Monday, May 31, 2010

May 2010

Kyla in the breeze

I'm writing this on Memorial Day while it is pouring down rain.  There was some really nice weather in the middle of the month, but this holiday weekend was more or less spent indoors.

The metaphorical sun was shining on Kyla early in the month when she began begging us to get her ears pierced.  It seemed odd for a five year old to me, but I couldn't think of any logical reason to object and Becky enjoys having a girly girl, so she took her to Claire's in the mall where they did the deed.  There was some pain, but Becky came closer to tears than Kyla did.  Afterward Kyla was so excited that she spent two hours on the phone spreading the news to her family and friends.

After being inspired by the film No Impact Man, Becky decided to make the family more environmentally friendly.  We now save our food scraps and she and the kids regularly bury them in the back yard.  She has also been ordering organic food from Amazon Fresh which is convenient and lowers our carbon footprint.  I also buy as much local produce as I can from the Issaquah Farmers Market.

On the green Plasma Car

For Mother's Day we made Becky a baby book of Blake, which I created on my Mac and was printed by Apple.  Becky saw the package after it arrived and she thought I had gotten her an iPad, which would be the equivalent of Homer Simpson buying Marge a bowling ball for her birthday.

We spent Mother's Day shopping for a new bicycle for Kyla.  We also ordered Blake a PlasmaCar, who of course insisted on the green model.  They both enjoy riding around Julep Park which has a large circular sidewalk.

Summer officially starts next month, we are just hoping that Mother Nature gets the memo.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Blake's 3rd Birthday Party

We had Blake's third birthday party at our house again.  Becky decorated the house in green and found a train "Happy Birthday" sign that she put up in the family room.  She also used the party as an excuse to clean up the back yard and added an arch for grape vines to grow onto.

Cake face

As with last year we served hot dogs and a baked potato bar, two things that Blake isn't allergic to.  However this year we did get a Costco cake and let him have some because his milk and egg allergies don't seem as bad as they used to be.

Our shindig was well attended with more than 50 guests.  The kids all received bubble blowing toys and had a lively bubble fight in the back yard.  Even Uncle Casey participated in the bubble battle.

The party was on May 1st which is actually my birthday, but this didn't bother me at all because I don't normally have a large party on my birthday so I received a lot of attention I wouldn't have otherwise, plus I had a crowd to show off my latest movie of Blake to.

It was a fun party overall.  We'll have to see if he opts for the home party again next year.