March Madness! The birthday that keeps on giving...

The Big '7': So February 27th is the boys actual birthday. Once again, we were in Utah the week before their birthday so of course Grandma and Grandpa wanted to celebrate at their house. (See Winter Break post below.)

Then we had a small party for them on their official birthday which is when we gave them their new bikes. Nothing like waiting until the last moment. I literally ran out on the morning of their birthday while they were at school and grabbed what I thought looked best. Ty loves the color yellow so I knew right away which one to get him and then Jack is a big Tony Hawk fan so I decided to grab one of those for Connor. I know the day will come very soon when I'll have to spend the big $$$ to get them the ones they want but for now ToysRUs works great and these ones looked pretty snazzy. We'll see how long they last.



Here they are posing with their bikes. Ty's has gears and Con's is more the bmx style.



Ty couldn't wait until the next afternoon to take his for a spin so dad pulled out the cars for a test ride that night!



And finally, just yesterday they had their birthday party with all their friends. I learned my lesson last year about not letting the numbers get too high and decided that instead of doing the same old Kids Bounce which is where most parties are held out here I'd try to think up something different. I came across a magician and thought that would be a fun, out of the norm idea. Indeed it was a HUGE success. His name was Turk the Genie. He's performed for many large corporations and schools and the reviews on his web site were great. He did not disappoint. We had a few minutes before our magician arrived so Jack started off the party performing a few magic tricks he had picked up at Disneyland on a business retreat. Connor also did a great job doing one of his. (We can't say the same for Ty but he tried...lol!) Here are some photos from their big day!

Good times!

The boys 1st grade concert: What can I say. We've come a long way from the Kindergarten concert where ear plugs were almost a necessity and you wondered if any of the kids were actually even paying attention to the music instructor. Big change this year! I was so proud of Connor and Tyler. They looked so handsome and sung so well. I loved that they both got into the actions too. Too bad I haven't figured out how to get them to follow commands like that at home. My sweety pies are sure growing up. After the concert, one of Ty's little friend's mom asked if she could take a photo of the the two of them together. I think someone has a crush on my Ty!!! Of course we couldn't leave the school without taking dad to visit their classroom one more time. I love how excited they get to take daddy around the school.






Happy Birthday Amanda!!! I don't know what I'd do without some of these girls in my life. They keep me young!!! Hmm, can you tell who is the oldest in this bunch? I can say it's not the birthday girl!!!

The ugly turned good: Basketball season!

So this week the boys got to celebrate the conclusion to their 1st basketball season. We were questioning whether there would be a second season as it was a bit amusing to watch those first couple games but in the end, they surprised us. They love the sport and improved DRASTICALLY! To the point that Ty got the award for being "Most Improved Player" and Connor got the award for "Best Defense". I think the Coach was right on. I don't think anyone that Connor was guarding ever got a basket and we were amazed with Ty's sudden agressiveness to get the ball in his possession and make baskets. We were proud of them both! I also have to laugh because when we learned their team name was the Penguins, all the parents were laughing wondering who would name a basketball team that. As it turned out, Ty had actually picked that name (not the coach) and his team mates had agreed up on it. That was until the 3rd game when it got changed to the Huskies. We are in Husky country out here and when you wear purple, it is a given that that is your team name... :)