Who Said It Never Rains In Southern California?

Well, they were wrong. I would still take a rainy day over a snow storm that dumps inches and created a traffic hazard (over 200 accidents according to the Utah news--suckers!) The rain may have put a damper on our bike riding and hiking adventures, but we still managed to make our own fun. With a quick Google search of fun things to do in the Newport Beach area we found ourselves on a short drive to Balboa to the pier where we dined at Ruby's Diner at the edge of the pier. The combination of comfort food and hanging out watching the storm over the ocean was quite a treat. Romney was thrilled to find a pelican who agreed and was also hanging out on the pier just outside of the diner and they had quite a game of hide and seek going. Who found who first is still up for debate.



After Ruby's we hunted down the entrance for the Balboa Ferry and rode across as pedestrians. The boys walked for over an hour looking in all kinds of fun shops with the bribe of an arcade and a family run candy store serving to keep them moving happily through the drizzle. Watching three boys choose just the right candy was quite entertaining.



Romney took at least 30 minutes making up his mind about his important candy decision. (He settled on a small candy with a toy airplane attached, in case you were wondering.) Bill was first to decide (chocolate covered Oreo) and William came in an impressive second place with 5 smaller candy options.





We wandered around the island exploring for a while when we ran into an orangutan in a tree. Orangutans hanging out in trees is not a sight we see everyday, so we had to stop and let Romney have his photo taken with his new friend. (He was popular with the animals today for some reason. Maybe not the cow he tipped in the video at the bottom of this post).




After a very short ferry ride back to the Balboa peninsula, we played in the promise arcade for a while and then ran out of ideas of indoor options. The boys were dying to go back to the hotel room for a movie, so that is what we did until dinner, when we met with Anne and Q.

It may not have been the sunniest or warmest day of the trip, but when I checked the Utah weather this evening, I appreciated every minute just a little bit more!

Relaxing Vacation

Orange County, California. . . The first thing people ask where you tell them where you are heading on your vacation is "Are you going to Disneyland?" Umm...no. Before you think Bill and I are horrible, incompetent parents, let me assure you that they were given the option (one that does not appeal to Bill or I) and they said "nah, no thanks." We offered Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm and Sea World and Wild Animal Kingdom and the San Diego Zoo. Not interested. They just wanted to go to the beach. Oh yeah, and Legoland for the 3rd time. (Bill and I vetoed that one. We have paid those dues two previous trips. NEVER again.) We all just wanted a relaxing vacation after a hectic December. It is so relaxing, that our boys are falling asleep in the car and in the hotel enough to stay zonked out when a flash fires 3 feet away from them.


What have we been filling our time with without the help of Walt Disney or Danish Toy Companies? We have been "relaxing" along the beach boardwalk on a nice 2 hour bike ride this morning. We rode from Newport Beach up to a pier in some beach city a few miles up the road. (No idea which one). It was interesting how empty the beaches were at the beginning of the ride vs. how crowded they were at turn around point. Wonder what the difference is?

After our watching the tide roll out all along the coast line, we grabbed some lunch and headed out for a non-mountain biker hike. Bill was exempt from this hike being an avid mountain biker with a new bike that was just begging to be ridden with all the trails in the area. The boys and I tried a hike that had been recommended by Anne. It was a bit more challenging than the kids and I were expecting. She later told us she had taken a different route than we did. Even with the incredibly steep up and downs, the boys and I had a blast chatting about all kinds of things (mainly video game related) and getting in some more sunshine and fresh air.

While we hiked, Bill biked. He tried his new ride out in the mountains of Trabuco Canyon. He had a great ride. I could tell from the mud on him and the bike. (He had a dirt unibrow. Pretty sexy!) He also had the back shock completely blow out on him on his very first ride. Thank goodness for warranties. We stopped at a bike shop to see what could/should be done and came out with Romney wanting a new ride as well. It is a red cruiser with a devil monkey painted all over it and also on the saddle. It is perfect and I am going to start saving my pennies to buy it by spring.

