Sunday, April 22, 2012

Hero Up! Jack's 6th Birthday

Birthday party time!  Jack wanted a Superhero party for his 6th birthday, and wanted to do it at home.  We started our evening projects about a month in advance to prep for the party.  Jack gets so excited to help with the projects.  It all came together well, and the hard work paid off!
We raffled off the posters at the end of the party.  The big winners were (in order) Austin, Josh, Zak, and Jonathan!



Little treats for little Superheroes.  These are Nilla wafers filled with vanilla frosting, rolled in sprinkles and on a candy stick.  These were a big hit with both the kids and parents!

Superhero gift bags!  These included a Spiderman mask, stickers, noise maker, Avengers candy, a "Superhero lollipop (see picture below), and each kid got their official Superhero card from the training academy!

Untensil packs.  I did the same thing for the kids, but used a Superhero napkin, as well.

Superhero cupcakes on a special Superhero stand

Superhero lollipops (these were also in the gift bags).  The capes are turned around so that they are visible for the picture, but in the gift bags they were turned the right way.

Pom pom decorations
We held a Superhero Training Academy, which included an Endurance obstacle course!  The boys had to jump from square to square, which represented the tops of buildings.  They then needed to demonstrate their driving skills on the batmobile. Next, they had to run across the yard to untie Auntie Tiffany, who had been captured by the Joker, and finally had to roll down the hill to safety.
Josh jumping from "building to building"

Josh riding the batmobile (with a little help from Nick!)

Luke's turn!

Untying Auntie Tiffany

Jonathan on the Batmobile

Zak has his serious face on!

Kenny's turn!


Kenny rolling down the hill (being cheered on by Andrew!)
The next training exercise was to test Accuracy.  The "Superheroes" had to knock down the villians with Batman bean bags.


Zak (aka Captain America) also used his shield to try to knock down the villians

Jack (aka "Thor") handed out the Batman Bean Bags


Ian had great form, and easily knocked down the villians!

Andrew's turn. Such focus!
The final training exercise was to test Agility.  The Superheroes had to weave in and out of cones, then punch or kick a blow up punching bag.  This seemed to be the favorite of all the training exercises, and several of the boys took multiple turns!
Look at Thor (Jack) go!

Superman Kenny is super fast!






Austin's turn!


Mattie was so fast!  He was showing off those soccer skills!

This was an easy exercise for Lana
Next, it was time for pizza, then cupcakes!

Now on to opening presents!





Once the party was over, a few special friends and their families hung out for the rest of the day.  The kids topped off the night next to the fire in the backyard watching cartoons and having a second round of pizza and cupcakes.  The perfect end to a perfect day :)
Zak, Jack, Ian, Josh, Luke and Lana in the backyard by the fire.  They are very focused on cartoons :)

Friday, April 20, 2012

Luke's Spring Sing!

We love the recitals that Luke's preschool puts on several times a year.  Luke was so cute in the Spring Sing.  He did a great job singing and doing his hand motions for the songs. We were lucky to have two sets of grandparents on hand, since Grandpa and Nana Gisler came down that weekend and were able to join us and Grandpa and Grandma Clark for the show!

Luke was one of the prayer leaders!








Luke with Grandpa Gisler


Luke with Nana and Grandpa Gisler

Luke with Grandpa and Grandma Clark


Luke with his teacher, Ms. Tricia

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Fun at the Dentist's office

I know...that sounds crazy, but the boys go to a great dentist. The experience starts with a huge fish tank in the waiting room, as well as a special play room for the kiddos. Parents can enjoy fresh brewed coffee, and the kids are offered a choice of juice (Jack and Luke chose apple juice in cute, apple-shaped containers). The office is decorated to awe and amaze little ones with huge stuffed animals, chairs shaped like teeth, and other fun decorations. Everyone who works there (which includes one of our neighbors!) is wonderful and very patient with kids. Jack did great during his X-rays, so he got to pick a sticker. Since Luke was along for the ride, they went out of their way to provide him with a great experience, too. That included picking his own Transformers sticker! They got to watch a movie (today it was Despicable Me) while Jack got his teeth cleaned and polished with his choice of flavor (he picked cookie dough.) For his fluoride treatment, he picked marshmallow flavor. This is not your parents' dentist. The boys got to pick their toothbrushes (soccer for Jack and Toy Story for Luke) and got goody bags full of items to help them keep their teeth in great health. The Dentist, Dr. Josh, then comes in to "count their teeth"- nothing scary here! No cavities for Jack (hurray!), so he is entered into the no cavity club for a chance to win one of the giant stuffed animals lining the office! They both get balloons to celebrate Jack's birthday, then get to pick something out of the treasure chest. With all of that, it's no wonder the boys look forward to going to the dentist!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Legoland!

Nick and I surprised the boys with a trip to Legoland.  They really LOVED it!  They had so much fun on the playground, and they were in awe of the Star Wars legos! 









Luke LOVES ewoks!


Jack checking out the Star Wars legos!  So cool


Luke wanted nothing to do with Darth Vader, but Jack jumped right in for a picture!

Lukie giving a hug to R2D2

Jack doing his best C3PO impression!
This was a pretty cool fountain.  You could change the instruments being played by jumping on the circles.