Carter's Buddies...

We had each of the boys pose with Carter when he opened their gift. Such cute little guys!

Isaac

Owen

Carl

Thomas

Luke

Jax

Party like a Jedi!

We celebrated Carter's 8th birthday on September 9th with a Star Wars themed scavenger hunt. The boys' soccer and football schedules had us severely limited on party times, so we decided to kick it "old school" and host a party at home on a Friday night. Carter claims it was the best party ever, but I think he says that every year! I served on the organizing and decorating committee, but Russ gets all the credit for designing and setting up the scavenger hunt. Rumor has it that he may win an Oscar for his portrayal of the Sith lord at the end of the party.

The boys listening to Russ explain the rules of the hunt. He was trying to

set a very dramatic tone, but the boys weren't buying it.

Posing in the tree house after locating a clue.

All of the clues described a Star Wars "icon" that they boys had
to locate. Alex, Carl and Isaac reading the clue off of a blaster.

They've spotted another clue! We had them running all

over the neighborhood. The goal was to exhaust them, but

their endurance was far greater than ours!

Posing with all of the icons. Each boy had to return home with one

in order to receive their light saber for battle.

Russ making his grand entrance as a Sith lord.

Yes, he is sporting a beach towel on his head.

Each Jedi had to battle the Dark lord in order to reduce his power.

Defeated! These boys were on a testosterone high. I'm sure

some of the "new age" parenting books would find this picture disturbing!

Some people like to use pinatas at their parties, we prefer to use Russ!

Victorious! Striking their best Jedi pose.

Hot and sweaty, but so ready for cake and ice cream!

From left: Luke McMahan, Isaac Wilson, Owen Counts, Carter,

Thomas Naylor, Alex, Carl Daughtery, Jax Coleman

(not pictured was Karter Pawelczak who made a quick appearance before his soccer game)

Catching a big one...

Fishing has been a bone of contention with my boys for many, many years. The problem? They've never caught one. The bigger problem? Natalie catches one every time she sticks her pole in the water...literally. Labor Day 2011 started out to be a repeat of years past...except the boys were VERY determined to break the cycle.

In keeping with tradition, Natalie posing with the first catch of the day.

Yes! About 10 minutes later, Carter emerged victorious!

SUCCESS! About 20 minutes later (and we were starting to sweat it!),

Alex caught the final and fattest fish of the day.

Natalie still holds the record, but the boys are on the board!

WPS!

It's time for Razorback football! Seems like we've been

counting down to this day FOREVER...

Birthday X 2

We went to the lake this weekend to celebrate Labor Day. We had a dual birthday party to celebrate Papa and Carter's birthdays (September 3rd and 12th). I'd like to give a shout out to the Highland Town and Country for creating what can only be described as the ugliest birthday cake ever...we also have to give them full credit for the laughs that accompanied it. Camo and yellow icing? Really? Mimi requested "no flowers" because "it's for two guys." Apparently, "no flowers" translates to "add some camo to make it extra manly!" Nonetheless, it tasted pretty darn good!

Mimi and Natalie did some sidewalk chalk to welcome Carter back from a boat ride.

Feel free to zoom in on that cake!

I wonder if Papa is wishing for a real light saber, too?

Gassy Gus from Uncle Chris and Aunt Wendy. This game will require a

video attachment to do it justice. Gross!

That is the face of pure joy! I honestly thought we had every Star Wars

ship known to man, but Mimi and Papa managed to pull out another one!

Let's Dance...

Alex had his first middle school dance on August 19th. There was a big debate among his friends on whether or not "they" would go. It was only the first week of school and no one was too comfortable mixing with the 7th and 8th graders. After waffling for days and saying, "I'm waiting to see what Jackson or Wyatt is doing," we told him that they were probably waiting on him and someone had to be the first to make a decision. I was very proud of him when he stepped up and said, "I guess I'll go." That's about as definitive as it gets for an 11 year old boy.

I'm happy to report that he had a wonderful time. He even danced...in a group. That totally counts!

Striking the cool pose before picking up his friends.

He was pumped about wearing his custom Converse shoes...compliments of Mimi and Papa.

This further proves my theory about boys and their shoes...

2nd Day of the 2nd Week

Before school even started, Russ and I were placing bets on which of our little darlings would be the first to get sick. I suppose I "won" by putting my money on Carter, although I certainly didn't suspect it would be so early in the year...2nd day of the 2nd week. Ugh!

Russ is coaching Alex's football team so we are doing a ton of dividing and conquering with the boys. On this particular day, I worked until 4:30. Russ was trying to wait on me to get home so he could leave for practice with Alex. I got stuck in traffic so he was literally waiting on me in the driveway. As I'm heading in the house, he shouts, "Carter doesn't seem to be 100%. He's been kind of low key since he got home from school." This is what I found when I walked into the house...



Not 100%? He had 102 temp and fell asleep 5 minutes after I walked in the door. Bless his heart! I told Russ the next time Carter claims to be "freezing" in 100 heat to stick a thermometer in his mouth. In his defense, he tried...he got him the pillow and blanket!

Side note: It was totally viral. He stayed home the next day and was rearing to go by Thursday!