With all that relaxing, we needed some good food and went out to eat with Anne and Quentin to refuel. The boys were very disappointed that we weren't able to stay at their home to play games, but with a mother and father who are crazy allergic to the cat (who though absent, had left plenty of dander behind) and had to leave early in order to breath.

Both boys fell asleep in the car again on the way to the hotel. I guess that is what so much relaxing will get ya'.

Welcome to the Hotel (in) California

We found it. It does exist! Sunshine. SWEET, sweet Sunshine! We did have to drive through hell to get to it, but like most everything, after the hell comes the reward. The drive to it was not pretty and not fun. -4 degrees Fahrenheit for a good hour of the drive. Brrrrr... The drive from Nevada to California was so crowded I may have nightmares to process after the experience. But ahhh... sweet reward. SUN and WARMTH. (What am I doing living in Utah?)
Our first order of the day--family bike ride. We rode along the coast line for about a mile up to Huntington Beach where we then rode along the Santa Ana river (which looks like a viaduct as do most California rivers). We crossed some wonderful old rickety wood bridges into Fairview park in Costa Mesa where we found some great dirt trails that roamed around in circles (probably a couple of miles worth) all over the park/nature preserve. What a treat after sitting in the car for 14 hours!
We stopped and goofed off and enjoyed the view looking over the valley and out to the ocean, and decided we had better grab some lunch before we all passed out from hunger. Romney hung in there like a champ with his little legs and single geared tiny little bike for 11 miles. William inherited his father's biking gene and can outlast the energizer bunny when it comes to our family rides. I have decided biking is so much easier at sea level I should just stay here to exercise all winter, and well, Bill is Bill and I don't think even warmed up on our family ride.
After a wonderful lunch break, we hit the beach for some sun and sand action. The sun sets early here (before 5 p.m) and it was chilly after our late lunch. It didn't seem to deter our boys who stripped down to their suits and went into the freezing water to do their annual battle with the ocean. This year they battled both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on our coast to coast journey across the states. Not bad in a year.
After the beach and a post-beach warming up, we headed out to a sushi dinner with Anne (all 3 of my boys were such great sports for this!) and then to a California staple-- Trader Joe's for some groceries for the next few days. I think we are now set (and recovered from the drive) for a few more days of the same theme. It is like heaven to be outside without a coat, glove, hat, scarf and snow boots. I say this every year, but this time I just might act on it "I am NOT coming back until May!"

Old School Christmas

If you asked my children what they were wishing they would receive this Christmas, the answer would have been an overwhelming "a Wii!!!" Poor kids, they were cursed with evil parents who are holding off as long as humanly possible from buying any real gaming system. That being said-- they were, however, blessed with parents with an appreciation of all things 80's. What that means to them-- no Wii, yes Atari. Not any Atari, but one preloaded with 40 classic pixel ridden games. If you think they were disappointed, think again. They were thrilled and played for hours! They love the silly thing. Wii smeee.

Romney at the last minute also added a guitar to his list. Bill ran out to the store to find one and came back totally successful. Romney was so excited to see the guitar, he immediately started playing and making up songs. He single-handedly created the soundtrack to our Christmas morning. I arranged to have William's piano teacher spend a few minutes with Romney after William's lesson teaching Romney some guitar. He loves William's piano teacher almost as much as William does, and is so excited to have her teaching him too.

All in all it was one of our most enjoyable Christmas mornings. The boys were so happy and content and it was rewarding to see them enjoying their goods so much.

Now before you go feeling too sorry for the two boys who got an Atari instead of a Wii for Christmas, the big family present was a trip to Newport Beach California for some much needed sunshine and rest and relaxation! The best gift of all!

Party with the Unsociable

6 months ago, Bill surprised me by saying "I think when I graduate, I want to have a party." I say surprised because Bill has never ever mentioned throwing a shin-dig of any proportions. He was pretty clear that he didn't want to have it just at our home, but wanted to rent a place. The hunt for the perfect place (at the perfect price) commenced and just a few months ago, we found a spot. He picked out food and I hunted down rentals we would need. He loaded up his ipod with graduation party music to be played over the sound system and I secured festive and comfortable furniture and decorations. The plan was perfect...



