Back to School Pirate Party

 


Today I hosted our playgroups Back to School party. It was a pirate theme. The guests arrived and were given a bandana to use as a skull cap, a captains hat or a princess crown. The kids donned their headgear and then were sent on the mission to get to the X that marks the spot. First they had to run to the top of the playstructure to the "lookout" post. They were told to yell, "AHOY, Pirates!" Then they were to zig zag through the cones to avoid the alligators and were met with an enemy pirate ship (of sidewalk chalk). They were to take a water balloon and bomb the enemy ship to destroy it. (ie water washing the chalk away.) Then they went up the treasure trail following the flags to the X spot and dug in the sand to find the treasure of gold coins. (ie a bucket filled with sand and gold coins.) These coins and trinkets were then traded in for prizes. Also hidden around the park were pictures of parrots. If you found a parrot, you earned a pirate sword. The kids had a ball with all of that and brought all sorts of coins in for trading to receive eye patches, pirate mugs, coin necklaces, stickers, finger puppets and enemy pirate heads. When that died down, we had lunch. Everyone brought a side or drinks and I provided a Chick Fil A nugget tray. Everyone ate and had a good time. The kids went back to playing and then we called them over to do that last activity: The PIRATE TREASURE CHEST PINATA. All the kids were given a treasure box to put their goodies in.

It was a success. I am exhausted! Today was my last day as the leader of the playgroup. It's bittersweet. I enjoyed doing it, but I always feel like it's best to pass the reins along while I'm on top. I am remaining in the group as an Asst organizer for the time being, but will eventually fall back into the ranks of plain old member!

Who Stole Scooby's Cupcakes?

 
 
 
 


My friend Katie hosted this really cute playdate at the splashpark on Monday. She made a picture scavenger hunt for the kids and it was great! They loved it. When we arrived, we all made Adventure hats with stickers. Then she gave them each a magnifying glass and a pocket notebook and showed them their first clue. The kids really got into it. So cute! They had about 10 clues to find and then came back to figure out that Katie's dog had hidden the cupcakes in the trunk of her car so we all enjoyed them and some juice! What fun!

 
 
 

Another Birthday Party

 

Yesterday we went to a birthday party for friends of Ian's who turned 5 years old. They are twins Kristen and Audrey. The kids had a backyard waterslide and a cookout. There was also a pinata! Really fun!

The Discovery Museum: Little Rock, Arkansas

 
 
 
 

 




Our travels home started on Wednesday. We planned to take it a little easier than the previous trip that the boys and I made alone. We made an itinerary and set off. First stop: Springfield, IL. My friend Leah lives there. She's a sorority sister and a fellow Army wife and mother. Her husband is currently in the 'Stan as she calls it and I knew it would do us both good to see each other in person. So we planned our trip to make a little out of the way visit. Granted it was short and sweet, but we had some Cheddar's. (When the boys get bigger I will take them to all the great Lincoln exhibits in Springfiend. My grandparents took me when I was young, but I think all of the history would be a lost cause on a 4.5 year old and 2 year old.)

From Springfield, we started our journey south. South and south we went with very few stops. It was a long, long day for both me and the boys so when we finally crossed into Arkansas after journeying through Illinois and Missouri, we were all relieved to see our hotel room in Blytheville. We checked in around 6pm, got our things settled and went to a Chinese buffet for dinner. The kids just wanted to run, but there really was no place and let's just say our restful night wasn't all that restful. So we got up and ate breakfast and moved on.

I had planned my hotel stops ahead and had made reservations for Mount Pleasant, TX for the 2nd night and figured that a midday break in Little Rock might be fun. I got on the handy dandy Blue Star Museum website and saw that the Discovery Museum was on the list. SCORE. Right up our alley and the perfect price: FREE! for us military families. What a great museum! The kids were in heaven. They got to run around and play and pretend and touch and just be kids free from the restraints of the carseats and the DVD player. Ian and Aaron both loved every minute. We could have stayed a lot longer, but I knew that we still had some ground to cover on the road and I needed to plan in some food time. So I asked a lady in the play room and asked her if she could recommend a local joint that was kid friendly. So off across the street to the Flying Fish we went.

 
 
 
 

The Flying Fish is a little seafood joint and you order your food and then they buzz you to pick it up. The kids meals come in boats which is totally cute! The food was fried and delicious! The kids and I ate and left Little Rock happy and full!

We voyaged on to Mount Pleasant and checked into the Hampton Inn. They gave us a suite room upgrade! (aka a sweet room upgrade! LOL) and we had all sorts of room to spread out and relax. We dropped off our bags and walked to El Chico for some Mexican food for dinner. Then we went back to the hotel, changed into our swimsuits and went swimming in the hotel's lovely indoor swimming pool which we had all to ourselves. Then we all bathed and went to bed and actually slept!! The kids curled right up together. Melts a mom's heart to see her kids like that!

 

So today was the last leg of our journey. We had big plans to hit up the Dallas Zoo, but when we crossed into the city all the pollutions signs posted said it was ORANGE level and unsafe for ourdoor activities. So we settled for a Whataburger and kept on plugging on. The kids needed a break so I decided to stop at the Outlets of Hillsboro. Not great, but not awful. It was hot, but we did need a break from the car and the shops are at least airconditioned. So we stopped and then piled back in the car. We made one last pit stop for something in Temple and finally made it home to Killeen this evening. Bill was home shortly thereafter from work and we are happily reunited and a little tired.

Ian and Chris: Future Photographers?

 


The musings of 2 four year olds with a camera. I decided to leave out the "butt shots!" LOL

Flashback to Fall 1993

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

To say we were the odd couple probably is an understatement. I am still not quite sure how the folks at good old Butler University put us together. I mean our names both start with the letter "C" and we both started out as pharmacy majors, but I think that probably was where our similarities ended. I actually think we have more in common now than we did back then since we both grew up to marry and have 2 beautiful baby boys. But Cathy and I were freshman roommates at Butler. And through our differences we managed to be friends. I'm sure she could say all sorts of lovely and not so lovely things about me. I'm sure I am not the most fun person to live with especially when I am stressed out in the small confines of a dorm room, but she somehow has managed to put those things aside and let the good outshine my bad. (Thanks, Cathy!)

So when I was home it seemed like a fun idea to meet up with Cathy and let our boys play together. So we went over to Cathy's lovely home in Brownsburg for a playdate. It was nice to see Cathy and meet her lovely children. The kids played and of course, we moms took lots of photos. Then we let the big boys have a chance to take photos. Ian took the one of me and Cathy together with my DSLR. Not too shabby! I'll post the ones that Chris and Ian took with the snappy camera in the next post! Thanks for having us over! The kids had a great time and it was great to see you again, Roomie!

Pi Phi Sisters

 

 

 

Monday evening my brother offered to babysit for me since my parents both had to work. This gave me the opportunity to go back to Indianapolis to see a few of my Pi Phi sisters. We met up at Jillian's, but quickly decided that Devour Downtown sounded much better and ended up at Harry and Izzy's! It was delicious and so great to catch up! And it's awesome because we all seem to pick up right where we left off. It's never awkward! I love these ladies!