Dean is a whole handful!

What a time to celebrate 5!  Oma and Papa flew in for the occasion, and they even took Dean and Fiona to the coast overnight before the big day.

 

We celebrated with a small party at the park for a Jedi Scavenger Hunt.  Here’s the mission – and my beloved, a Jedi Master, explains the rules of the quest to the Younglings. 

And they’re off!  Matt gets big-time points for this.  I think he enjoys wielding the lightsaber though.  It glows.

Hunting for nature items.

The reward?  A Chinese yo-yo lightsaber of course.  Best. Party favor.  Ever.

   

Now the cake.  Darth Vader in a cupcake mosaic.  Chocolate with buttercream frosting sprinkled in chocolate wafers and black sugar with white icing and silver crystal highlights.  Phew.  All because I refused to buy the Wilton Darth Vader pan on eBay.  I highly recommend this cupcake method though.  No forks.  Barely needed plates.

Check out the lightsaber-ish candles.

Playground time.

 

And the celebrating didn’t stop there!  The next day was Dean’s actual birthday, where we celebrated with yet another chocolate cake – rolled with ice cream this time.  And a viewing of “Cars 2” at the Kennedy School.  Plus presents.  I’m exhausted!

What is that big red present?  Drum roll, please…

   

Seriously!  We’re nuts.  I blame Matthew.

Fiona was feeling a bit left out, so we thought this would be a good time to give her the upgraded Buzz Lightyear costume we got her for Halloween since she’s worn the other one thin (and she still insists on going as Buzz Lightyear).

  

And now we begin looking forward to the next birthday…

lightning master

Today I visited Dean during school just before his naptime.  He was quietly playing with some magnet toys, and he kept referring to "lightning master". 

Finally, I asked him, "What is 'lightning master'?"  He said, "Lightning Master is a movie I made up.  It's like 'Peter Pan'.  There's a guy NAMED 'Lightning Master' IN it." (emphasis his). 
Brilliant.

Autumn is here

It is autumn in Portland, and we are feeling a bit playful. 

And, why not?  There are birthdays to celebrate – starting with Matthew’s.  I have attempted, at his request, a cheesecake.  Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to follow my Grandmother’s delicious fool-proof recipe, since hers calls for cherries and Matt insists on chocolate and caramel.  So I winged it again this year, modifying a bit from last year, since I thought the caramel was too understated.  This year, we tried an Oreo cookie base – actually, Newman-O’s -  (I say “we”, because Fiona helped me smash the cookies into tiny bits).  That layer was followed by a layer of homemade caramel, which Dean watched me make, witnessing what happens to sugar when it melts.  Yummiest layer ever.  This was followed by a layer of cheesecake filling, which included Godiva bittersweet chocolate, but otherwise, was pretty much my Grandmother’s cheesecake recipe, and that layer was followed by the final layer according to Grandmother’s cheesecake recipe (which is classified).  It was yum – though the caramel was too understated again.  Or maybe I just want to eat a spoonful of that instead? 

Here is my beloved, celebrating 35 years of life with our three sweetie pies.  We placed 3 orange candles and 5 yellow candles before realizing that within a month we’d be celebrating Dean’s 5th and Fiona’s 3rd birthdays.

Leo had his eye on the cheesecake – I think Matt gave him a bit off the top when I wasn’t looking.  Well, what are birthdays for?

Leo loves to eat!  He’s crawling everywhere these days and likes to spend his time pulling himself up on the couch, on a stool, on my legs… His gross motor skills are accelerated!  We are constantly surprised by how active this little guy is.

No telling where he will go next!

 

September Album: These aren’t the droids you’re looking for

We celebrated Labor Day weekend with my sister and her family, which, by “we”, I mean, my 3 kids and I.  We spent a lot of the weekend watching a Star Wars marathon.  My children are officially hooked.  And I guess I am too.

Other highlights included: preserving Fredericksburg peach jam, hiking around Garden of the Gods, late-night viewing of the Food Network’s  “Chopped” with my sis, and attending the Air Force game on college football opening day. 

The only thing about the game that fascinated Dean was the other team’s drums.  South Dakota’s band let him have a closer look as they were lining up.  Such friendly folks!

Playing at the Garden of the Gods.

   

Can’t catch Fi!

Me and Leo.

My nephews and niece.

Our visit was an entire week – I’m sure that was long enough for all parties, but my sister and I could probably have visited some more.  Sans kiddos.  Time for another Girl’s Weekend? 

'burb wars

Did a LOT of shopping for birthday party supplies in the suburbs last weekend (to avoid shipping costs) and remembered why I shop online.  So much driving - a whole day spent and no Darth Vader pinata to be found.

So we are doing a Jedi Scavenger hunt instead.  I will still be responsible for a Darth Vader cake.  May the force be with me.