But as any good party planner will tell you, nothing ever runs as smoothly as you think it will. The weather did not get a party invitation and rebelled by storming keeping half of the confirmed RSVPs away that night. A flight snafu kept Anne from arriving until the last 30 minutes of our clean-up time and icy roads made pick up and delivery of party paraphernalia challenging to say the least.


However, challenges aside-- the party was lovely. Bill's family (minus Anne and Quentin) made it in and had a nice chance to celebrate with him. We had some great loyal friends make the trek to join us and we enjoyed a fun night of music and food and visiting. Bill loved having this opportunity to celebrate the past two years of hard work.

Welcome to the House of Fun

Sugar! The sweet rush of sugar has been running through my 3 boys veins for the past 2 days. Saturday we had a wonderful time enjoying a sugar cookie decorating tradition with our friends. This year, being sugar free and since I am a classic kitchenaphobe, it was difficult to get motivated to do the baking of the cookies, but with the help from a mix purchased at the ol' Costco, they got done. The only problem hosting this event is the hosts always get stuck with (Or are lucky enough to get to keep, depending on your perspective.) the bulk of the extra cookies. After letting everyone pick out their favorite 2 or 3, I finally just had to throw the extras into the trash (So they would stop staring at me, calling my name! Darn those stinking gingerbread men!)

The next day, our lovely neighbors brought us a gingerbread house they had baked and assembled for us. Not only did they bring the house, they brought the candies, the stuff to make the frosting/glue and helped my children decorate their own personalized home. I am worried we may have permanently scared them off, after watching William and Romney impale gummy Santas and gummy bears repeatedly, while laughing maniacally, for about an hour. Then the sugar rush kicked in and running around the house in circles, laughing maniacally began. Let's just say, they slept well that night after burning that much energy being spastic.

We love our traditions...

Holiday Cookies, Gingerbread houses (granted a new tradition) and Sugar-hyped kids.

Holiday Concert

Learning happens in a myriad of mysterious ways...
Our non-lime-light-loving son had his holiday concert tonight. Yesterday he begged me to get him a Santa hat to wear for the occasion. Today, he begged me not to make him wear it. (Too late Mr. I hunted one down for you and now you will wear it!) Yesterday he was all excitement about the concert. This morning, the gravity of "being in front of people" must have hit him as he was almost in tears over his toast realizing today was the day.

He survived the experience feeling proud (and a little bit shell-shocked!) afterwards. He did a great job as a beginning band student-- in tune and actually playing recognizable notes and rhythm. When you see the video and hear the sound of the rest of the crew-- you will understand our pride.

Kanab (So Long, Farewell)

It seems like I just wrote the last Kanab post yesterday, but it has been two weeks and so much has changed. Bill's Grandmother passed away on Monday and the funeral was in Kanab this weekend. Losing someone you love is never easy. But I do think it is easier when they have lived a full life (91 years) and relief from pain would be welcome.
The challenge: Finding something to do in Kanab during a weekend filled with rain and snow, after having been there just two short weeks ago. Solutions: Denny's Wigwam. Denny's Wigwam had posted a billboard we read on our way into town that promised "Denny's Wigwam: It's fun!" I had my doubts! How much fun can a wigwam in Kanab be? Let me tell you after a long funeral afternoon, it can be a LOT of fun! Denny's delivered on it's promise and gave us two hours of "F.U.N." (and we are a family that is constantly in search of that!)
Stetson cowboys hats right by the door were calling our name right from the start! And with an iphone camera handy, we had ourselves some Kanab style dress-up fun.
It soon became my mission to not leave the wigwam without out one fun photo from all those who braved the wigwam with us. (Anne, Quentin and David-- the other "losers"-err, I mean family members-- missed out on the experience.) Probably nappin' (as they would say in Kanab). We wielded guns, held scorpions with our bare hands, found a bear that pointed our way to the restrooms, tried on some "shit-kickers"--i.e. cowboy boots, shot some already dead animals, and learned about immigration politics from a poster. Anne also talked us all into dressing up for one of them Ol' Time Photos. It was the highlight of the wigwam experience and worth every penny. The boys talked us into letting them put money into an Ol' Fashioned Shootin' Gallery. Can you tell we were wiped out by the funeral and had no resistance left.













