A Glimpse into the Other Activities (Fun and Otherwise) in Our Lives

While most of the past few weeks have been chores, party prep, summer camp and gardening, we did a few other things that were worthy of pictures too!

One day, we lost power for two hours!!!  It was hailing and storming for a short time but had long cleared by the time we had power again.

During the outage, Emily, William and Grace played Nerts with me!  (William had already left the table by the time we took a picture.)

When the power went out, we were in line for getting Grace's prescription, but that's when the power went out!  We saw the 'lightening' like flashes from when the tree branch struck the electrical wires.  

When the power came back on, we got a notification that her prescription was now ready, but when we made the trip back by, they were still closed (I mean, how much can you really accomplish in a dark, hot shop?)  So, I went back a fourth time, and finally got to start Grace's Swimmer's ear regimen! 

William ended up at the dollar tree with me on many of my runs to complete my projects.  He was a good companion for sure!

On the trip to our closest one, I also wanted to get some Hoisin Sauce from Bo Bo, who is next door.

Once inside, I asked him to help me find it. Halfway down the sauce aisle, William confusedly, and totally non-accusingly asked why I needed "Poison sauce." Oh, my sweet boy.  We use it for dumplings and egg rolls. = )

We were invited to a party that took place yesterday, and I wasn't sure if we would be able to go, with our party being the night before (and I just can't leave my house in a sad state and have a good time.)  But, luckily, were able to go and hand out with oodles of children and good company!

William really enjoyed the zip line!

I think my kids' favorite part was the silly string fight.  

But Emily definitely lost. lol.

The twins also enjoyed the motorized car (that they pushed each other in, just like when they were little!)

The food was amazing, and our hosts were gracious as always!  It was a fun time, and we were able to just walk home!!!

later days

Murder Mystery, Year Five: Little Italy, New York City, 2009

 This year, we were a dysfunctional, transplanted Italian family, living in 2009 New York City!

I was Mama Rosa, the matriarch of this wild crew. Matt was my Soccer Playing Son, who didn't want to take over the family business. Deb was my daughter who was a little spoiled and very wild. Scott was my husband's twin brother, who still lived in Italy. Jared was the French fiancé of Deb and estate manager of Scott. Jessica was the clairvoyant intertwined with our family. Julianna was the maid turned fiancé of Scott. Billy was the rather opinionated priest from the local church.

After following the weather since the 10-day forecast came out, I was so worried that my outdoor plans would be rained out, but once the rain passed in the morning, we had a beautiful, possibly too sunny afternoon for the party!!!

Our children ranks were greatly diminished this year, as none of the Eaton kids came, and only one each of the Stepp and Prichard kids!  Those that were in attendance had a good time though!

I found the camera that we would have really used back in 2009, and we passed it around during the evening.  We ended up with lots of fun, candid shots!

It was a pleasant evening, especially once the sun was hidden away!  

This year the murderer was: (highlight the text below to reveal the murder!)

*                                                                            Jared!*

I am always so thankful to our guests who play their roles so convincingly every year!  What a fun party!!

later days

You can read about previous murders here:

Year 4: Ancient Rome

Year 3: Hawaii

Year 2: France

Year 1: Mississippi Riverboat

And you can check out some of my pre-party projects here.

Emily's 12th Birthday Preperation

Emily's birthday is quickly approaching, but starting just after Billy's birthday, we began crafting some fun things for her party!  I ordered some 'special' m&m's whose colors have become the color scheme for her party.

She started by painting some box board from the recycling.

The next morning, we were able to trace a large butterfly and a small butterfly onto one half of the board, and just a large butterfly on the other half.

With an exacto, I painstakingly cut out the smaller butterfly on each board.  Emily made sure that the same number of m&m's were present in each favor.

She placed her selections in a plastic sandwich baggie.

We placed the top over the baggie and the back, then I took them up to my sewing machine and sewed them closed.

I, personally, think they came out super cute!  There were plenty of leftover m&m's so people can eat mini Emilys at the party, then have some to take home too. = )

We tried making butterflies from dough with limited success.

But her origami butterfly invitations were quite pretty when finished!

She did have to wait over a month before it was close enough to pass them out, but now she's been able to pass them to all of her friends, and we are concentrating on the food already!!

I'll post a few more posts in the coming days, to be sure, to show our birthday girl before, during and after her celebration!

later days

My 40th Birthday!

This year I turned the big 40!  I got to celebrate my birthday twice, once with a birthday cake for breakfast on November 3rd.

Then, Billy threw me a murder mystery party the weekend after!!!!  As if it couldn't get any better, Erin Elise flew all the way up to come celebrate with me!!!!!!

The twins loved having her here!

 

She even made sure I had a fancy cake with enough candles to catch the house on fire. lol.

It was set in Sherlock Holmes' London. We had a few people that had signed up to come cancel at the last minute, so we brough in some of the younger generation to play a part too!  A few of us had to switch roles, since we were lacking men, so I was actually 'arland the train conductor (hence the hat and tie.)

Everyone played their part so well, it was amazing!!!  In this company's mystery not only is there a murderer, but also a victim!!

I had a ball, and Billy even got some Chick-fil-a for our food spread.  It was just perfect!

That's the end of my description of the party, but I am going to reveal the murderer below, so spoilers if you are planning to play Murder on Baker St. stop reading!

****spoilers ahead****

I got to be the murderer!!!!!!  = )  Poor Michaela was the victim...  she did a great job though!

Oh, and here's a cute bonus picture of Juliet who made up some sparkling grape juice with a cucumber garnish. ; )

later days

edit: backdated for continuity.

Cross Country: Emily's Final Race of the Season and Party

The final race of the middle school cross country season was at home, which meant we were finally able to see our girl in action!!

It was very windy and chilly, but that didn't keep us away.

One of the high school moms takes pictures, with a nice camera, of all the runners from the team and sends out a link, these were from her:

Emily ran hard, but did not beat her P.R.  She's already excited to try again next year. = )

We brought hot chocolate to share with the team, but many had already left by the time we made it back to the tent.

The party was a few weeks later at one of the 6th graders homes.  It was a much prettier day!

The hit of the party was for sure the ATV.  All 5 of mine (yep, even Alice) enjoyed being driven around by an 11-year-old. 

We didn't stay long, because it had been a busy week, but I think the kids enjoyed making an appearance.

later days 

edit: backdated for continuity.