The Slumber Party

FAMILY SLUMBER PARTY. We did it. Not kidding. 9 KIDS. 6 ADULTS. OVERNIGHT. We have joked about this for some time now, and decided it was time to try it. It was an OVERWHELMING SUCCESS. There was very little fighting. There was MUCH LAUGHTER. It was kind of like a MINI-GETAWAY right at home.

Owen's Birthday Party

Owen requested the same birthday cake this year as he did last year. Aside from frosting jerseys onto a bunch of little teddy grahams, it's a pretty easy cake so I was happy with his decision. We took the boys and a few of Owen's buddies to Chuck E. Cheese's. A Place Where a Kid Can Be a Kid, and an adult can come very close to losing his or her mind ;) The boys had a lot of fun, and Corey was such a good sport about the whole adventure after having a very long week at work.

They had fun playing games, but the prizes were seriously lacking. I realize arcades are just money-gobblers, but seriously, 60 tickets for a piece of candy I can by for 10 cents at Dollar General?

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I really is hard for me to believe that Owen is 8 years old. But I feel that way every year, and I know it will just keep getting more unbelievable as he ages.

8 Things...

...about Owen.

1. He likes to draw and do artistic kinds of things.

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2. He has an enviable head of blonde locks.

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3. He loves football and basketball.

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4. He can be found in a Vikings, ISU or Nebraska shirt 99 percent of the time.

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5. He doesn't like fruit.

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6. He enjoys reading. (I can't believe I can write that truthfully.)

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7. He likes to collect little random treasures that he finds here and there.

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8. He has a tender heart and a contagious smile.

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Happy 8th Birthday Owen!!

A Day at the Zoo

We spent Wednesday playing at the zoo. Lewis didn't understand why the tiger would not roar back at him when he roared at it. All the boys had fun feeding the fish and the goats. And some of the monkeys were in a pretty entertaining mood. It was a fun little spring break week outing.

Imagination

"Mom, this noodle (otherwise known as a travel pillow) gives me powers."

What's Wrong With This Picture?

That's my three-year-old playing the DS. He can actually complete the early levels of Super Mario Bros. He asks for my help, and I can't help him, because he is better than me. The other boys didn't play video games until they were twice his age. I have promised myself I will not let him turn into an addict, but hey, the winter is long, and he doesn't have a brother to play with every day like Carter and Owen did. So, he gets a little video game time. Once spring arrives, Mario is going to go back in the nightstand drawer, and Lewis and I are going to the park.

A Good Cause

This is a little plug for the Pampered Chef Party Fundraiser my friend, Deanna, is having on the 7th to raise money for children's cancer research. Her daughter, Mikayla, is a year out of treatment for Ewing Sarcoma, so they have a vested interested in furthering the research to find a cure for childhood cancers.

Below is a link to a story I wrote for the local paper this week. Take a look, and feel free to contact me if you are interested in making a purchase. All the proceeds will go to CureSearch.

www.amestrib.com/articles/2011/03/04/tri_county_times/features

You've Been Good To Us Green(ish) Couch

Since this couch was our first purchase as a married couple more than a dozen years ago, I feel it fitting that it have its own dedicated blog post before being sent to the big couch heaven in the sky (or maybe the youth room at church).

Oh lovely green(ish) couch. Almost all of our wedding gift money was used for your purchase. We chose you because you were comfy and neutral and big enough for two people to cuddle up and nap on (that is of the utmost importance when you are newly married). We moved you into 165E University Village. You sat atop some lovely blue carpet which you clashed with horribly. You were then moved to 204 2nd Avenue in Slater. This is where you came to be in your current state of dilapidation. For it is to that home that we brought our first two babies. They happily spit up on you, (Carter was a perpetual puker, so you were hit over and over and over and over), had diaper blow-outs on you, spilled food and drinks on you and used you as a napkin among other things. As they grew, you became a trampoline and a hurdle to fling oneself over. Your cushions became floor mats for acrobatics, walls for forts and castles, and islands of safety when the living room floor was flooded with hot lava or alligators.

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You are now a sorry looking piece of furniture. Your torn seat cushions have been mended more than once. Your even green color is now splotchy with stains. Your back cushions are sadly misshapen, and your old bones now make creaking noises from time to time. So, we have decided it is time to say good-bye. I appreciate the comfort you have provided during the viewing of many a movie and Vikings game, and I will always remember that you were a part of the beginning of the Harms family. :)

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You've been good to us, Green(ish) Couch.