All of the Great Grandkids (and one younger Grandchild) sang a song that Bill's Grandmother used to sing with Anne. It turned out pretty cute. (William elected not to go into the room with the viewing going on. We totally let him off the hook for the singing.)

Sitting on the Fat Man's Lap (Spoiler Alert)

Your resident Scrooge here, checking in with a report from the trenches. December has arrived, and so did our annual ward Christmas party. This is a party that we, as a family, try to plan something to do during, so that we can be guiltlessly excused from attending. Not so this year, since as part of the primary, I had to go and help out with wrangling the cats (uh, I mean kids) on stage during the reenacting of the Christmas Story. (And I don't mean the funny one that involves a Red Rider B.B. gun.) As a person who would regularly say "Bah, Humbug" during this 25 days of torture out-loud if I didn't get reprimanded by strangers when I did, you can imagine that my children have been told the truth about the fat man that steals the glory from parents who braved crowded shopping centers all over the Christian world from day one. William finds the myth disturbing (being quite the literal human being he is, he doesn't understand the draw). But in order to claim his goody bag full of treats and toys, he had to sit on the fat man's lap and pretend to care. See the smirk-- I think it says it all.


Romney on the other hand knows the truth, but still likes to play along and "believe". You can't tell from this photo, but he happily will climb up and tell the "actor" in the red suit what he wants. I think he might hope that the "actor" will find him so adorable, he will rush out and get him his wishes. I am not sure. It is Romney after all, and what is going through that hilarious mind of his is often a mystery. Whatever he is thinking, he will happily play along for a chance of candy and toys.

Bill and I couldn't help but enjoy (while shaking our heads at the whole farce) watching the two act out this Christmas ritual like two true "believers". (or not!)

Best of Times...Worst of Times (Thanksgiving Edition)

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. And let's face it, there is not much on the planet I am more thankful for in the late fall/early winter than a bit of sunshine. In order to properly express our thanks for such a wonderful star, we felt it necessary to chase it, and headed south to St. George. Originally, the plan was Kanab to visit Bill's grandma, but after listening to me moan about winter already, (and in order for him to properly test out his graduation gift--a 2010 Specialized Stumpjumper), we decided to add a couple of fun days in St. George. It was our very best and our worst Thanksgiving vacation.

The St. George half of the trip qualifies as the best of times. St. George has invested in miles and miles of fantastic paved trails along the Virgin River. Our family enjoys riding these trails for hours on end. Romney has become a champion biker on his tiny little single speed bike. He is right in between bike sizes, where his size is too small, but the next one is just a hair too big, so we are holding out until spring to buy William the next size and passing William's to Romney (William is in a similar biking predicament.) Romney has to pedal super hard and fast to gain any real ground. He said his legs "were like a sewing machine" with how fast they were going straight up and down.



When we tired of biking (or Romney's sewing machine legs gave out) we drove to Snow Canyon and did two fun short hikes. We hiked out to the lava rocks and up Jenny's Canyon. Both were great family hikes with amazing scenery. Romney who is learning about different rock types this year, was totally thrilled to see the lava rocks and pick up very big ones that didn't weigh very much. William was a bit less enthusiastic, but liked seeing the very obvious lava flow route.


Jenny's Canyon was my favorite. I had been rock climbing with some friends in college on the outside face of this canyon, but never made it in. It is really a beautiful place with lots of crevices for the kids to boulder up and hide in. We took the other trail to the scenic overlook of the canyon and watched the sun start to set over Snow Canyon.



