Friday, August 16, 2013

A Short Nature Break...

 I remember when I first started blogging.
It drove me crazy to add pictures to my blog. 
I couldn't see what the picture was until 
I got it all entered.

Now, it is so much simpler...but still.
For some reason, there are times when my pictures don't load in the order that I have them on my computer.  That's what is happening right now with my blog post about Josh's Family Birthday Party.
Drag.  Drop.  Drag.  Drop.  Refuse to drag.  Delete itself.  

Ugh.
When that happens, I tend to stop blogging.

This time, I've decided to continue blogging my family's life while working on that overwhelming post.

On the morning of Joshua's 8th birthday, 
we decided to take it easy.
I had been so busy with birthday and school preparations that a bit of a break sounded wonderful!
We hung out in our jammies and enjoyed nature.

Matthew is so intrigued by the cicadas!
He really, REALLY does not like bugs of any kind, but lightning bugs and cicadas are different.
He couldn't wait to show me what he found on the tree 
at the side of the house.


Fresh out of his shell!


Cicadas aren't my favorite, so we're going to 
take a flower break...


My friend, Peggy, divided up her Black-Eyed Susans a couple of years ago, and shared some with me. 
They are absolutely beautiful!


O.K.
Back to bugs.
After looking at the cicada and his shell for a bit, we discovered many, many more shells all the way up and around the tree.



Believe it or not, Matthew likes to collect the shells and the dead cicadas and keep them in a sandwich bag.



A couple of weeks ago, William and I were driving home "the country way," and found a field that we didn't recognize.  At that time, they were just stems and leaves.

We thought we would take a drive 
to see what we might find.

Wow!
Look at that!


Sunflowers!


And some stray Morning Glories.



Here, they look like they are 
bowing down to their Creator.


And the next minute, 
they are lifting their heads to the Son!


I remember seeing acres and acres of Sunflower fields when Paul and I drove through South Dakota some...
19 years ago?!


I love this progression...




 Matthew got the biggest kick out of sunflower toward the middle of this picture. 
It was a "tall guy!"


One of my favorites...Queen Anne's Lace.

I remember my mom taking the Queen Anne's Lace and placing them in jars of water colored with food coloring.  We would watch the dainty little flowers turn such pretty colors.

I also remember seeing my first grade teacher, Mrs. Arch, and her son, Chas, walking down our road, harvesting the dried Queen Anne's Lace.  They would take it home and make tea.


Sunflowers, Queen Anne's Lace and Clover all together.


As we were driving home, we decided to drive through the pretty, quiet neighborhood behind our home.  As we drove by the pond, we saw these little white sails floating along.  We couldn't quite tell what they were, so William got out of the car to take a closer look.

Goose feathers!

As he was walking along the bank, he said that frogs began croaking and jumping into the water.




The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above[a] proclaims his handiwork.
 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
 There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
 Their voice[b] goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Psalm 19:1-6

Enjoying the glory of God,

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Joshua's Despicable Friend Party

Joshua's birthday theme this year has been a fun one!
It has demanded that we watch "Despicable Me" several times...and go to the theater to see "Despicable Me 2."

I LOVE BIRTHDAYS!
It is so much fun celebrating the life of 
someone you love so dearly.
Josh chose "Despicable Me" as his theme after seeing a cute cake idea that Grandma sent us.
The cake design was a little over my head, but I can handle Twinkie Minions.


Friday evening was the time to take all of the ideas that I had Pinned and make sense of them.



First, I put William to work on making some
 Cookie Robots.



Then, time to make the cupcakes!
Banana and Chocolate cupcakes this year.


Banana!
I have a new favorite cupcake flavor thanks to those little yellow banana-loving Minions!



I wasn't quite sure how to make the eyes.
I ended up using this blue Glitter Frosting.  
I squeezed some out and then used a knife 
to cut a blob off.
I could then push the candy eye into the blob.
They were pretty soft, so before putting them onto the Twinkie, I put them in the refrigerator.



