We don't do too many extracurricular activities and our kids are still young enough to not be involved in too much else, but in the last couple months we have fit in three birthdays, mother's day, Father's Day, basketball camp, end of school activities, mom working a handful of hours a week, and painting the front hallway and living room. OK, maybe now I'm not so surprised that I felt the need to focus only on the next big thing around the corner to avoid getting overwhelmed. Looking back that doesn't include our fabulous visit from Abuelita and Abuelito Roundy at the very beginning of May, so clearly I have a lot to catch up on which is why Sergio has been bugging me non-stop to blog. So, here I am putting off, fixing the piano bench, putting the curtains back up, starting my painting of the upstairs hallway, and finishing Emma's scrapbook, to attempt a whirlwind post of the last few months which will probably need to be broken up into 2 or 3 posts to fit it all in, so . . . . I will start with a post dedicated strictly to birthdays.

BIRTHDAY # 1

CLARK TURNS 4!

May 19th

Now that I look at him, he's a bit scary looking, but at least you can tell it's Thor and for a boxed cake and Crisco frosting, I'm not gonna complain.



Clark's Birthday celebration started the night before with fondue. Of course it was left over from another fondue night, but Sshhh you didn't hear it from me!



Naturally a good fondue night isn't complete without a chocolate course!



For Clark's First Official Birthday Party I decided to take the easy way out and do it at the park: in the middle of the week, in the middle of the day to be sure we'd have it all to ourselves . . . and it worked out wonderfully!

Unfortunately I am quite terrible at getting pictures when Sergio is not around . . . so I didn't actually get any pictures of the games, but there's a video of the donuts at the end. We kept it simple: Pin the hammer on Thor and DONUT ATTACK!!!

Clark Ellie and Caden getting ready for CAKE!



Presents: for whatever reason kids seem to think this is one of the most exciting parts . . . I can't imagine why.
Ellie, Rhea, Reed, and Caden all leaning in for a good look.



Best Part About having a Party at the Park is of course the playground!
PS - We don't actually know the girl in this picture, she was just at the park at the same time.



Clark showing off his presents: A shirt he helped pick out himself (personally I try my hardest to hide it at the bottom of the drawer, but somehow he always finds it as soon as it's clean), and his scooter. Thank you Abuelita for helping with that purchase! He also got a helmet, so you all know I am not a totally irresponsible parent, but he was so set on the pound of gel in his hair for his "oh so stylish spikes", that we couldn't risk the hairdo for a helmet pic. . . . Perhaps I should mention that I am so completely organized and perfect, that we sort of forgot about giving him our presents till a couple of days after his Birthday . . . OOPS! But he didn't seem to mind. I guess it's par for the course around here.

BIRTHDAY # 2

DADDY'S OLD!

MAY 24th

Superman Cake for a Super Daddy! -- It was believe it or not, carrot cake, but the kids insisted it needed to be decorated, so we discovered that cream cheese frosting can be dyed just as easily as normal frosting.



As Sergio posted when it actually happened, we spent the bulk of his birthday at a taste of Cincinnati - a dream come true for foodies. And here they are posing in the parking lot, aspiring to be like their hero in front of his office buildings.



We ended the day at the outlets. Daddy picked up a couple of new snazzy hats and shirts and the kids got to play at the playground at the end. You will notice they are wearing different clothes . . . let's just say sampling 20 dishes doesn't end well for outfits:)



We left just in time to catch the sunset on the way out!



Since we couldn't miss out on a good excuse for a fancy home dinner . . .
we had steak the next day!



And we finally got around to singing Happy Birthday . . . . in case you can't tell, yes, half the cake is gone, and yes the candles are a feeble attempt at the #32!

BIRTHDAY #3

Emma Turns 6!

June 2

If you know anything about little girls these days, then you have definitely heard of the FROZEN craze . . . naturally Emma being the princess that she is, is no exception to the rule, and deemed the theme of her party as such.



Lydia, Julianna, and Emma working on crafts -- glasses and princess crowns, with plenty of bedazzling!



I'm almost embarrassed to post yet another picture of the donut game, but . . . a birthday party is not a birthday party at our house without it.



Donut Powder Anyone?



IN SUUUUMMMERRR!!!

This game took the cake at Emma's party. It was a scavenger hunt / pin the tail hodgepodge which consisted of finding Olaf who had melted around the house and then putting him together blindfolded.



Potato Sack race and the dress up relay.



FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD!



Cake Time




Presents: Emma felt the need to properly end her Frozen party in her Frozen dress up dress.