Since really two hikes and a bike ride or two are never enough for any family, we headed straight over to Dixie Rock to do a little "stalking" of my past, by driving by the house I used to stay at every time I needed an escape from the horror that is/was BYU (Which, for the record, worked out roughly to every two weeks.) We then walked up to the top of Dixie rock where we discovered both boys do not have a fondness for heights. They were both tripping out to be anywhere within 15-20 of the ledge (holding our hands, I might add.) They did enjoy bouldering over some of the area that is located much further away from any major, life-threating drops.





Our next stop was Kanab to visit Bill's grandma. This part of our visit had been planned and booked a month ago. However, a few days before Thanksgiving, we found out she was being hospitalized and would not be able to return to her home to live again. The doctors found cancer that is well past the treatable phase and she in unable to walk by herself. Anne drove out a few days before the original plan to come and care for her in the hospital. She has single-handedly managed all the doctor's information, the house, the packing for her grandmother to move to live with family in Arizona, as well as researching hospice care and long term care options to help make this the easiest possible transition. She is amazing and definitely the person I want as my advocate should anything land me in the hospital.

Bill and Anne had several hours alone in the hospital with their grandma while I had the boys at a park and then watching a movie. We joined them all at Grandma's house for our last visit with her there. (The doctor's were willing to release her for one night so she could feel like she got to go home before having to move in with her daughter). Bill and I were able to hear the stories of all the homes she had lived in since marrying Bill's grandfather. It was special to hear the details of each place straight from the source. It is so astounding that we had this trip planned on what ended up being her last two days in Kanab. Her mind is sharp as a tack, it is her body that is betraying her. I am not sure if that makes aging easier or harder.

Being home seemed to help perk Bill's grandmother up, and Anne and I got her dressed and tucked in for the night. Anne and I also made a 2:00 a.m. run over to her home to get her changed and do a quick check on her. It reminded me of hanging out with Anne in the retirement home during our college years, while she worked the midnight shift. The morning came and we gave her a quick sponge bath and dressed her and helped prepare her for her move to Phoenix. Getting her loaded onto the bed created out of an air mattress in the back of the van that would transport her to her new home was no easy fete. Any movement at all is met with pain and even nausea. All of us were very worried about getting her from her home to the car, but it went relatively smoothly. After everyone left, Bill and I tried to do one last little bit of cleaning up and preparing her home for her long absence. The whole day was dreary, even the weather seemed to mimic the family mood.




On the upside, the boys got some great time with Quentin, doing their most favorite activity together--video games. It is odd to be in Kanab at the moment without Bill's Grandma or any other family. We decided to stay, since we had prepaid the hotel for a better rate. If the weather cheers up tomorrow, we will head out on a hike, while Bill does a grown-up test run of his new mountain bike. A last ditch effort to have some fun family time before we get busy preparing for December and Bill's graduation.


I am sure that Bill and Anne are thankful to have this precious time with their grandma, that will be lost to much of the rest of her family.

So, from our own personal tale of two cities. . . "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Party Deja Vu

Another warm, sunny November day to celebrate our Romney's birthday. Does this look like the face of a 7 year old? I am still wondering what happened to the past 7 years --how they seemed to fly by, while I remember that many of the days during that time seemed to drag on and on... they mystery of time. And a reminder to savor each moment, even the ones that seem to drag. Romney is growing into such an amazing person. He is kind and thoughtful and funny and open and friendly and brilliant.


The day started very early with a giant breakfast of pancakes and turkey bacon and strawberries (all at Romney's special request). Then Romney could not get dressed fast enough to be able to partake in a family tradition: Opening presents before school! He attacked them with typical Romney zeal. He was so excited about the things William picked out for him (a Lego set and a laser pointer) and the game Bill and I bought him (from his very lengthy wish list). He left for school extremely excited and happy and had a nice day there enjoying thoughtful, personal questions (about what his favorite things are) during his birthday circle at the end of the day. He passed out treats (Fruit leathers and mechanical pencils) and couldn't wait for phase two: "Have lots of fun!" (Funny, didn't William say that same thing about his birthday plans?)



