Monday, May 28, 2012

Ty's 7th - "All-Sports" - Birthday Party!!!!

Darren beat me to it!!!! He finished the party video before I even considered editing the photos. That party WIPED ME OUT!!!!!! God was faithful to provide gorgeous weather, but it was also extremely HOT! I was surviving off of 2 hours of sleep, so by 7:30 pm, the night of the party, I was sound asleep. I think it's safe to say the boys had an absolute blast.

Enjoy the video. We had 3 1/2 hours of video footage and Darren condensed it into 6 minutes. He used specific footage that he felt would be appealing to the viewer's eye. Trust me, we did a whole lot more than you are able to view from this youtube video.

If I were you... I would view the video in youtube by double clicking on the youtube logo. Be sure to turn up the volume on your computer's speakers. There are some great tunes being played along to the video.

Friday, May 18, 2012

A True Ooooopsie!!!!!

On Thursday, I dropped the twins off at preschool and headed to get my hair done. While getting my hair cut, I received a text message from the preschool director that read:

Kelley: "Kristin, I have a hilarious story for you, but you have to promise to laugh and not get upset?"

Me: "Ok!"

Kelley: "So Ms. Amy was fixing Lilah's shoes... Lilah did NOT have any underware on."

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT A GOOD COMBO when she's wearing a dress. AHHHH! Where in the world were my brain cells that morning.

No pictures will be attached to this post :)

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Tyson's "All-Sports" Birthday Invitation

Tyson turned 7 on May 11th, but his birthday party is NOT until May 26th. The theme... "All-Sports"... well, really just baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. I have been really excited to write a post about the invitation that I "thunk" up and brought to fruition. I wanted each kid to feel as if they had been drafted to a game and/or invited to a real sports event + party!

The invitation was enclosed in two envelopes. This was the outer envelope. Personalized for each child and decorated with details from my cricut, computer, and jolee's stickers.

It came out so sporty and handsome.

The guest list.

This next detail is my favorite of all... even besides the "jersey". Look closely and you will see a "ticketmaster" envelope. I called ticketmaster and asked them if they would mail me some envelopes. They of course declined. Once I had the idea in my head, I thought, "You can't stop me. I'll get them one way or another."

So, I called our local civic center and asked them for a huge favor. The woman was so kind and handed me a big stack. She appreciated my drive to be detail oriented. :)

Inside the green envelope were the following.

I LOVE IT!

All (4) tickets accompanied by it's matching sports ball.

The INFAMOUS ticket. Originally, I wanted each kid to ONLY receive their favorite sport ticket, but the wording was so cute on all of them that I couldn't resist giving them all four.

The football ticket invite.
Wording reads...
"You've been drafted to Tyson's birthday party!
So bring along this jersey and get prepared to play
An All-star team is needed
For Tyson's special day!"
Gameday: May 26, 2012
Kickoff: 12:00 pm
Bolling Stadium
Regrets to Coach Kristin
"Are you ready for some football?"


The baseball ticket invite.
Wording reads....
"You've been drafted to Tyson's birthday party!
So bring along this jersey and get prepared to play
An All-star team is needed
For Tyson's special day!"
Catch the action on: May 26, 2012
Game Time: 12:00 pm
Bolling Stadium
Regrets to Coach Kristin
"Batter Up!"
"Kids bring your mitts and cleates. We have all other bases covered."


The basketball ticket invite.
Wording reads...
"You've been drafted to Tyson's birthday party!
So bring along this jersey and get prepared to play
All-star team is needed
For Tyson's special day!"
Gameday: May 26, 2012
Tip Off: 12:00 pm
Bolling Arena
Regrets to Coach Kristin
"It's going to be a slam dunk party!"


The soccer ticket invite.
Wording reads...
"You've been drafted to Tyson's birthday party!
So bring along this jersey and get prepared to play
An All-star team is needed
For Tyson's special day!"
Gameday: May 26, 2012
Kickoff: 12:00 pm
Bolling Field
Regrets to Coach Kristin
"We're kicking up some fun. Score!!"


