Ethan turns 13th - Happy Birthday!

A call first thing this morning from Hamilton, NY! Grandma and Grandpa sing to Ethan, wishing him a Happy Birthday!

A letter from Grandma Judy (and a call later in the afternoon). He loved getting the phone calls!

Evyn drew the design on this card and had a wonderful greeting on the inside! All original! I was very pleased myself, because it was also a school assignment from last week. To make a card for someone. Wish you could read the words. It really was well done. (In case you can't see the drawing, it's a dragon.)

Amber bought Ethan a pack of gum (kiwi pie) and also gave him a lollipop and $1. The cash was to go toward his savings for an iPod.

Can't go wrong with a Magic deck I guess. Ian helped me pick it out. It has an angel on the front card, and it just so happened to be the one card he was hoping for!

Right after Christmas I had to go to Target for something and they were having a sale. The kids really like this game, Munchkin. I had intended on saving this game until this coming Christmas, but was unable to get to the store I wanted to shop in for a different Munchkin game. So, Ethan ended up with this one. Here's the rub ... he already knew about it as he had already seen it. I think he was with me when I purchased it and I asked him to forget it. He even asked me about it a few weeks ago. I told him, forget you ever saw it, okay? He had a big smile when he opened the gift this morning :)

Yesterday Ian and I went to Fred Meyer to pick up some cake making supplies (for another friend's cake) and I wanted to duck into the toy department to see if they might just happen to have Munchkin, which they didn't. But we saw this Angry Birds game. The kids really like to play this on the iPad/iTouch/iPod. So, with only a look between us, we knew we had to pick it up. Ethan couldn't wait to start playing the game, but Sandor arrived and it was then time for the Magic game to start.

Sandor also came bearing gifts. He gave Ethan a storage box, a new die, and two cards with which he'd have to learn how to employ for his deck.

Sandor told Amber to make Ethan a crown, that the birthday boy had to have a crown. So, she made him a crown, which he wore through most of the games today.

Our birthday boy requested vanilla cupcakes with lemon frosting. I still had frosting left from the Valentine cookies I had made, so that was perfect. However, I did add a twist and made a lemon filling. Each of these cupcakes had a hole in the center filled with a lemon filling. Amber piped the frosting on top.

Ethan had been so intent on playing he had forgotten to eat his sandwich, which I didn't know. I brought out the cupcakes with lit candles only to find he'd just started eating his sandwich! He had a bite in his mouth, so he "blew" out the candles by wafting his hand in front of them. It worked!

Lastly, the gift I have been striving to complete. A sweater hat. I have a book I borrowed from the library with lots of neat knitted hat patterns and the kids all selected a few choices they really liked. This is one of the ones Ethan selected. It was fun making it for him.

Fisherman Knit Sweater Hat -- ha-ha!

It's wool! I instructed him, no tossing this into the washer and dryer! It should keep you plenty warm!

Happy 11th Birthday to my littlest munchkin!

Grandma Val found a very nice pillow at the annual Tea and Sale. Little children dancing ... how appropriate for our little dancer! It graces the sofa in the living room now for the next time she's ready to cozy down with a movie.

Grandma also sent another treasure. A ring that once belonged to her mother. Amber was very touched that she was given this pretty ring. It's an heirloom passed to the fourth generation. What a special gift!

Amber invited her closest friends to spend the afternoon with her. Sarah (left) just had surgery prior to Christmas, so wasn't in school yet. Ellie (top left) and Carsyn (bottom right) are both homeschooled. They brought their American Girl dolls and had a picnic. Later, after all the festivities the girls got out the Barbies and had a fashion show. I didn't get any photos of that event.

Amber decided she wanted her friends to help her decorate her cake. Initially her cake was going to be two layers, but we ran out of ingredients ... like powdered sugar ... so no two-layer cake. However, she did fulfill one of her merit badge elements for AHG and that was cutting cake and piecing it to make another design. She designed a butterfly. The original recipe design called for a Twinkie in the center for the body, but it was loaded with color dye, so she fashioned one out of the other circular layer. This frosted butterfly was too decorated for Evyn, but we had just enough frosting to dab on a portion of the remaining layer so he could enjoy some cake, too. Amber made the cake and frosting: white cake and lemon frosting. Very refreshing.

The body of the butterfly is graced with almond chocolate orange section. She got this from Santa and I thought it was pretty special she shared her chocolate orange this way. She only gets them once a year from Santa. Sadly, two of the girls didn't like the piece of chocolate and it was tossed. Oh well. There was also a decorating accident, but they made up for it by throwing on everything else from the decorating box!

