Lauren & Ben's Pool Birthday Bash

We combined Lauren's 10th and Ben's 8th birthday parties-the weather from April through June was awful so Lauren's party was late & we didn't want to do Ben's party after school started, hence the combo. We rented a pool & let the kids invite their friends and their families (that way I wasn't responsible for a bizillion kids in a swimming pool-their parents were). I thought it rather ingenious.

The pool was great...it had a waterslide, a lazy river and a jungle gym for the little kids! Everyone had a fabulous time! The best part for me? NO PARTY CLEAN UP!!

The girls look darling in this picture, but for the funniest part of the picture look at the lifeguard behind the girls & the fountain. HAHAHA!!! Totally unintentional, but way hysterical!

Kicking Bear

When I was pregnant with Hayden, we didn't find out gender on the ultrasound. We thought it would be a fun surprise to wait-which drove a few family members & friends insane-heehee (we also did that with Rachel too).

Since we didn't know gender we knew we needed to have both a girl name and a boy name picked out.
Easier said than done.


We had already used our top two girl names, but Rob & I still managed to agree on Abigail or Ashley. Girl name...Done.

Boy names were WAY tougher. We knew his middle name was going to be Richard, after my dad, but beyond that we were stumped.Anything I came up with Rob shot down for one reason or another. Yet he wasn't contributing anything usable. While Cletus is a great name for a cartoon character or a hound dog, I will NOT use it for our child! He did manage to save me from making the horrifying mistake of naming him Harrison Richard...the nicknames of that combo would have haunted me FOREVER!!!

Oh that funny husband of mine!


We were running out of time, so I asked the kids one day what they thought we should name the baby. Never wise to let the older siblings name the younger ones...you get some kooky names that way!

Ben's answer was a classic...
"If it's a boy name him Kicking Bear. And if it's a girl name her Dancing Cow."

Since we have about 0% Native American in our bloodline I didn't think those were going to fly.

Rob instantly piped up, "Son, learn now that no woman, no matter how small she is, EVER wants to be called a cow". Wise fatherly advice, dear!


Rob & I finally agreed on Hayden Richard (Rob more or less acquiesced since he couldn't come up with something better).

Once we were at the hospital, we knew that if it was a boy, we were going to put 'Bear' on the nursery name card. Ben would be thrilled! That is exactly what we did and you should have heard the comments in the nursery!


"Did someone REALLY name their baby Bear?" (a nurse)
"I wonder if they named him after, Bear Grylls, the guy on Man vs. Wild." (a dad)
"That is so cool, I wish you would have let us name our kid something cool like Bear" (a young dad)
The nickname Bear stuck. That is the ONLY name Ben calls Hayden (unless he's angry at him, of course).

All considered, it's a pretty good nickname...although sometimes Hayden is more like a monkey than a bear, but that's a horse of a different color worthy of it's own post!

Walking Drug Store

Allergies this season have been brutal. Rob & I have both had the ithcy red eyes & sneezing. But poor Ben has had it the worst.

He goes outside & returns with eyes so swollen he can barely open them. The scary thing was yesterday after playing outside was the wheezing that started.

By last night I had him in the doctors office with a allergy induced asthma attack occurring. My poor boy!

We are starting breathing treatments every 3-4 hours, giving him an oral steroid 2xs daily, starting a new allergy med morning & night, and medicated eyedrops. The kid's like a walking drug store! Whatever it takes to get him back breathing normally I'm good with.

I am grateful that it's only allergy induced asthma and not exercise induced (or whatever else causes it). Too bad Ben is allergic to grass-he's gonna have to outgrow this because I'm NOT keeping him inside all summer!




- Why am I up so late blogging from my iPhone?

Only Gas?

When I was 8, I had to get 8 cavities filled. It was traumatizing! Dr. Pain (I can't remember his real name, but in light of how much it hurt I feel the nickname is suiting) didn't use ANYTHING to numb me and he wouldn't let my mom stay in the room with me. When I cried and protested he "reassured" me with phrases like: it didn't really hurt, they were just little cavities and to stop crying. Thanks to this experience I refused to go back to a dentist until I needed a root canal when I was 17 (sorry to all the boys I kissed prior to this...I did brush & floss A LOT though).

Fast forward 25 years from Dr. Pain. After testing out several dentists, I've found one we love...Rachel likes him so much she refers to him as Uncle Brian!

I sat in our beloved dentist office with my kids today and heard the dreaded words..."looks like you have a little cavity here Ben." I began to feel the panic set in, so I plastered a smile onto my face trying to be upbeat for Ben. I have to admit I am grateful it was Ben with the cavity not Lauren. He can take stuff like that, whereas Lauren would have used a toothbrush as a shiv, and kicked out the window to make her escape from the drill.