I've been so accustomed lately to giving out invitations that are more than paper and I can't seem to get away from the tradition (ie. Noah's ark animals, unstuffed build-a-bears etc.). I had this awesome idea in my head to give each guest their own personalized "jersey" raglan shirt. After MUCH chaos due to time constraints and cost, I finally finally finally made this idea work. This is the front of the "jersey".

The back of the blue "jersey".

The front of the green "jersey".

The back of the green "jersey".

I wanted the front to have something to do with the theme of the party... "All-sports".

And I wanted the shirt to contain something to do with the birthday boy. I knew saying "birthday" or "Tyson" would cause the kids to not re-wear the shirt, so instead we chose the number #7 for the age that Tyson is turning. This detail/idea was given to me by Erin Carroll.

I purchased two colored "jerseys". I placed the guest's names on little pieces of paper and placed the names in a bowl. To be fair and to make sure all the "jocks" weren't on one team, I had Tyson pick out the teams. 6 boys on one team and 6 boys on the other.

Surprisingly, the teams seem pretty even.

Tyson's favorite color is green, but his favorite sport is basketball. OF COURSE, knowing me, his jersey had to be color coordinated with the sport. Check out the basketball invite above. Isn't it blue? LOL! I doubt any other soul recognized this detail, but it doesn't matter. I required it to take place. Imagine having my brain. It's tough :)

When Tyson saw these he said, "AWESOME!"

Another peak.

Another peak!

Each child received their stadium ticket and "jersey" raglan shirt in a gift bag. Of course the gift bag color coordinated with their shirt.

Stuffed with tissue paper and tied with a sports ribbon. I was sure to ask each mommy what their son's favorite sport was. I was sure to use that specific sport ribbon on their bag.

I also downloaded a font called "jersey letters" to replicate the font on a professional jersey.

Each invitation was hand delivered. It got rave reviews!!! The last three invitations I designed were delivered in gift bags. I am really keeping the gift bag industry in business. LOL!

That's it!!! Man, that was a long post for just a party invitation. Now it's time to plan the party!!! Okay, it's almost all planned out. I mean after all... it is TWO weeks away. YIKES!!!!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Karate Kid Part 4

Last night, our family had a fun opportunity to watch the Smith children for a little while. Darren had NO problem entertaining the boys (Tyson, Haden, and Grayson). Although the video went on for only two minutes, this entertainment lasted almost an entire half hour. Grayson and Haden's hair was drenched in sweat and had welt marks all over their faces from the "Karate Kid". It was quite hysterical. Lilah, Loren, and Jax played in the kitchen and with the doll house. It was way too rough for their age group.

This photo is a sneak peak of what went down in our basement last night :) To view this video and get the most out of it, be sure to double click on it and view it in the LARGEST version possible. I took the video clip with my iphone so the screen is tini tiny on the blog.
Not sure where my husband gets his energy, but I sure wish we could bottle it up and sell it. I would be the first person in line for it!!! He's such a giant kid. I love it and the kids love it :)

I think Darren has been watching WAAAAAY too many of these movies.

"Ain't Nobody Got Time For Dat!"

Darren introduced Tyson (the whole family actually) to a youtube video that is spreading like wild flower and Ty has since memorized it AND acted it out. LOL! IF you don't know what the heck he's doing, check out the video below.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Safari Park Zoo Field Trip

I had the pleasure of joining Tyson on his first grade field trip last week. It was special for so many reasons. 1. I haven't been able to join him on a field trip yet!!! 2. It was the day before his birthday. 3. We had NEVER been to the venue before. The field trip was to Safari Park Zoo in Natural Bridge, VA. We left the school parking lot at 9:15 am. I rode the bus with well over 35 children and many accompanying chaperones. IF you've never done that before... be sure to wear ear plugs. I wish someone had warned me :) We spent an hour on the tractor ride, feeding the animals that greet you VERY UP CLOSE, some of the animals even STOLE the buckets of feed. Then we were able to tour the petting zoo and regular portion of the zoo. Finally, we at lunch at the pavillion. There was only ONE small incident where a camel bit one of Ty's friends in the tummy, but he handled it well. I think it was on accident. This was QUITE the experience. I was grateful to my dear friend Lisa Fernandez for picking the twins up from preschool so I could join Ty. I hope to take the twins this summer if anyone wants to join us.

