cavs win!

it was such a bummer that daddy was gone for game 7 of the finals! given that it was such a big game for cleveland, i decided to let all of the kids stay up to watch the game. 

we watched despicable me 2 on another channel while waiting for game time and madelyn and manning were bummed when we had to switch channels before the movie was over. 

manning fell asleep before the pre-game ended. the rest of the kids were on pins and needles with every single shot from the very start. i tried to get them to pace themselves because the game was going to be long (and hopefully very exciting). naturally, we were cheering for the cavs. mason's comment at half-time was that he "thought lebron would be better." that cracked me up.

we watched the game with daddy via text.

we had a super special snack at half-time - goldfish and oreos. maddux fought hard to stay awake, but he couldn't finish the 3rd quarter. 

the game was SO exciting! i had to be careful not to yell with maddux sleeping on top of me. i wasn't sure that mason was going to make it. he was trying so hard to stay awake but his eyelids were winning.

the game was so exciting that madelyn stepped away from assembling manning's birthday legos to sit on the couch and watch the fourth quarter.

and they both made it to the cavs victory! love.

huge pump-it-up party

madelyn's twin friends had a birthday party at pump-it-up this afternoon. their mom told me that they expected most of the kids to be on vacation, but that was not the case. there were 37 kids there! i have never been at such a large party and, yet, somehow it didn't seem as crazy as it sounds. even when they armed them for a glow fight with ping pong ball guns.

there were lots of parents who stuck around too. the party room almost couldn't fit everyone. still lots of fun. love.

he looks like he is starting a revolution.

madelyn with her friends. the birthday girl is in the white shirt.

preschool easter parties

since i spent the valentine's day parties with manning's class, i promised maddux that i would spend the easter party with him. it wasn't so much a "party" as a snack and an easter egg hunt. his teacher was saying that it fell so weird being on st. patrick's day. all of the kids were in green, but doing easter themed crafts.

the kids all had maddux' favorite donuts. these are pricy little donuts and most of the kids didn't even eat them! it was hurting the moms watching as almost every single child threw away both of their donuts - most without even tasting them. i intercepted maddux' and had them for my breakfast.

the kids were pretty excited about the egg hunt. the weather kept us indoors but they still took a little bit of time to come up with six each.

maddux was so excited to have me there. and i got to see him share his "show and tell."

madelyn might have suggested it, but he really did want to bring madelyn's 'tomb' craft. love.

star wars birthday party

mason went to one of his best buddy's star wars birthday party. the boys were crazy! and it only got crazier after they made light sabers with pool noodles and duct tape. it seems like mason has a really good group of friends from school. love.

bigs' valentine parties

madelyn loved getting dressed up for a "red, pink and white" spirit day. she was even more excited for the party! what she and mason didn't know is that i had managed to work things out that i could help at both of their parties today! this is the first time i have ever been able to help with a party in madelyn's class - ever!

they knew that i was sending snacks for both parties (again, i signed up for the same option at each school to try and keep things from being too confusing). i made a fun candy coated "party popcorn" (super yummy and simple) and fruit cups with heart cut strawberries and blueberries.

first was madelyn's party. she was so surprised to see me in her classroom! it was so much fun to get to see her and the other familiar faces in her classroom. apparently, as the kids get older, it gets harder and harder to get volunteers - there were only 3 of us.

one of the best valentine boxes - a hot air balloon - super simple.

madelyn was excited to share her homemade valentines.

proof that i was actually with her during the school day!

the kids had a great time with the games, minute-to-win it style.

transferring m&ms with a straw

building conversation heart towers with chopsticks

bingo

snack time - the fruit was a surprise hit.

and then i was off to mason's school across town. i couldn't believe it when i saw that their parties didn't overlap and there was enough time to make the drive. seriously excited.

mason was pretty excited to see me too! although, he wasn't surprised because the kids with parents coming were picked at group leaders so he had already learned i was coming. i was really excited to put faces to all of the friends he talks about at home.

