Sunday, March 10, 2013

Great Wolf Lodge Spring Break

We joined the Chandler cousins at Great Wolf Lodge for the first part of our spring break.  The boys spent most of their time completing MagiQuest missions and had a blast.  The girls enjoyed the creation station coloring and playing.  Of course, we all enjoyed the water park!
  • The girls stuffed their own wolf friends that joined us throughout our time.


  • The Water Park





  • The girls chilling in the room while the boys were on a MagiQuest.

  • Everyone colored a pillowcase to take home as a reminder of the trip.

  • Exploring the lodge and enjoying our meals.




  • Just hanging out!


 
 

 

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Happy Happy Birthday

My twin cousins turned 16 this month so we decided to celebrate their Sweet Sixteen.  My sister and I first took them shopping because dinner out for you Sweet Sixteen requires a dress (even if you never wear them).  I even made them try on a couple of super fancy dresses from the clearance rack (unfortunately, they were too small).  We had sitters for the little kids and let the girls each invite a friend to go with us.


 
 
I made them wear tiaras and princess sashes, too.  Hey we were going for the whole theme!


It was also my dad's birthday so he came too.
We went to Red Lobster and let the teenagers go crazy trying new foods.  We had cookie lava cakes for dessert with candles.  And they even sang "Happy Birthday" to everyone.


I hope the girls had a good time.  Now to start planning the next big party!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Gladney Chinese New Year Celebration

Logan and I invited the cousin Matthew to go to the Chinese New Year dinner.  The boys had a great time together.

 After doing some crafts, there was a magician who made each of the kids a snake in honor of the new year.

 
 



They also got red envelopes with chocolate coins.  After the magician we had Chinese food before heading home.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Your Written Name

I have a nephew who passed away at only 7 weeks old. His name is Owen.  One day I was looking at kids books and found one about a boy named Owen and his dad.  I bought it for my sister and her husband.  Their Owen was gone but stories about an Owen were out there.  About a year and a half later there was a tsunami that spawned a friendship between an old tortoise and a baby hippo named Owen.  Their story is found in the books above.  And I can't read them without thinking abut my nephew.



Since then, I am always on the look out for stories with the name Owen (and have found several).  I later learned at an Early Childhood training that it is important for children to see their name in print.  That little tidbit of information continued to spur my desire to find books with the names of children I cared for and about.

We had a friend whose son died of SIDS.  For Christmas, I gave them this book.  And bought one for us too.


Of course, Sophie has books with her name (although I find a lot more Sophia ones).

I even found a set of chapter books about a girl named Sophie who looks a lot like I did as a child.  I give her a new one on her birthday.  My mom found another set for her too.



Books with the name Logan have been much harder to find. (And, I'll probably never find one whose character looks like our Logan.)


Of course, Wolverine from the X-Men comics is named Logan.  We have lots of those and if you asked Logan who it is he doesn't say Wolverine, but Logan.


During Christmas, I found this book at Half Priced Books.  It's the first book I remember having my name in it.