Dr. Brian got out the nitrous mask and told Ben he wasn't going to give him a shot that the laughing gas should be good enough. My breathing grew heavier...no numbing...only gas? I trust Brian, but I did want to know why & explain my concerns. He listened, answered & proceeded. Ben sat there like he was sunbathing under the dental lamp. Relaxed, content, and pain-free!

When he was finished Ben proudly told Lauren "I had a cavity and I got laughing gas. But guess what-I didn't even laugh once! And I have another cavity so I get to come back again next week! Cool huh?"

The boy is kinda nuts, but I am thankful that his experience at the dentist was SO different than mine. So I say hallelujah-I won't have to drag him into the dentist office. I mean let's face it, I've got enough other phobia battles that one more would have probably thrown me over the edge!

Don't Worry Mom...

Ben seems like a good candidate to become a gentle giant, I mean if the kids stops growing at 6'5" it will be a miracle. I figured his size would be intimidating enough without having to use any violence to defend anyone smaller or in need. I always thought that I wanted my boys to stand up for others...Truth be told I still do.

BUT when Ben hops in the car after Kindergarten one day and announces that he got into a fight today it does make me start to panic. I have a feeling if we are already starting this in Kindergarten, it's going to be a long 13 years. I took inventory of his face and visible parts, no bruises or marks, always a plus. I downgraded my panic to level yellow and started to probe for more information.

Our conversation went down something like this...

Me: Is everyone ok?

Ben: Yep.

Me: Why were you in a fight?

Ben: These wicked (yes he said wicked) boys came up to my little friend Cooper and SHOVED him to the ground. I HAD to help him Mom. And so did Blake, but I got there first.

Me: So what happened?

Ben: Blake punched the naughty boy he was fighting, and I grabbed the other boys hands. He was a wiggly sucker, but I held on and kept grabbing his hands if he wiggled away. But don't worry about it Mom...we totally won!

Me(while rubbing my temples): Why didn't you just get the recess guard?

Ben: There wasn't time. They were gonna get poor Cooper and me & Blake weren't gonna let them. But it's all okay, cuz we beat them.

Me: Ben are you the biggest boy in Kindergarten?

Ben: Yep. I was bigger than these bad boys, but don't worry Mom, they aren't Kindergartners. I wouldn't beat on the little Kindergartners.

Me: How old are these boys?

Ben: They are first graders. But I really am bigger than they are. That one was really squirmy and strong but I knew he'd hit me if I let him go, so I just held on. Cuz I dunno know how to punch like Blake...he's a really good puncher.

Me(fighting a smile): You know you're not supposed to fight? And you will get kicked out of school if they catch you fighting?

Ben: But Mom what else could I do when they were all fighting Cooper? I can't let mean kids just beat up my friends.

Me(thinking he has a somewhat valid point): Well here's what my dad told me about fighting. "You NEVER start the fight, but if you have to be in one you make sure to FINISH the fight. If you are involved you're going to get kicked out of school anyway, so you may as well come out on top".

Ben: Okay...but Mom I don't know how to really fight with punches and all that.

Mom: You'll have to take that up with your dad.

Ben: OK Mom. Don't worry Mom, I won't get beat up.

And with a hug and kiss off he went.

I acknowledge this was probably not one of my better parenting moments, but he had some valid arguments. And since he wasn't throwing punches...what am I going to do?All in all, there are worse things in this world than having a boy who wants to defend those that are weak or picked on. I leave it in Rob's capable hands as to how to teach Ben to defend himself so I don't worry...as much.

Now the question remains, how many times will I get a call from the principal before High School Graduation? We shall see.

PS: After talking to his teacher, we figured out the boys they were fighting weren't first graders...they were third graders. Great...

Indiana Ben & the Birthday of Doom

For ten days I obsessed over Indiana Jones. Not in the normal "Harrison Ford was a hottie with a whip" kind of way. It was the "How am I going to entertain a gaggle of 6-8 year old boys for two hours Indiana Jones style". Since we decided to only let the kids have a friend birthday party every other year, I was feeling some self-inflicted pressure. Ben's 6th birthday had to rock!

My dirty little secret is that I ACTUALLY LIKE planning and throwing parties and making themed cakes. Ben's birthday bash was no exception! I admit...it was MAYBE a little over-the-top. I knew I was in deeper than I thought when Rob asked how much this was costing & I couldn't give a more exact answer than "probably more expensive than taking them all to Pirate Island, but cheaper than going to Disneyland". Somehow I don't think that made him feel better.