the kindergarteners worked around to each table station as groups.

what i hadn't really thought through was that mason's party went until 3:30 and madelyn's school got out at 3:20. thankfully, her bus doesn't get to our house until 3:45. i was just going to make it. while we waited the five minutes we beat her bus by, mason and i took a picture because i realized that we didn't get one in his classroom.

once we had madelyn buckled in we drove over to pick the little boys up from a friend's house. i had racked my brain for someone who did not yet have elementary schoolers and might be willing to watch both boys for a few hours this afternoon. i am just so thankful for the gift she gave me!

now it was time for the bigs to go through the spoils of their parties.

mason drew luke skywalker and darth radar fighting on his bag

these wooden mustache valentines were the hit of madelyn's party. the kids started 'wearing' them as soon as they could look in their boxes.

i was completely exhausted but totally happy to have been given the opportunity to spend time with the kids at school. i have waited so long! love.

preschool valentine parties

the littles' valentine parties were on the same day at the same time and i signed up for games/activities in both classes. once the parties got started, i tried to figure out which room needed me the most - manning's. 

the kids were super excited and so well behaved.

the kids played games around the room while a few at a time delivered their valentines. we brought one game that consisted of dropping 10 heart beads onto a felt target and counting how many landed on the target. we also brought a bunch of heart beads and pipe cleaners to make bracelets which was a big hit with the 3-year-olds.

as the party wound down in manning's class and they moved on to show and tell, i made my way over to maddux' class.

hot potato with a heart pillow.

the boys loved going through every single item in their bags.

maddux' favorite was this one from his teacher - "smartie pants."

so thankful to be able to help with their parties. love.

pump it up party

a no school day is the perfect day for a birthday party! we joined some friends at pump-it-up for their son's 5th birthday party. and all four kids were able to attend! we were all (and i mean all because the parents did not ask for or pay for this feature) surprised to get to have a glow party!

madelyn's neon earrings glowed too.

and then she found the karaoke. it was an odd choice for a 5-year-old's birthday party (the kids didn't know most of the songs and at least half couldn't read the lyrics on the screen), but there was "let it go."

maddux had no interest in karaoke.

even mason came over to sing.

i took this picture because the girl in front of manning is 5 (almost 6). granted, she is a peanut (she was on our soccer team in the spring), but our 3-year-old is almost her height!

it was nice to see friends and have the kids wear themselves out a little - well, until they sugared up with cake. love.

another christmas party date

matt might have had a little too much fun.

the darth vadar mask is what we left with from the white elephant exchange and will be under our tree on christmas morning. love.

getting ready for the show

maddux came to show me his costume for the performance madelyn had written, and they had been practicing all week, for their babysitter tonight. something about "corn cob bob" - which is apparently hysterical!

matt and i were off to our bible study's white elephant party tonight - here is a picture of our gift. love.

party time!

we arrived a little early to the dream party destination - pump it up - and had to keep the crazies in the car longer than they could handle.

and then we went in and they found a t.v....

maddux and his best buddy, brayden

party time!

manning went into "mommy mode" the second we went inside which caused him to have no comfort other than being held by mommy. it made getting pictures challenging.

he did finally decide to give a few things a try. he even tried the large slide - once.

then we went into the second room and he found one that was much more to his liking.

daddy jumped in on the fun in the second room too. actually, all of the daddies did.

matt and i always have the most romantic anniversaries! last year's anniversary was spent at chuck e. cheese.

maddux loved his seat of honor.

mason's buddy, william, who is big brother to one of maddux' best buds.

but the birthday fun wasn't over yet! now we had to celebrate with the grandparents over skype! it did give the kids some time to burn off some of the cake sugar.

maddux and his birthday haul.

it was such a delight to give this boy the 5th birthday he had been dreaming of since june. we love him so much. love.