Birthday Boy!

Beck had his first real big boy birthday bash on Friday. And where better to let a pack of 5 and 6 year old boys loose on a sugar high than the local arcade!

Pizza, ice cream, diabetes-inducing birthday cake and a warehouse full of obnoxiously loud video games and a kid size habitrail (READ: NO CLEAN UP AT MY HOUSE)= AWESOME.

And I have the pictures to prove it.

Beck at the Wheel of Wow. Trust me, that is the look of pure WOW.

SUGAR!!!! I mean, cake, There is cake under there, right?

How do I caption this picture? Where do I start? The one-legged boy? Beck hugging/attacking his friend? Joe instinctively protecting the family jewels?

In the end, everyone went home sticky, tired and happy. And Beck had his best birthday party ever! (READ: MY HOUSE WAS UNSCATHED)

Spook-Tacular!

Hello my sugar-coated webby pals. I hope you all had a great Halloweeny weekend. I know I did!
On Saturday night, we joined the LaBevs and Team E+M for some adult Halloween festivities at a local restaurant.

I forced convinced Joe to go as Billy The Exterminator, and I think he pulled it off well. OK, maybe a little too well. He made it only 3 feet through the front door before the first group of women insisted on a picture with him. That trend continued all night. Joe is now regretting his life choices and wishes he had decided to be a greasy bug-killer rather than going to grad school. Live and learn.

Drac and his Babelicious Elvira

By Sunday afternoon, we had recovered (ish) enough to take the kidlets out for for some good ol' candy hunting.

Beck the Transformer and Morgan the Midnight Fairy

Yes, those wings really do work

Is there anything better than attaching a plastic mask to your face with a rubber band?

So how was your weekend? Who rocked the costume fun?

Three Years To The Day

Three years ago today, Beck stepped off a plane and met his sister for the first time.

Today, for the first, he boarded the school bus for kindergarten.

Where does the time go?

(Not Nearly) Wordless Wednesday - School's Out Edition

Eeesh! Sorry I've been AWOL, things have been hectic this week. And really, how much crap can we fit into the last week of school?

And trust me, I'm feeling like a heel that I haven't even responded to comments in the past TWO posts! Egads! I'm a loosah! But believe me, I love you all.... LOVE YOU! Like, rub up all against you, love you. Really.

But for now, bring on the Wordless (or not) Wednesday.


Morgan got a surprise ride home from school yesterday. Her teacher was a good sport and didn't let on. She even let the class watch "Spirit" right before pick-up.

Dee and Storm wait for the school bell to ring.

Morgan was all smiles for the rest of the day. She called out to anyone who happened to be outside, "It's funny to get picked up at school by a horse!". During the relaxing ride home, we talked about school and summer and everything in between. This was possibly the best ride I've ever had.

SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER!

Time to clean out the backpack. CRIPES! That's a lot of crap! What the... is her backpack a TARDIS?
Mr. Hoffa, is that you?
*Corona not included

This is what I missed while in Florida Morgan's dance recital. There she is... the one in the green... with her hair pulled back.... Isn't she the cutest?
*yeah, I can't tell which one she is either.

And speaking of Florida, it was fun. And HOT! DAMN HOT!

Here's a menu I found at our hotel.

Prultry, anyone? Mmmmmm, tastes like Gator.
And while schlepping around Hollywood Studio, I spotted this guy - and you know, because I love you all so much, I had to take a picture.

NOT AT THE TABLE, CARLOS!

Well, that's all. I wish I could promise that I'll get back on track now, but I wouldn't want to lie to you.

Later Taters.

Wordless Wednesday - Project Runway

Morgan is one creative and busy kid. She dreams up projects and she will drive me crazy won't stop until she completes them.
Last week she decided to fashion her own garment, so she gathered up some of my ugliest scrap fabrics, and with needle and thread, set to work.
Two days of later, she unveiled this toga-inspired ensemble, complete with horsey cap-sleeves and coordinating belt.
Of course, as it was her first design, she learned that being able to actually walk in it would be helpful... but in the fashion world, not necessarily necessary. But after one good cut up the back with scissors, she was good to go.
Morgan then declared that she was going to premiere her latest fashion at school. For a moment I thought about all the clothing disagreements we'll probably have in the future, I decided to choose my battles wisely, and give her a pass on this one. Besides, she was so dang proud of it, how could I say no?

She's so in.

Wordless Wednesday - Birthday Girl

It's hard to believe she will be 8 years old on Friday.

Dear Time,
Please slow down just a bit. It's all going by too quickly.

Holy First Communion, Batman!

I know, First Communion is supposed to be serious business, but c'mon, this is my family we're talking about. We don't do serious.

But I admit, I was a bit stressed dealing with dress, unruly veils and keeping Beck presentable (read: keeping him in unripped clothing. It's harder than you think. The boy can blow out the knees of a pair of pants by just thinking about it.)

But once both ruggies were dressed, I hurriedly tried to take photographic proof that they were both neat and clean and well dressed, you know, just in case they spilled something or sat in any mysterious stickiness on the 10 minute ride to the church. 'Cause that would happen. Trust.

Yeah, I know I have you staring directly at the sun, but dammit, stop squinting!

Beck, did you just yawn? I'm sorry, am I boring you? Ugh. Let's try one more picture, shall we?

Oh, damnit! Forget it! Just get in the car. And don't get dirty!

I'm not sure why I spent any time doing Morgan's hair either. It was W I N D Y!

Finally we made our way inside.

After Morgan nagged me for most of the mass with "I'm hungry, when do I get to eat the bread?", it was her big moment.

And as soon as Morgan received her communion wafer, Beck shouted out, "I WANT ONE TOO!". Ugh.


At the conclusion on the mass, Father Steve called the girls up and gave them each a special gift.
"Nice gloves. Madonna used to wear ones just like these."

"Now remember, boys have cooties..."

"Did your Mom do your hair? It's a mess. Here, let me fix that."

So we made it! And everyone stayed clean and tidy... well, until the ride home when Beck somehow got his hands on a marker and decorated his new dress shirt. *sigh*

Even the dog was wiped out by the end of the festivities.



Hope you all had a great weekend.




(the rest of this post is for the benefit of family members that weren't able to attend. Of course ya'll are free to stay. We'll break out slides from last year's vacation. Now let me whip up some dip.)