Later in the evening she opened her gifts after a special request dinner. We had stuffed shells with fresh homemade ricotta (thanks to Daryn) and homemade sauce (from the freezer). It was REALLY yummy. I found this pretty gift in Poulsbo before Christmas. It says, "The angels danced the day you were born." I thought it quite appropriate.

I also made a sweater for her doll. Her comment when she first opened it, "Oh, a Hobbit jacket!" Nope, I said, it's for your doll. I'd worked on it just about all day Dec. 24 in hopes she could have it for Christmas, but I just couldn't get it completed. It still needs a closure, but she may decide she likes it without. We shall see.

While Daryn was making the ricotta, Ian and I went to Silverdale to pick up this game we had heard about earlier in the afternoon from one of the girls' moms. It's really fun. We started a game about 8:45 or so and had to continue on this morning. However, some were not happy they weren't doing well and put a real damper on things and I called an end to the game altogether. Oh well, another day.

Lastly I got Amber a little case of jewelry making supplies as she really enjoys designing and making earrings. I thought I would foster her creativity. We'll see where it leads.

Then later this morning Amber got a call from Grandma Judy. They had a wonderful chat. She loves to get phone calls.

Happy Birthday, baby girl. I love you!

My Baby is 16

I can't believe my baby is 16 years old. When did he grow up? It really seems like yesterday when he was lining his books up in his bedroom, or the Tupperware containers in the kitchen, and crawling around the living room and stopping to pick the fuzz from between his toes, coming by to help with his baby brother, and next baby brother, and wanting to hold his new baby sister, wanting to learn to read, learning sign language, wanting to go to school ...

Now he's taller than I am, can cook, do laundry, and teaches himself in school on a daily basis. He amazes me with his athleticism in dance and drive to do his best in school, band, and dance.

I miss him being little, sitting next to me, reading to him his favorite stories, over and over. All the Froggy flip open board books, which I ended up memorizing.

I miss his little giggly face, which has become such a handsome big, beautiful smile.

I love you, honey, very much, and I am so VERY proud of you.

Happy Birthday, sweetheart. I wish you many blessings and that God smiles down on you the rest of your life.

Evyn's 14th Birthday

Evyn only had a couple of requests for his birthday, the rest we had to figure out on our own. Sadly, his Betta, pet fish, of four years, passed away on March 16. Wurple was purchased for a pet care requirement for Webelos when he was in Cub Scouts. It was very difficult for him to lose his fish. We had a proper burial and he is in a small Altoids tin next to Huckleberry (Evyn's gerbil) and Cedar (Ian's gerbil) under the lilac bushes out front.

After discovering Ethan has purchased him a new Betta (a Crowntail Betta), Amber presented him with glass marbles for the bottom of his tank. Something he had been interested in getting for Wurple. Then he opened the card from Grandma Val and Grandpa John ... a check and a magazine subscription renewal. He REALLY enjoys Kids National Geographic and reads it cover to cover each time he gets one.
As we weren't really going to celebrate until Saturday, I felt he had to have something to open on the day of his birthday. I found a pair of flannel house pants with shamrocks on them. (Incidentally, he still hasn't worn them yet. Hmmm .... )
I also got him a book on Betta care and some drops to add to the water in the fish's tank.
I also snuck a gift with me to band practice. When we were at Epcot (in Florida in January) I found some drum sticks when we went to England. I bought them with the intention of giving them to him for his birthday. He has enjoyed playing with them. The design on them is the Celtic Welsh dragon.
Not it is Saturday ... and we are giving him the rest of his gifties. Ian made him chocolate chip pancakes and I gave him a variety of game cards to the game he enjoys the most, Magic.
He had also, off-handedly, mentioned he needed new slippers. I was unable to find anything I liked and since we were doing a felted clog knit-along at the yarn shop, I felt they would be the perfect slipper. So, here they are, prior to being felted. I have ordered suede soles, too, to be sewn on after felting.
This is the Dungeons and Dragons cake Daryn, Amber and I made for him. None of the photos came out very well. The camera focused either close, or far, but didn't take an overall focus :( We rolled out vanilla fondant and had intentions of making a playing grid with licorice laces, but they didn't work very well. So, when we pulled them up, we still had the cut-in marks we had made. I said the players' grid was a snow scene (that works!). I was also have to find several players over the previous weeks and we gave him the players and the dragon, too. The dragon is guarding its horde of gold (chocolate coins).
However, we didn't want to put the candles on the D&D cake, so we took the leftover pieces we didn't use on the cake, frosted them, and put on 14 candles and told him this was all that was left of our endeavor. I don't think he was really fooled!
Here is his D&D cake. I think the grin says it all.
Do I get all the figures, too? Yup!