My Easter Boys

We had spring break last week. We went camping in our pop-up camper for the weekend beginning spring break (and my birthday weekend). It was up in Mayo, FL on the Suwanee River (about 2 hours NW of us). It was a nice campground, but we had bad weather. The first night was fine, but it rained most of the next day and night. We ended up going to the lodge a couple of times because of severe weather. But they had board games, which helped us pass the time. We did get a nice walk in along the river before the storm came. 

Then we spent the week in Daytona Beach with Bob's parents and uncle. We had a relaxing time. Unfortunately, it was chilly and very windy the whole week. We did go up to St. Augustine for the day mid-week. The boys played mini-golf every day. 

We got home the day before Easter. Who needs the Easter bunny when I have these cute Easter boys?

So, I have not posted on here about my new jobs. I actually have a couple. I'm still doing some work with Bob in the office. But I am going to begin developing an online course in epidemiology (the study of the spread and control of diseases) for my old boss at the University of CT. Once we have developed the course, I will begin teaching it. We should have it complete by the end of the summer. 

I am also a "jewelry lady!" I was making some jewelry and was going to begin selling it. But then I went to a Premier Designs home show, and fell in love with their jewelry. I also found that the compensation as a jeweler was amazing. So, I signed up last month and have my training show next week. I've very excited and have already received so many compliments when I wear my jewelry samples. This will also get me out of the house and have fun while I'm making money. Yes, I get out when I go to work at the office, but I'm the only female, so I'm not really socially engaged there. And doing online courses is great for a work-at-home mom, but it's not so good for the social aspect of my life. I have already met a couple times with the other ladies in my area that sell Premier jewelry, and they are a great bunch of ladies. We get together once a month for training and fellowship. 

To go along with my new jobs, I got a new haircut. I have been progressively getting shorter cuts. Bob liked my hair shorter, so I really got it chopped today. Bob even likes it straight better than curly, which is the first time he's said that. It's fun to play with my new hairstyle.

Love My Boys!

Thank you again to everyone who donated to the American Heart Association for Jump for Heart! Glenn raise $385!!! He was the second highest fundraiser in his school and got on the morning show at school today. We were at Alexander's school tonight for their Spring program. Alexander's friend has a sister who goes to Glenn's school and said that Glenn is famous, he was on tv! He was so excited when I picked him up from school. He even wore his Jump for Heart shirt today. I knew they would be announcing the top fundraisers, but they had said it would be tomorrow. So, I planned on cutting his hair today. Well, I was too late. It was getting really long. But I digress...

As I mentioned, it was Alexander's spring program tonight. He was so excited to sing tonight. Afterward, he said it was so much fun he wished he could do it again. Last year, he spent half the time picking his nose. But this time he was too busy doing the hand motions and singing. What a difference a year makes. :)

 

 

 

Last week, I had my camera out and Alexander asked me to take pictures of him. Here he is modeling for me. Notice his huge ear. He fell off a plastic chair (that he was standing on) and hit it on a wooden chair. It blew up instantly. We ended up going to the doctor and then to the ENT. Thankfully it was severe enough to be lanced. It's healing well, but will be discolored for a long time. At least he didn't break any bones!

 

 

 

I got my hair cut a few weeks ago. I have had it this short before, but not with so many layers. I don't know what to do with it. For it to be properly styled, I need to curl it, which I do not have the time for. So, I'll be growing it back out. I always have a headband or wrap in my hair. 

Alexander took the picture above. He did a good job.

 

The boys went camping for the first time last week in our new pop-up camper. They had so much fun hiking and cooking over the camp fire. I had a 5K (to speed walk) so I didn't go with them. But we will all be camping this weekend with cub scouts. Unfortunately, they do not allow camping trailers. So, we have to sleep in tents. We'll all go camping again in a couple more weeks together in the camper. We decided to get the camper as an investment in our family. It will be good bonding time. 

Jump Rope for Heart 2013

It's that time of year again! Glenn always looks forward to Jump Rope for Heart, which supports the American Heart Association. I asked him again this year why he was doing this and he said, "I'm raising money to help people with heart attacks and heart problems." You may remember from past years that he really gets this fundraiser. He is such a sweet and caring boy and I hope he never loses those qualities.