I made fabric whips, satchels, blowguns and hieroglyphics for Ben's friends (nothing like sending a bunch of boys home with a couple of weapons-what a good friend and neighbor I am). Because we haven't finished the backyard we had to be white trash and have the party in the front (which almost drives me crazy). Upon arrival, the guests came to Base Camp (Rob set up a tarp tent, and I put artifacts in the planters, and they sat on a bunch of canvas tarps). Ben's guests were treated to a dinner of boiled snakes (hot dogs cooked in green food coloring), beetle wings (chips), giant spider eyes (grapes), ants on a log (celery filled with peanut butter & raisins) and monkey brains (Jell-o). Rob was a good sport & searched half of Salt Lake County for a brain mold the week before the party ( I love that man for SO many reasons...this time it's because he found me a brain mold)!

After eating we had a note from Indy telling them clues to their next destination. Everyone also got their satchel at Base Camp-you have to have something to carry all your loot in right?


The first stop on the adventure was lion taming. Everyone got a whip and had to knock the "lion" off his stool. We have a size 4 lion costume that fits Rachel's giant dog and voila we have a lion that needs a good whipping! Of course Hayden had to get in on the action. His whipping technique was decent for a one year old, but in the end the lion simply had to be pushed off! My sister, Melissa, was in town from Ohio and came to help with the party. I was grateful she was able to be here (I miss her something fierce)!



On the next leg of our journey we went to a Balloon Fight in Cairo. Each person had to grab a balloon out of the yard toy, slide down the slide, shimmy through the tunnel and pop the balloon. Then run back and do it again. I was going to do water balloons but with the weather getting chilly at night I decided I didn't want a bunch of frozen, wet boys by the end of the party. Some of these kids didn't weigh enough to pop the balloons. They tried to stomp it, sit on it, squeeze it but to no avail...Rob had to help by pinching the balloons as they squeezed it. After all the balloons were popped they recieved a bag of mini-marshmallows (which, like any good parent, I told them the marshmallows might be poisoned so don't eat them). They needed some ammo for a later activity and what better ammo is there than marshmallows?




Next stop: Swing Across Snake River. Objective: Make it across the river (aka. a blue tarp with rubber snakes on it) without falling in. Rob rigged up a swing between some ladders, the boys loved this and had to do it again, and again and AGAIN! When they finally had enough swinging they got a marshmallow blow gun.








From the swing we went to the Tiki Snatch. The guests had to run along a 2x10 snatch a statue and run back without being annihilated by a giant boulder (my exercise ball wrapped in brown paper). Rob & Melissa were teasing me because I popped a couple kids with the boulder a little harder than I meant to! Of course, because they are boys they thought that was funny. No tears were shed so I don't know what the problem was!

Onward to the Creepy Tunnel in search of the Holy Grail. I taped several big boxes together. Then put spider webs between the boxes, bubble wrap on the bottom of the boxes and put loads of rubber rats, spiders, and lizards in the tunnel. One boy told me he WOULD NOT be going through the Tunnel, it was too yucky. The kids had to crawl through the spider web filled tunnel and once on other side they ran to the Snake infested Dig Site to find a Holy Grail.



They filled the Grail with water and ran along a 2x4-this is where the marshmallow guns came into play. As one person ran through the others fired marshmallows at them trying to make them spill their water.










Next we moved on to the mines of India where they loaded into the mine car (a sled pulled by Rob) and had to make it around the corners without derailing. Poor Rob was a little winded after pulling so many mine cars. At the end of the mine shaft was a hieroglyphic tablets for each child. I made up an alphabet and wrote each kids name on the tablet. They didn't get the deciphering key until they completed the next task.








The Garage of Doom...the final task was to build a Temple of Doom out of candy Lego bricks (which they picked up at an earlier location). Once they finished they received the paper to decode their hieroglyph. They also were able to unravel the mystery written on the wall...Meet back at Base Camp.





While I was helping the adventurers build their Temples, Rob & Melissa were at Base Camp lighting tiki torches, and getting out cake & ice cream and moving the gifts out of the tent. Lauren was busy hiding items for a scavenger hunt (in case we had to wait for parents to arrive). Initially I was very worried about the timing, but it worked out perfectly for the allotted two hours!


It was funny and/or semi-embarrassing to note that partying out front made quite a brouhaha. There were neighbors driving by that stopped and came back to find out what we were doing, some older boys hung around on the outskirts of our yard watching, and a couple people said they didn't know if we could be friends anymore after seeing how party-crazy I am. Thanks Melissa and Rob, without you both I would have failed miserably! But it was such a success that I put all the props, and instructions in a box labeled Indiana Jones Party in the basement for use when Hayden is old enough to appreciate it! After this gig, I'm thinking that maybe I will only do parties for the kids between the ages of 4-10...then again they might be turning 18 & I will be begging them to let me throw them a party. Only time will tell!

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY BEN!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!