I was trying to get a good pictures of Waldo and I while we were waiting for our table when we went out for dinner on our third anniversary.
Author Archives: Christy
A bounce house, a clown and a lot of fun.
Last weekend my Aunt KK and her daughter-in-law Tiffany worked till 3 in the morning putting together an amazing birthday party for Tiffany and Matthew’s son Evan’s first birthday. It was a circus party and they pulled out all the stops. The backyard was all set up with a bounce house and a game area, the dining room and kitchen were busting at the seems with goodies. The party was filled with family and fun. Everything was perfect.
When we first got to KK’s house my cousin Melissa’s 11 year old daughter took Lily out to the backyard to see everything. Let me stop here and point out how amazing it is that Lily went with Hannah without complaining, this never happens. After probably 5 minutes I stepped out to check on Lil, she was in the bounce house looking very lost and a little sad. When she saw me she immediately wanted out and ME. We played on the swings till everyone was out of the bounce house and then we went back in. When it was just the two of us she LOVED it. She’s been on a bouncing kick lately so this was magical to her.
To keep with the circus theme my Aunt got a clown to come and entertain the kiddies. I have to admit I totally assumed that Lily would hate the clown and want nothing to do with her, but she didn’t, she was just her normal shy self. The makeup and crazy clothes didn’t bother her at all, this amazed me when you consider how much Santa scared her at first.
Buttons the clown was a hoot. She made balloon animals, bracelets and hats. She did some face and arm painting and did a little magic show. The kids loved her and I loved how she interacted with the kids.
Lily got a flower bracelet. Apparently the bracelets are harder to pop.
Tori (the birthday boy’s big sister) got a ladybug bracelet.
Tori got her face painted too.
Lily didn’t seem interested in the painting at first, so I got a little heart painted on my arm first.
After she saw me doing it, she let Buttons paint on her.
Olivia got a lot of painting done. She loved it.
She got some little hearts on the other arm too, but I didn’t get pictures of it.
Logan (the birthday boy’s big brother) decided to be a lion. Every circus needs a lion, right.
Evan, the birthday boy himself got a monkey on his cheek to match his shirt.
He quickly rubbed it.
Group photos are hard. I think this was the best out of 10 tries. 🙂
At the end of the party, when it was just a few of us left, we all got in the bounce house and relaxed. Or bounced. Or played. Whatever, it was fun.
Max (Olivia’s big brother) and Olivia playing.
Jolene and Max relaxing.
Matthew (my cousin and the birthday boy’s daddy) and Logan playing.
My aunt Kk and Uncle Dixon relaxing.
Lily slept really well that night, she played herself silly. And now as a result of how much fun she had in the bounce house we have to avoid the park on weekends because she doesn’t understand or believe that strangers don’t want to share their bounce houses with her.
Random Mobile Shots 6
Last weekend we went to my cousin Jeni’s house to make ketchup and have a bbq. None of the people that came–another relative-Amanda and one of Jeni’s friends-Andi, myself or Jeni had ever made ketchup before. Sure we are all pretty experienced with eating it but didn’t have the faintest idea of what went into it. When I asked if I needed to bring anything and was told fennel I was so confused about how it fit in. The fennel ended up in the ketchup and overall the concoction was pretty tasty. Anyway this really has nothing to do with my random mobile pictures, other then to explain why we were at Jeni’s house. I guess the other important piece of info that is needed is that Jeni has chickens for eggs in her backyard.
Jeni went to buy some feed for her chickens the other day and walked out with a dozen new babies.
Lily was very interested in the chicks and really wanted to pet them.
We got to help Jeni feed the big chickens and collect the eggs.
We found out that Jeni also has DUCKS!
Waldo was a little surprised that I’d let Lily collect the eggs since it’s a little dirty and I’m so weird about dirty things, but it wasn’t that bad and Lily had a blast.
Going on a bike ride
A few years ago Waldo bought a really nice bike and he loved riding whenever he could, but since I had no bike and no desire to join him his pleasure rides were few and far between. Then a few weeks ago something changed in me and I decided that going on bike rides would be great family time and a great way to get some much needed exercise into our lives. We looked around at Target and Walmart for bikes and trailers and while they have a wide selection with a range of prices, we decided to spend a little more money and buy from a locally owned bike store. We are so happy that we did. We got a really good deal and I love helping out a local business. We bought my bike, Lily’s trailer and a helmet for Lil and got some maintenance done on Waldo’s bike from the shop, the owner did a little jig as we walked out.
Before we hooked it up we let Lily sit in the trailer in the living room and since the trailer can be used as a stroller I took her for a little walk around the block so that she’d be comfortable in it.
We know better then to just throw Lily into something big and new and call it good. She needs time to adjust and get to know something first. Once she was okay with it we hooked the trailer to Waldo’s bike and let Lily watch him go for a ride out in front of the house. She thought this was great.
I hadn’t ridden a bike in at least 20 years so I was very scared to get on my bike for the first time, but the old saying is right on, you never forget how to ride a bike. What the saying fails to mention is the balance takes a little practice to get back. The first time I braved my bike I felt so shaky I was shocked that I was staying upright. After a short ride I returned to the house and Waldo (with Lily in the trailer) followed me around the block and the following conversation ensued:
Waldo “see, you are already much less shaky”
me “oh you could see that”
W “you looked like you had Parkinson’s.” I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my bike.
I am much more comfortable at this point and weather permitting we go on a ride just about every night after dinner. It has been wonderful and the best part is that Lily will tell us at some point during the day “we go on a bike ride together later”. The “together” part is my favorite.
Zoo! Again.
We went to the zoo again last weekend. Can you tell, we love the zoo? We actually bought a membership to the zoo this time so now we can go as often as we want without worrying out our budget. Our goal is to go at least once a month, but more often if possible. I might or might not blog every time we go, that will be decided on a trip by trip basis.
This time we let Lily decide our route around the zoo, so we probably went from one side to the other 5 times. We were so tired when we left.
Here are some of the highlights from this trip, in no particular order.
I helped Lily feed the giraffes this time, but we waited too late in our trip and she was too tried to want to do anything. So I fed the giraffe.