If you would like to help the American Heart Association with their research, please click on this link to Glenn's donation page.

Thank you!

It Takes a Heart to be a Hero

Roller Skating

Yesterday, we went to a birthday party at a roller skating rink (yeah, they still have those)! Glenn had never gone roller skating before. It was very tough for him at first, but he started to get the hang of it by the end of the party. But he had fun the whole time and never gave up. 

Alexander received skates for Christmas that can be in training position (one wheel in the front and two in the back) or inline skates. We have them in the training position right now. He had tried a few times since he received them, but it's hard to do on the driveway. He picked it up really quick at the party on the smooth surface. It also helps that his wheels don't roll freely like the roller skate wheels. He was so cute. He also did a sock race running in his socks with other boys up to age 8. He was last place, but he did run the whole way around the rink.

 

The boys can't wait to go back!

Glenn's Birthday Party

Glenn turned 8 this past Thursday. Can you believe it?!?! A week ago, we had his birthday party with his friends. That morning, he had the Pinewood Derby with Cub Scouts, which was great for me because it kept the boys busy while I finished preparing for the party. However, I'm sad I missed the derby because they had fun. Glenn's car came in first place in his den (the ribbon is on his pocket with a red car hanging down), and the older kids gave his a pack award for cub scout spirit (they gave out three total pack awards).  He was proud of himself and realized that all the hard work that it took to turn a rectangular block of wood into this car was worth it.

Then came the party! As you can tell right away, the party theme was Angry Birds. For those of you who are not game savvy, Angry Birds is a phone app (now with merchandise and I think a movie will be coming out next year) based on birds who are angry at pigs that steal their eggs. Anyway, we are all hooked on the various versions of this game and there was no question as to what the theme would be this year for his birthday. 

I made the cake. I saw it in on Pinterest. I used wafer cookies for the structure the pigs are in. There's even a golden egg hiding below one of them. And we had the pigs, bird and slingshot from Christmas. I found sugar paper letters at Hobby Lobby to do the writing. And yes, it did take what felt like forever to do the grass on the top of the cake.

 

I had a photo booth set up with props for the kids to use from glasses, to mustaches, bird eyebrows and beaks.

The birthday angry bird...

...and his bird brother.

Glenn and his friend.

Alexander and our neighbor friend. I love that his friend chose to mix it up, having the top hat with the bird beak. 

 

Alexander and his friend from school (the older brother of this boy is pictured above with Glenn). 

Although no adults would partake in the photo booth, I made Bob pose for a picture after the party. I got him back for making this face by posting it on facebook.

And of course I had to get into the fun!

I am so happy we bought our bounce house years ago. It has been great for birthday parties and just having friends over. You can kind of see a pig pinata off to the right of the bounce house hanging between two trees. It took forever for the kids to break it. 

Instead of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, we had Pin the Beak on the Angry Bird. Apparently, they could see through the scarf (if they were sinister enough to try to peak). The kids also had fun putting the photo booth props up to the angry bird.

I had given these blocks to Alexander for Christmas. And Glenn received birds and pigs for Christmas. Christmas morning, they were setting up the blocks, putting the pigs on them like this and knocking them down with the birds. So, of course, we had to do that for the party, too. 

Glenn did not want to have the candles on the cake because he didn't want wax on the cake. So, we put them in cupcakes. Then he decided to blow them out like this. What a great idea! No spit on the cake and reduced the number of germs. :) Notice that the cupcake liners are zebra. He has transformed his room with a zebra theme. I'll get some pictures of it soon. 

We also had a tattoo station. Glenn didn't want any during the party, but afterward, he asked for more he's every had in his life combined. 

Alexander has found they last longer if you put them on your tummy.

We had a great time. I gave what looked like red Chinese take-out containers and put Angry Bird faces on them for the favors. One of the favors was a little bag of gummy worms with a topper that said Angry Bird Food. You can tell I had a lot of fun with it.