These cupcakes aren't difficult...
they are just very, very time consuming.
Like this step...poking the brown sprinkles into the Twinkie for hair.


Carrie decided that she had just about had enough!


Finally!  
Minions!
The one-eyed Minions actually look like Minions, but I thought that the two-eyed Minions look a bit like 
Beaker from The Muppet Show.
I had to use a dab of frosting to keep 
the eye on the Twinkie.
I was so afraid that the eyes might slide down the Minions face so I put them in a 
covered container overnight.


I found the same color cupcake liners that were used on the party plates and in the movie.
I used "Sky Blue" from Wilton to color my frosting.

And here is the final product!





I did keep the cupcakes in the refrigerator 
until party time.


This is what I put in the party favor bags.
The little white gumball is supposed to be the 
shrunken moon.
The curly straw is supposed to be like the straw that Vector used in one of the movie scenes.


The party table!


Gummy Bears (referencing the Gummy Bear house that Agnes hopes to live in) and Coconutties are in the cupcake liners.



Our finished Cookie Robots!
We used the tube from the aluminum foil wrapped in foil with a hole reinforcements for the eyes.
Oh!  And paper clips for the legs.


Chocolate chip cookies and Coconutties.


Twinkies and Cheetos are served from dog bowls, because Gru used dog bowls for food and water when the girls first came to live with him.


Balloons!
A Banana balloon!




The leftover cupcakes.
I got tired of making Minions.


Joshua's friends arrive!


After drinking a juice box (referencing the time that Edith had a juice box in the movie),  we went inside and watched a Minion short called "Orientation Day."

Then, we went outside and played games!

Our first game was called "Knocked Over!"
I dont' have pictures of that. 
I forgot to hand off the camera.
The kids tried to hit a paper alien with a water balloon.

Next, we had an "Annoying Sounds" contest.




Matthew is using the annoying sound 
that Agnes uses in the movie.


Gathering for the next game...


Freeze Ray Tag!
Shout the words "Freeze Ray" then 
squirt your opponent!
If squirted...FREEZE!...
and wait for Carrie or William to tag you.
This went on for a really long time...



Carrie and William got a pretty good workout!










In honor of Dr. Nefario's Boogie Robots, we had a 
"Show Us Your Best Dance Move" contest.
So many great moves!





And not to be outdone (or maybe it was because Marie challenged him), Jacob shows us his dance moves.


Time to cool off with presents, another Minion short called "Banana,"  and refreshments!






I can't believe this boy is almost 8!


I love all that's going on in this picture...


My favorite pictures are of the kids in the 
Box of Shame box!
We're going to send these out with their 
Thank You notes.

Here's Josh...


and Matthew...


and all the kids...







and a Mom!


 Aaron didn't want to go in, 
so Paul tried to encouraged him...


 and his brother, sister, and cousin showed him that
it was lots of fun!


Piñata!
(I love how Blogger puts the tilde over my n!)

Josh first!
Only one whack!





This picture makes me smile!
I can tell that Matthew means business, because he has his tongue pressed against his cheek. 




And this picture makes me laugh!
Look at Paul's face!
He has been the piñata holder for many, many birthday parties and loves to lift and lower it just as the kids get ready to swing!






Time for the big guns!
Ian always goes last, because he is the oldest.
And he usually breaks it open...



Candy Rush!
And this year, the surprise of 48 bouncy balls!
Matthew is still finding them in the yard.  




 I think Paul might be eating a Snickers...




I didn't see this happen, but I heard the story of the beating of the piñata...






Done!


Matthew showing us what is in his bag...


We had a couple more games...
"Gru Says" and "Steal the Moon" using Team Vector and Team Gru, but we just let the kids play after the piñata.  That's what they really like to do.

Friend Party today.
Family Party tomorrow.
Josh's actual birthday on Wednesday.
A week full of fun!

Enjoying those special birthdays,