Boys With Bows . . .

You can tell that your son is growing up when he abandons things like Spiderman and Pokemon cards and starts to pay a lot of attention to scary, harmful, bodily injurious things like football and bows and arrows . . .
Hayden's friend Emmett came to spend the night and brought his bow and arrows so he and Hayden could have some fun with Hayden's newly acquired (birthday present) bow and arrows.
(aren't they cute)!


Here is Hayden with his first "kill"! I told them to pose by the box when their arrow went through it because that's what hunters do when they hit their target. Should I have put some antlers on the box?

Tandem Menace! Watch out you free roaming, wild boxes!

Even Tyler thought this looked fun. I believe it is one of those things that is harder to do than it looks. Watching the boys try to keep the arrows balanced while they aimed was pretty interesting.

Hailey - Warrior Princess !

(well actually, bow-retriever girl. The other name just sounded better !

Hailey's turn! Believe it or not she actually cut herself with the plastic part that is on the back of the arrow for balance. Yes, I am sure it has a name but I am a girl and don't know what the name of it is right now. If I find out, I'll let you know. I call it the feather-replacer thingy.

Emmett is keeping his eye out for stance and there is Tyler the Jedi Padawan Learner in the background.

(Did I tell you that Ty wants to be a Jedi when he gets older? Don't see much need for those in the Job Wanted section yet. What do you think the college course requirement would be for that?)

Sorry Hailey - Missed the box, uh-er, the deer!

Oh yeah! Emmett with his trophy game! Great Job Emmett!

Oh wait Hailey . . . . I think we found your arrow! I think I have some band-aids in the house!

I have always wanted to learn how to shoot with a bow and arrow. Maybe I will have to sneak the deer-box out during the day while the kids are in school and see how I do! That way there will be no witnesses either!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYDEN !

Friday was a big day at our house. It was Hayden's 11Th Birthday Party and it was busy! I had ten kids varying in age from six to fourteen! I was hoping I would have another adults help but it didn't quite work out that way! Kurt had to work, my little sister Debra was having some trouble with a shoulder of hers and was laid up with it and Chris wasn't feeling good so I was on my own! If you feel shivers down your spine - you know what I am talking about!

Here is a neat sign that Hailey and her friend Kaycee had made for Hayden. I thought it turned out really cute!




This is Hailey and Kaycee. They didn't want me to bother them with taking pictures but I made them deal with it anyway! Kaycee is a great girl! She is about six feet tall though and makes me feel quite dwarfed. . .

Here is Chris dropping off Jonathan - notice how she is smiling? It is because, even though she was feeling sick she was going to drive far away from ten rambunctious kids!

I have to admit when Brodie walked in the door I couldn't believe it! Wow! Has he changed! He was soooo much taller than the last time I saw him and he doesn't have a "little boy" face anymore! They grow so fast!

Jonathan had an interesting time. The boys were playing football out front while everyone was arriving. He tripped on the curb or something like that and hurt his foot. At the time I didn't know it but he had actually sprained his ankle! We didn't find out for sure until two days later.

Poor kid - he hobbled around a lot and was crawling too. I thought he was just acting goofy so I kept telling him to get up and stop acting so silly. In all actuality, his ankle was really hurting him and he couldn't walk on it. Boy, do I feel bad!

I tried really hard to get a "regular" picture out of Isaac but for some reason he kept pulling faces while I was taking pictures so . . . here is Isaac!

Hayden was loving having all his friends over! Emmett was very good at avoiding the camera most of the night. He was just about to put the pillow over his face but I was just a little too fast for him this time!

Here is Brodie and Dylan! They posed nicely!

Ryan was trying to avoid pictures too! Blogging is really hard - it is amazing how people don't really want you taking their picture! But, Ryan was patient with me. Thanks Ryan!

Tyler is synonymous for : hyper, excitable, action, energy, oh and exhausted mom!

This was our first game! You suck up smarties with straws and move them from one bowl to another. The first one to accomplish moving all of their smarties is the winner! The kids love this game because it is fun and you get to eat the candy when you are done. I like it because the kids get really quiet while they are playing it and then when they play it for a few times they are hyperventilated which makes them quieter and almost motionless!

On to the next game. This game can be really fun too! It was called "Name it- pass". The first person picks out a category and whoever they throw the ball to has to name something in that category as soon as they catch the ball or they are out. This game for some reason got completely out of hand! People were saying things like Yoda to the topic of Mammals . . . needless to say it got so loud that even with a raised voice I couldn't be heard. The kids were laughing and being so silly that I decided at this point to forgo the rest of the games planned and just go straight to the present opening! I needed to get control of the group!

Hayden took a minute to "eye" the candy I had put in the "thanks for coming" cups.

Hayden got everything he had hoped for and more! He was pretty thrilled!

Sometimes Jonathan scares me! Yes, he had this straw stuck on his tooth! I am not sure what he is doing to Emmett. Up until this time I didn't believe in Vampires . . . .

At times like this is when you take advantage of an opportunity. Hayden is so happy and disoriented by pure birthday joy that he actually let me hug him for a photo opportunity! Normally he is at that stage in life that you are not supposed to act like you are his mom. I think I will have this picture laminated!

In case you want to know, yes, you can fit eleven candles on a cupcake!

After presents and cupcakes and ice cream I decided that the best way to spend the last hour of the party was playing board games. This was an excellent idea! The kids really had a good time (plus they were in smaller, quieter groups)! Do I keep mentioning quieter? You would think I was obsessed with the idea of that or something?

I love this picture! This is Hayden. Football, friends and legos!

Dylan and Tyler enjoying a game of LIFE!

After everyone left and only Jonathan remained (he was spending the night) for some reason this weird monkey that belongs to the Baker family showed up. . . oh yeah, I sat it up on Hailey's bed earlier in the day to scare her half-to-death when she finally went into her room. Mission mostly accomplished. I didn't get as big of a scream out of her as I had hoped but, it did creep her out. I can live with that!

Hayden working on his X-Wing Lego - this thing was a pretty good size. He had also gotten a different set and had already put that together. Now, Ty wants one of his own!

Well, after all is said and done, Hayden said that it was the best birthday ever and willingly gave all of us hugs. He was excited and I was exhausted. There was still plenty to clean up and I will get to that later. The really scary thought is that Hailey's birthday is in a week and she wants to have a party with SIX girls her age . . . . . . . . help!