14

If you ask Noah, he will tell you that he got ripped off last year on his birthday.  We normally do birthday parties for odd years but last year scheduling issues and indecision (on the part of the birthday boy) meant Noah didn't have a 13th birthday party. This year we made an exception to the rule but kept it simple. Noah invited a few friends over for pizza, video games (Black Ops Zombies), a movie (Hot Rod) and a couple of rounds of Fugitive. 

By all accounts, the party was a hit so I better not hear any complaints next year. (Mom's aren't allow to take lots of pictures at 14 year old birthday parties). 

As for his actual birthday. Zack made this sign. The clock represents the fact that his party ended at midnight. Can you imagine? Someone's parents are crazy. 

 Five Guys delivery for lunch. 

 And a Dwight Schrute shirt birthday cake. He loves the Office. 

We did a birthday boy quiz a few years ago and are bringing it back this year. Good luck trying to decipher his writing. 

Snow Days

There isn't a lot of snow in Vegas. That's just how I like it. I've lived in snowy areas long enough. But it is fun to visit snowy places every so often.  Especially if I can stay inside and do a puzzle or read a book. David & Emily's cabin is the perfect destination. I ventured out long enough to get these pictures.

Matt spent more time outside than me and took these pictures:

 

Somehow neither one of us got any pictures of Noah-who was in the snow A LOT! 

I may not like the snow to walk or drive in, but I can certainly appreciate its beauty. 

All You Need is Love...

...and complicated design ideas.  Third grade is the year for the Valentine container contest. Ben won with his robot masterpiece. Zack, I knew, would settle for nothing less than first place. His class was having a Fancy Nancy party so he wanted to create a fancy container. What is more fancy than a fox, with a top hat and monocle? 

 

A sketch was drawn and a mom got stressed. How on earth were we going to build it? We took a trip to Hobby Lobby and put on our thinking caps. It took a lot of clever taping and cutting and patience, but we worked it out pretty well. 

Zack painted it and (sigh of relief) was very happy with the finished project. 

On the big day, he put on his fancy clothes and reluctantly headed to school. I drove him to protect the fox. Once we got there, he didn't want to get out of the car. He was worried that he would be the only boy dressed up. I assured, begged and finally bargained with him to get out of the car. I almost lost $10, but one other kid was wearing a tie. Thank heavens! Ultimately, he was glad he dressed up. I bet he got a lot of attention from all the cute girls in his class. Oh, and he won. 

By 5th grade, Valentine's containers aren't that important. We threw this together a few minutes before we left for school. 

I found some cute Valentine's ideas online. Ben liked this idea: 

Zack wasn't feeling the Doritos, he picked this one instead:

Somewhere along the line (like two years ago when I bought them a video game) the boys got unrealistic expectations for Valentine's presents. Who doesn't appreciate candy? My kids, that's who. 

It's not like I am a total slacker. There are decorations. Those hearts didn't just hang themselves up. 

 

And how quickly they forgot the pink heart pancakes for breakfast. 

Oh well, I love them anyway.