More birthday celebrations

It seem that there is always somewhere to go, something to prepare, cook, clean up after, or get ready for, but we are very thankful to have the means to do all that we can, and have so many wonderful experiences and make so many wonderful memories with our children. Ben recently celebrated his 6th birthday! His "real" birthday fell on a Thursday so we had a small celebration with a birthday dinner.

His request for dinner was BBQ chicken legs(chicken on the bone as he calls it), baked potatoes, and artichokes. At first he has requested brussels sprouts, but when his brother said, "Oh yuck", he quickly changed his mind, probably to appease him. And what a nice evening it was to be with family and celebrate his birthday by telling him stories of his birth. Ben was ready to get out of mama's belly and into the world. Cynthia, a very close friend, was there to help me through the birth. She had prepared some aromatherapy washcloths to help ease my anguish, but once they were warmed in the crockpot, I said, "I think I am ready". Cynthia's response, "Oh not yet we didn't get to use the soothing cloths". Ben was a VERY easy baby and I called him my Gentle Ben. He is still pretty sensitive and loves to be my cuddle bug....who just likes to dress up like Prince Caspain. He had to show off his new knight hat along with the full ensemble.
Benjamin also wanted to celebrate with a few school buddies and our friends from Talkeetna who came up for the weekend to visit, but we decided that our driveway was probably to challenging for most folks so we booked some space at our local gym, the Alaska Club. The kids were able to enjoy a dip in the pool, some rock climbing, and a big screen TV, oh wait the TV was for daddy to watch the football game, the kids were more interested in watching cartoons in the kids area! It was all great fun!

Tina brought Ben a awesome dragon and Zoe a sweet fairy made from polymer clay and she also brought the supplies so that we could make our own creations, which is just what we did! Ben made nice boat with a flag, Zoe had some help from Tina, but was able to create her own fairy, Rich made a taco, Jake made a hot dog, and I made a rose with a loop for stringing it to make a necklace. It was great to create something from clay that is so easy for the kids to use. I can see us doing this for Christmas gifts!

Of course it wouldn't have been a "celebration" for Ben without game playing. He LOVES to play board and card games and the new Narnia Monolopy was the perfect gift for him, well until we let the Hum's play.....there was some great excitement at the table and a lot of "discussion", but also loads of fun. It could have only been better if the Holt's and Shidner's would have been able to join us too! Happy 6th birthday Benjamin!

Fun with Family

Flight from Fairbanks to Dallas, Texas ..........$wallet stripping
Drive from Dallas to Oklahoma ......................$120 compared to the alternative $220 each for a flight...yikes
Time spent with our family............................... priceless

We are truly enjoying our family and friends during this trip home. One afternoon we went into Oklahoma City to pick up Granny Moore and take her to lunch at the Bricktown Brewery. Granny wanted to take the kids to one of the free splash parks, but we couldn't find it, but instead we went to Earlywine Public Pool and let me tell you they don't make pools like this when I was a kid. This pool came complete with two water slides a floating turtle slide, two diving boards, and a cool kids splash area. Even Zoe and Ben tried this tower of fun....with Mom and Dad wrapped around them of course. Granny stayed wrapped up in a towel to keep the sun off her, but still wanted to take the kids to get some ice cream to cool off after all of our fun in the sunshine! Thank you great Granny, for a wonderful afternoon.

The boys alway love fooling around with their Grandpa Foshee. He has all kinds of cool toys, including rock tumblers, four-wheelers, wood working tools, a fun new Bolo Golf game (check out how to make one here), and of course what small farm wouldn't be complete without a tractor. After helping Grandpa split and stack wood, Grandpa rewarded the boys with $10 each and a fun ride in the front end loader of the tractor. Granny and Mom were a little worried at first, but Grandpa is a pretty good driver and we stopped fretting and started snapping pictures once our hearts stopped racing! This is something the boys will be talking about for months to come and I am sure it will become a tradition to ride on Grandpa's tractor each time we come to visit.

David and I have enjoyed some time to ourselves one night Granny Foshee watched the kiddos and we went to Norman, our old stomping ground, where David and I went to college. We enjoyed a delicious meal and and some cold drinks at Jason's AKA Franken's great new house. Danika surprised me with a Yarn bag and some knitting magnets! Friends are so throughtful!!! Thanks Danika! Another night Aunt Traci wanted the kids to sleepover so David and I dropped off the kids in the afternoon and were able to hit The Red Cup for some much needed joe and SWAK a sweet yarn store just happened to be next door. They didn't have the Noro, a type of yarn, I needed to finish up a project so we went to The Gourmet Yarn. They had a great selection and were VERY helpful. After that we met up with David's parents and they took us out to eat at a delicious Mexican Restaurant in Shawnee. We even had sopaipillas with strawberries and ice cream! What a relaxing evening!

The fun continued when all of David's cousins on his moms side came out to his folk's house for a night of swimming, more tractor rides, burgers and dogs hot off the grill served with all of the wonderful summer side dishes, plenty of rounds of Bolo Golf, and of course swinging and playing in the sand box! Jake had a great time showing Lauren and Erin (twins) around the ponds, when Zoe wasn't having them carry her around or play babies. David and I both enjoyed catching up with everyone, playing games, and visiting with his Granny Barnes. I think she really enjoyed having all of her "chicks" in the same place for a night of family fun.
These are just a few of the highlights from the week we spend with Granny and Grandpa Foshee. This week we will be at my Dad's house and have plenty more exciting adventures planned with my brother and his family. Stay tuned for more family fun!!!

Soccer::Swimming::Knitting

Let's just say that our Spring has gotten pretty busy. Jake's soccer team decided to enter a single elimination tournament this week so he has games Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and they will play on Saturday for the championship if they win all of their games during the week. His team the Silver Surfers, won all of their regular season games and they won their first game of the tournament last night.....but it was a nail biter....2-0.
Ben is taking swimming lessons at the Alaska Club and learning to put his face in, jump off the diving board, and float on his back. He is a little more shy when it comes to being in the water, so we thought it might be a good idea to take a few lessons before we head to Oklahoma this summer to visit family....where we will probably LIVE in the pool at Granny and Grandpa's. Sorry I don't have any pictures of Ben swimming, our camera doesn't take great shots indoors where there are high ceilings.

And finally, my new obsessing...knitting. Yes, to all those friends who tried so patiently to teach me to knit, I was finally able to take a class and I am making a sweater for Zoe. After my first class she wanted to know if it was finished....two months later she is patiently waiting for me to get it off my needles. Like with any new knowledge, there is a great new website, Ravelry that I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. You can make friends, view pictures of other peoples finished projects, and queue things that you just can't wait to knit in the future. I joined a group called the Fairbanks Fiber-ist, who meet up every Wednesday night at the Alaska Coffee Roasters for coffee, treats, dinner, and of course the latest knitting buzz. It has been a great way for me to meet friends and learn about knitting. Well here is a shot of the sweater, by the time I get it done it will be too warm to wear it.