Happy Birthday, Jacob!

Today is Jake's 7th birthday!  He has been so excited to turn 7.  He waited patiently after school to finish homework, piano practicing, and for Daddy to come home.  As soon as Dad walked in the door, we loaded into the car and headed to Geisha House for some sushi and hibachi.  Jake loves sushi and we thought it would fun for the kids to see the chef prepare all of their food on the hot grill.  It was so cute to watch their eyes light up when the chef did his tricks--flipping the knives and spatulas, cracking eggs and throwing the shells into his hat, making a fire volcano out of an onion, and cooking up their meal. 

After dinner, Jake had to wait a little bit more for piano lessons to be over and then he ripped into his birthday presents when Clark and Kate got home.  He got a spy watch with a video camera, a remote-control truck, and a spy gear voice-changer.  We then ate brownie sundaes for dessert. 

I love when they do this!

We love you, Jake the Snake!  Happy Happy Birthday!

Lucky #7

Jacob ended up being pretty lucky in the month of November . . .

*Lucky to go to Disneyland
*Lucky to lose his first tooth (the normal way, the other three were extracted by the dentist)
*Lucky to turn 7 years old
*Lucky to have his first birthday party
*Lucky to be the first in our family to have a boy/girl birthday party
*Lucky to be spoiled by his family and friends
*Lucky to be loved like crazy

I had this great idea to have a Camp-out Birthday Party so Jake was the one I convinced to do it.  We set up a tent in the backyard with a firepit for roasting s'mores, had a fishin' hole (swimming pool), grilled hot dogs in the dining hall, went on a bug hunt in the dark, held sleeping bag relays, told scary stories in the tent, and had a s'mores bar.  Joe and I were the camp directors, Carlee, Clark, and Katelyn were camp counselors, and all of the birthday friends were happy campers. 

Katelyn registered each camper when they came to the door and gave them a nametag.  Then we divided into groups to make up a name and cheer under the direction of the camp counselor.  Each group took turns fishing, doing the sleeping bag relay, and telling stories in the tent.  We then ate dinner on the back patio before starting our bug hunt.  Each camper was given a flashlight to search for bugs all over the backyard.  It was so cute to watch all of them shining their lights all over the ground and bending over to look for bugs.  We only lost one kid in the pool for a brief moment.  Cole looked too closely to the water and slipped in.  He came over to me dripping wet and asked if he could dry off.  Trying to stifle a laugh (luckily, he wasn't crying or too upset and could swim!), we changed him into Jake's clothes and put his into the dryer.  After eating, we went inside to open presents.  Jake was spoiled by his friends and loved all of his gifts.  Then the kids went back outside to roast marshmallows and make s'mores.  They were yummy!  Then we lit the campfire birthday cake.  Jacob was so excited to see the cake on fire as he blew out his candles.  The party was a huge success and so much fun.  Although the weather turned cooler the day before and they had to keep running inside to get warm, the kids had a great time.

Welcome to Camp Stuart!

All of the happy campers

Katelyn was the Camp Counselor for her group, Phoenix

Clark was the Camp Counselor for his group, Lightning Bolts

Storytelling by the fire

Sleeping Bag Relays

Fishin' in the pond

Scary stories in the tent

Grilled hot dogs, fruit, chips, carrots, and bug juice from the dining hall

S'mores Bar-Yummy!

Roasting marshmallows

Hunting for bugs

All of the campers went home with a flashlight, glow-in-the-dark bugs, the fish they caught, and s'mores trail mix

Our Happiest Place

Our family LOVES Disneyland--every single one of us, including Joe.  We planned to go during Veterans week and knew it would be crazy busy on that weekend so we pulled the kids out of school and hit the park early in the week to avoid the crowds and I must say we did the right thing.  There were no lines or waiting and the kids had a blast.  We rode on the rides over and over again.

This trip was extra special because we went with our dear friends, the Swaseys, and all of our kids were out of diapers and bottles and were tall enough to go on almost every ride.   It was so easy for all 6 of us to jump on the rides with nobody left behind waiting to watch a baby/toddler or stroller.  Carlee had no idea what she was getting into but we took her on everything so she could experience it all.  Every day since we've been home, she says "Remember when we went on . . ." and "Space Mountain was not my favorite ride, Mom!"

The kids were fabulous with their behavior, excitement, manners, and no whining or complaining.  It was a wonderful trip for us.

Disneyland--Day 1

Highlights:

*Loved that we just took Carlee on every ride without her knowing what was ahead
*Loved that Carlee was brave enough to go on every ride and kept on going even if she didn't like the one before
*Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters ride

*Space Mountain
*Sheer terror on Carlee's face as she sat front and center for Splash Mountain
*Meeting princesses
*No waiting in lines for longer than 15 minutes
*No worries about gathering Fast Passes

*Beautiful weather
*Watching the pure joy on my children's faces as they ran from ride to ride
*Enjoying how much the kids were getting along and having fun
*Laughing so hard as the kids practiced "Parkour" on the walk to and from Disneyland
*Jake got a visit from the tooth fairy for losing his first tooth
*Showing our pride as Clark and Katelyn both trained as Jedi Masters
*Loved that all six of us could go on all the rides together, except Indiana Jones
*Giggling as our kids fell asleep during dinner at California Pizza Kitchen

 

 

Jake lost his first tooth and was visited by the tooth fairy at Disneyland!

 California Adventure--Day 2

Highlights:

*Laughing hysterically while my kids screamed from fear on Tower of Terror

*Tried to convince and bribe Joe to go on Tower of Terror but to no avail

*Soarin' over California was the favorite of the day

*Enjoyed California Screamin' for the first time with Melissa and then with Joe

*Loved Toy Story Mania

*Rode Monsters, Inc. four times in a row

*Had a sweet little visit with Jake while waiting for everyone to come out of A Bug's Life Theater since he was too scared to stay the whole time

*Drank hot chocolate while watching the Pixar Play Parade

*Loved the World of Color Water Show

*Chasing children all over the Redwood Creek Trail and Playground

*Grabbing Subway sandwiches for dinner and falling asleep right after snarfing them down

Ella was so good to stay in the stroller and just hang out

This is our picture from the screen at Tower of Terror.  Melissa and I are laughing while our kids are scared to death.  I lost the feeling in my arm from Carlee holding on so tight.  Clark wimped out!

Melissa and I got to ride California Screamin' together!

Really hamming it up for our kids that were watching from the side.  They were scared one of us wouldn't make it.

The kids were completely exhausted from the long day.  They were tired of walking so Joe pushed four of them.  Carlee is asleep up front and Jake is asleep against Cole's stomach.  We love to wear them out!


Back and Forth--Day 3

Highlights: 

*Going on all the favorites "One More Time"

*Shopping for souvenirs

*Watching the "Celebrate! Let's Party" Street Parade

*Eating at the Blue Bayou Restaurant for the first time (the kids were excellent!)

*Getting character signature for their autograph books

*Enjoying more and more Christmas decor magically appearing each day

Carlee loved meeting all of the princesses while the older kids got to go on more rides.

Eating at the Blue Bayou.  Arrggghh!

Melissa captures the best candid moments of best friends

Carlee and Luke watching a movie in the iPod while waiting for the parade

Downtown Disney--Day 4

We hit Downtown Disney in the morning after checking out of our hotel.  The kids wanted to pick out a Disney Christmas ornament and hit the Lego store of course, where we bought some Harry Potter magnets and a Lego Christmas Village.  

We then headed back to Vegas with a little stop at the Primm Outlets on the way back.  A wonderful vacation with some wonderful memories.  Can't wait to go back next year?!?

The Stuseys, a crazy crew