We all had such a great time at William's Classic Skating party, that when it came time for Romney to decide on his birthday plans, after much thinking and consideration, he wanted to do a repeat performance, with him as the star. We had 6 boys join him bouncing, laser tagging, scootering, and blast zoning, (not to mention arcade gaming). He was very clear, he wanted to pick a different birthday room than William did. He wanted the F/X room. It came complete with fog machine, lasers and Super Mario Smash Brothers game (it was an enormous hit). They spent time playing the game and eating pizza and ice cream and cupcakes. They received glow in the dark vampire teeth on their ice cream cups and humored us letting us try and snap a photo of them wearing their new canines. (It isn't marvelous through the smoke, flash off trying to capture the glow, but whatever!)



Towards the end of the party, the venue has two games for the party kid to play-- a spin the wheel, win a prize game as well as a money booth. Romney scored in both games. On the wheel there is one (very skinny) winning spot that offers the child $10 in cash money. This is the BIG win. Things like yo-yos and light up frogs and balls and glow sticks take up the other 99% of the real estate on the prize wheel. Romney was hoping beyond all hope he would hit the jackpot, and for the first time in our party planners career, it happened and Romney walked away from that wheel $10 richer. He could not have been more thrilled. I predicted to myself that after that big win the monopoly money grabbing booth (that you turn in for tickets) would be kind of a let down. I could not have been more wrong. (See video evidence below).




After the big party and braving horrific traffic home to deliver the party boys to their waiting families, we took Romney out alone to a special dinner at the restaurant of his choice--Olive Garden. We had such a nice time just the three of us. I have neglected to mention, but one of William's closest friends' party was at the same time to much later in the evening, so William missed Romney's party. It did give Romney some great time with Bill and I and alone with his friends, but William was missed.

Another year down and I couldn't be luckier. I have the most amazing boys who are growing into fantastic young men. Pretty lucky Mama.

For Those Who Doubt

I caught Clark Kent with his shirt off, mid-change into ... SUPERMAN.

Happy Halloween

95 pieces of candy/per kid and 2 hours later, our Halloween celebration is (almost) complete. We have 4 sugar-crashing boys watching a Star Wars video in the front room, while Bill and I decompress enjoying a hot cocoa (sugar free, of course) in the kitchen. We walked the length of 11th Avenue both sides of the street (as well as visiting our all-time favorite Halloween house on 12th Avenue) with our buddies the Shumway boys (who joined us for some pre-trick-or-treating pizza) and the Bates family, as well as some miscellaneous friends.

True to his word, Romney decided to switch up his costume for trick or treating, and was a dead scuba diver. (He died because he forgot his Oxygen tank, according to Romney). William's costume was hilarious and spooky, two 11 year old boy favorites he was "Brain-Washed Kid". Our two trick-or-treating buddies for the night went as Totoro (Who may have been inspired by his recent trip to Tokyo, lucky kid!) and a Ninja (who was also recently in Tokyo).


Now the boys have a very important decision to make, do they want to eat their candy or trade it in for a $1/pound at a local dentist office? Hmmmmm....decisions, decisions. (Romney told me tonight he likes fruit better than candy anyway, since he can have as much of the fruit as he wants, but candy-- not so much. Could it be that the parenting is starting to get through to them?)

One Pirate and Three Lame Nerds

The day before All Hallows Eve. My most- beloved time of year: candy and costumes, two favorite treats. It is the first year where I won't see William at school in his costume, or his friends' costumes. Romney had a big load to carry: entertaining his mother sufficiently for Halloween. He had been very clear about his costume. It was to be a mix of pirate/skeleton and bleeding guy--however, this morning he decided to take it down a notch and only go with the pirate look (which may morph into a scuba diver come trick-or-treating time--don't ask).




He was not sure if he should dress up and announced NONE of the other Nerds were dressing up for school. I said I thought their mothers may have different ideas, but much to Romney's shagrin, they were all there sans costumes (the only 4 in the whole class who did not dress up-losers). He was a bit self-conscious, but still confident in his decision to costume for the day (even though his mother was driving him nuts taking pictures from her cell-phone). So whose the nerd now, those who are afraid to be silly or the guy who has enough self-confidence to pull off a pirate-look?

