Logan's Birthday Party

Just looking through the old posts realized I gave an entire weekend of posts to Brandon and have completely neglected Logan. Isn't it usually the second child gets less photos and the parents are always behind on their scrapbook? Well, I am definitely not part of the norm.

So I am going to make it up to Logan by sharing his birthday weekend with all of you. If we have a gathering for the boys' birthdays, we choose to keep it small and/or do it someplace else. It is just too chaotic to have it in the house, not to mention the weather is usually unpredictable to have something outside. Well, again, we through the norm out the window. We had a few of Logan's friends and their families over for a bbq.

Not sure how much entertainment a houseful of 7 year olds would require, we decided to come up with a treasure hunt for all the kids. While the boys and I were out getting ready for the party, Brian used his strategic planning experience to come up with maps for all the kids and placed treasure along the street for each of them to find. There was really no winner determined, but that certainly didn't stop them from racing down the hill.

While the kids were on their treasure hunt, Brian was inside getting the hamburgers and hot dogs ready, so that we didn't have too much time for them to get hungry and whiny. In between all the activities, all of the kids managed to pile on the trampoline. It was amazing their were no major injuries.

The fire blazing in the background was used for s'mores, which all the kids and adults completely enjoyed. If I didn't have marshmallows and chocolate all over myself, I would have had some great pictures. But I too, was enjoying s'mores with the rest of them. And of course, a birthday party is not complete without cake, so on top of all the sugar from the s'mores, we gave the kids some cupcakes and then sent them on their way with their parents. Actually most of the kids were running around the house with the balloons and the nerf guns, so I think most of them were tired by the time they went home. After the fun was over, we were left with (an almost) 7 year old.

Last Day of School

Logan on his last day of school:

This morning I had a first grader and now I have a second grader and Kindergartner. Hard to believe...

Since I only had a half day left before having both boys home all day, every day; I kept myself busy. How, you may ask? By working on a gift for Logan's teacher. Yes, I enjoyed creating an apron for Mrs. Zeringer. I do hope she likes it.

Here is a picture of Logan with his First Grade Teacher, Mrs. Zeringer:

Child Outsmarts Parent

This evening, we went on a bike ride and were discussing the reasons for buying the boys new bikes for the summer. A few weeks ago, Brandon popped his rear tire. We were able to replace the inner tube, but not the outside tire; therefore the tire will always be a little flat and it is just a matter of time before the tire blows again. Now Brandon has a 12" bike, while Logan has a 16" bike. Since they are both small, they usually fight over riding Brandon's bike. Unfortunately, Logan usually loses because Brandon doesn't want to give up his bike and ride the bigger one. Well, since we are not going to buy another small bike, we need to convince Brandon that is way cooler to ride a big bike like Logan's.

The following proposition is made at the top of hill: If Brandon rides Logan's 'super fast' bike and Logan beats him to the bottom of the hill, Brandon could get another 'rocket' bike. I knowing where this is going am trying to get Brandon to race me down the hill (since I am on the scooter). Brian is trying to keep Logan at the top of the hill and give Brandon a head start. Brandon says to me, if Logan wins I can get another rocket. So I am going to go really slow. Now I can not really argue with this logic (we never said the boys were dumb). So Brandon continues to go as slow as possible, while Logan is thrilled to be riding Brandon's bike zooms down the hill as fast as he could. Brian tries to get in between them to slow Logan down and speed Brandon up. Brandon rides the brakes the entire way down while Brian is trying to push him.

I am trying really hard at this point to be supportive of Brian's decision. But it was too funny watching the entire scenario play out. When Brandon finally makes it to the bottom of the hill in TEARS, he won't even move on the bike. Brian tells him he cheated by not pedaling, and Brandon tells Brian he made him cheat by pushing him down the hill.

The outcome: We encouraged Brandon to be a big boy (otherwise he was going to bed at 7:30). Therefore, both of the boys will probably be getting new bikes and probably both the same size but different colors. Glad to know that children know how to think logically.

Time Flies

Ok, I am the first to admit that I am horrible with updating this blog on a regular basis. I am hoping to change that, although no promises will be made. Both boys will be out of school in 5, yes count them, FIVE days!! Am I ready for this? Probably not. Since it is inevitable I will do my best to start a routine. One of them, will be updating everyone on our regular activities.

Since I am not positive I will be able to designate individual blogs to each of the happenings that have occured over the past few weeks, I will give a brief run down here and possibly go back to give more details over the course of the next few weeks.

After Mother's Day, we celebrated Brian's Birthday. Not many pictures from that event, since Brian is not a big fan of celebrating, but we did however make a cookie cake and sang Happy Birthday to him. The boys helped him open his presents and that was about it.

Over Memorial Day Weekend, Brian and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary. Wow, 11 years. Where did that time go? Oh that's right, 8 moves and 2 kids. Gotta love life in the Navy. I will have a picture from this evening, because those are usually so few and far between.

This past week, we celebrated Logan's 7th birthday. Yes, he is 7. Again, I ask, where did those years go? Just 3 moves and another child since then. He is getting so big. Like Brandon's birthday weekend, we never celebrate just one day, so I will add more details for his special weekend. It is only fair, although I must say this is probably the first time that Brandon got more photo time than Logan. Isn't usually the second child that gets slighted? It all evens out in this household.

Currently, I am listening to Brian and his brother Andy play Guitar Hero; while Amy (soon to be the newest member of the Guise Family) reads the Jungle Book to Brandon. Oh right now, Logan is getting ready to sing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", gotta love Pat Benatar.

I will definitely post some pictures from our evening around the firepit enjoying s'mores. The boys have really taken to Amy; so happy she tolerates the boys hanging all over her.

That is it for now, stay tuned for more details from our crazy lives.

Spring Picture Day

Our school district has pictures in the Fall and in the Spring. For some reason, the boys always seem to take better pictures in the Spring, maybe it is because I am better prepared for this one. Either way, the boys had a haircut the previous weekend (see Day 2 of Brandon's Birthday Weekend), and their hair was styled. Plus they had similar outfits that brought out their handsomeness. Just wanted to share a picture or two to show how much they have grown this past school year.

Logan's Assembly

Friday Morning the 1st grade class sang a song "It's Good to be Kind" and did sign language to the song "What a Wonderful World". My shy little boy is finally beginning to come out of his shell. He was so excited for this Assembly; he reminded me about it for two weeks straight and we had to download the song so that he could practice the hand movements. It was so adorable.

I thought he would be hiding behind his friends during the actual assembly and barely moving his lips and hands, but he completely surprised me. He was in the front row and sang out loud. He also did his hand movements with confidence. I was so very proud of him. These boys continue to surprise me on a regular basis.

Here is a video of "What a Wonderful World."

Mother's Day Weekend

Now that it is Father's Day weekend, I have decided to really skip Mother's Day weekend altogether. If there was anything that happened really exciting at the time, I can't say I actually recall it. So I will go through my pictures and add them eventually if they are worth it.