Psalm 23

This is the sweetest sound to my ears!

"But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day!


I guess I took a break from snapping photos on Mother's Day, but I was able to snap the photo of my gift because it's still hanging up in the same place where it was presented to me. Darren and the kids colored me a nice picture and put their own special touches to it. Attached was a list of ideas of how I could spend my Mother's Day cash (I barely saw the cash because it was camouflaged) Darren knows what I like :), but figures cash is always the greatest gift. For me, he's right. Now I can spend it at my own leisure. On top of this sweet picture, I was treated to Mamma Maria's for lunch and Chipolte for dinner. I feel my love handles growing larger and larger. :) Before Chipolte, we went to the Fresh Market to pick up some specialty items. We received a phone call from Shawn and Kailtlyn Belcher asking if they could come to the Fresh Market to tell us something. They wanted to tell us in person that they are expecting their first child at the end of December! Their 1 year Anniversary is coming up in a few days... It didn't take long to start their family. Congratulations kiddos!!! :)

The was spent with all three of my children and Darren. Although there were a few little kinks in the day due to behavioral issues or sibling rivalry, I still had a very enjoyable day! I hope you did too!

TAGZEDO!

Last week was so insanely busy. It was filled with NUMEROUS things. Just to name a few:

1. BFF went into labor unexpectedly.
2. Tyson's actual birthday.
3. Mother's Day
4. Teacher Appreciation
5. Field Trip to Safari Park with First Grade (I was a chaperone)
6. "Muffins for Moms" at Preschool
7. TWO baseball games
8. Bible Study
9. Church (2 times)
10. TWO of MY BFF's BIRTHDAYS and a DINNER CELEBRATION
11. HUBBY had severe abdominal pain and had to go to urgent care.

This list is NOT an exhaustive list. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Makes me wonder how in the world I survived last week.

Anyway, in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week and Mother's Day, I accidentally came across this website that creates really fun and unique artwork, so I took it as a "sign" (pun intended) and chose to create my own "tagxedos" and frame them for these special people in mine or my children's lives. The teachers and girlfriends got a few other things as well, but this is what I was most excited about giving to them all.











Check it out at www.tagxedo.com. I may have just started a NEW trend :) If you choose to get really creative, you could take it ONE step further by adding multiple words to a "shape".

IE. Darren, Loving, Dedicated, Godly Man, Good Daddy, Loyal, Honest, Hardworking, Dependable, Reliable, Athletic, Great Smile, Giving, ETC....

AND THEN, the shape will contain ALL of those words. Pretty neat huh?

A Life Size HUG!

Before sending my mom her Mother's Day package, I decided to have Lilah and Jax (Tyson was at school) create a life size hug for her. I'm pretty sure the last time my mom saw the twins was when they were 16 months old. So we decided, if we can't give her a real hug, we will send her a hug. I kinda got the idea from the book called, "The Giant Hug" by Sandra Horning. It's a very cute book. If you've never read it to your child, rent it at the local library, I know he/she will love it.

Above all the gifts we sent to "Gram", she said, "The best gift was the giant hug." So sweet!!! We hope for her to visit soon so the hugs don't have to be sent through the mail :(

Here are the step by step directions...
Trace the your child's body onto paper.

When you are done tracing your paper is ready to be decorated.
Allow each child to color their own person just the way they see themselves.
"Lilah" - - Sporting two pink bracelets and big hair!
"Jax" - - - Love his spikey do and his tongue sticking out.
Fold the cut out of the body up and ship off through the mail! As your recipient slowly opens the arms up, they will realize that they just received a big hug. Don't laugh at our outcome. We are NOT a family of artists.