Retro Fit

Meet my winter fitness plan. . . way cheaper than a gym membership and much cuter too!

The Theme of the day--F. U. N.

11 years ago to the day, I was laboring in a hospital room, about to give birth to one of the best things that ever happened to me: William.

Yesterday in the car, driving the monotonous carpool route, I overheard William's friend wish him a happy early birthday and then the two started talking about his upcoming party (which they were both extremely excited for). His friend asked William "Is there any particular theme for the party?" In my head I was thinking "Well, I guess the theme could be comic books, but really what does roller-skating and laser tag and bouncing have to do with comics?" William didn't hesitate and said "Yes, the theme of the day is F.U.N." What a perfect theme for a birthday party (and why didn't I think of that?)!

The morning started with a Barber tradition of a full and yummy breakfast (a true special occasion when you have a mother that a). isn't a morning person and b.) can't cook.) He requested pancakes and eggs and sausage and orange juice and made it about 1/3 of the way through what was on his plate. I am not sure if he was truly full or just ready to get to stage 2 of the traditional Barber birthday morning, which is family present opening.

Romney was very cute and bought William 3 Lego sets. He announced he bought 3 because "They were on sale, William!" (Ah, a man after my own shopping heart.) William LOVED them and is super excited to build them. We bought William a DS game he has been dying to own, but couldn't because it was rated E10+. He was shocked to open it to find the Wolverine game that has alluded his possession since he earned his DS in June.

I sent a very happy and excited boy off to school, where he enjoyed a 1/2 day (Fridays are always half days) by having a Mesopotamia party and NO HOMEWORK. We picked he and Romney up from school and headed to the lunch of William's choice (Jimmy John's Sandwich Shop) and then straight to William's party. William put so much thought into this party of his. It took him almost a month before he committed to his choice of venue and activities. Finally, he decided on Classic Fun Center (Notice how it fits his theme of F.U.N.). I got a great deal on Gift Certificates online and bought enough to pay for the party.

The boys showed up and were shown to the Game Room we had rented which included 4 different video games and a PS2. They played there as everyone arrived. Once (almost) everyone was there, the first order of business was a game (more like all out war) of 3-D Laser Tag. The party hostess, Lyndsey (who was seriously amazing at her job, I might add) asked if Bill and I wanted to play along with the kids, and the answer was a "FO'SHO!" Bill took the all time Classic Fun Center High Score status. ( I may have set an all time LOW score record :) The boys had so much fun blasting us and each other. We had so much fun watching them having so much fun. After Laser Tag, they headed to the brand new "BlastZone" attraction. It is like a ball pit on steroids. They have cannons that rain down foam balls and a wicked steep slide along with blasters that fire the balls all over the area at targets hung on walls.


The boys may never have left that area if not for the lure and promise of sugar waiting for them back in the game room. Spiderman cupcakes and giant cups of ice-cream with unlimited soda made singing the "Happy Birthday Song" more bearable, I am sure.








William had fun opening presents and was totally spoiled by his friends who bought him all kinds of comic book paraphernalia and legos and Puffles (It's a club penguin thing I am not totally sure about, except to know that they are BIG winners in our house).










The kids played some more video games after William passed out the comic books he bought as "thank you for coming" gifts. We send 11 sugar-hyped boys back out into the FUN ZONE to bounce, skate and hide in the "jungle" for the next hour.








At the end of William's time celebrating his F.U.N. themed birthday party, he had a turn to spin the birthday wheel (he won a laser pointer) and had time in the money booth, grabbing as many dollars (to be traded for tickets) as he could in a minute. As if that weren't fun enough, after celebrating at his own birthday party, he headed straight to another friend's party to help her celebrate her birthday, and had a second party experience. If his day o' F.U.N. was any indication, I think this no-longer-so-little-guy is going to have a fabulous year!