Let's Party... the Star Wars way!

We decided to rent out a pavilion at a local park to celebrate Stone's birthday! It was a great decision and so easy to pull off. Stone had so much fun and we really did not have to do much in the way of entertaining since the kids could play on the fun rocket ship and run around like crazies!

Here is the invitation Lj put together! I loved it!

I made the cake and added Stones favorite Star War characters to the top! Thankfully Stone is happy with simple cakes!

Since Daddy prefers chocolate cake and Stone prefers cupcakes I made some light saber cupcakes! A huge thank you to Karen for the fondant- it saved me a long time and I am sure a huge headache and possible panic attack!

The birthday cake spread! Surprisingly nothing melted in the 90 degree heat!

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

So sweet, content and mischievous!

For party favors we gave all the kids a light saber aka a bubble wand! The kids had so much fun playing and blowing bubbles!

I think these boys are conspiring against the girls!

Stone is there to pull the conspiracy off!

All in all it was a great party and definitely on the list for party locations for next year; it was too easy and so much fun!

Happy 5th Stone!

On May 25th Stone turned five! They say you will blink and your children will be grown... I believe it! Stone is growing so fast! Five is the magic age in his eyes. Five will also be a big year of new changes and growth for him; he ditched the swimming vest and is pretty good at negotiating the pool, in July he will become a big brother and will begin pre-K in August. Lots of changes and our little man is growing up!

We decided to begin the day celebrating with a muffin and a candle... of course he was more interested in the big present at the end of the table.

Stone got his present, gave it one shake and decided he know what it was; the Lego set he had been eyeing at every toy store! I love the expression on his face!

He was right and he was so excited!

Since we had so many snow days this year the school year was extended which meant Stone could actually hug Ralph the dog on his real birthday! It was bittersweet for me since he will not be attending chapel at Sonshine School next year!

We took Stone out for a birthday dinner. After being informed that McDonalds is not the place for a birthday dinner he chose to go to Tokyo Sushi! He has great taste and it definitely was fitting. He donned his jinbei and we picked up a little cake from Target and had a little celebration!

Stone is such a sweet boy and it has been a joy and pleasure to watch him grow and change into a little man!

A Deal Made Good

Stone said he wanted a new pair of Cowboy boot for his birthday... so a little deal was made.  He could get new boots IF he had a Cowboy themed birthday party. 

Holding true to the deal as soon as Lj was back from Rwanda we headed to Langston's in the Stockyards so Stone could choose his new boots.  He was so excited to finally get a real pair of boots!    

Blinded by the sun but showing he is 4 while holding his new boots!

New boots in hand meant the invites needed to go out. Lj did a great job making this invite.  I sent him the text and he had he invite back to me in 5 minutes... he is quite talented on the computer! 

Party time... the first activity was decorating a boot. Stone, Mac and Natalie had fun with glue and confetti!  

Next up, pin the badge on Stone.  The little ones were a bit confused to have their eyes covered but had fun none-the-less!  

The Three Amigos waiting for the rest of the friends to arrive.  Some were a little late due to naps!   

Next game after the rest of the crew arrived was There is a Snake in my Hat; the kids all tossed a snake in the hat, too cute and too many snkaes flying around!

The Snake game was followed by a water gun Shoot-Out.  I did not take into consideration the relentless Oklahoma wind so we had a bit of a time getting the bottles to stand but still had lots of fun.  

Games were done and it is time for the much anticipated cake! 

Lj always talks about how his Mom made all his cakes so I wanted to carry on that same tradition for Stone.  I learned that as Stone gets older the cakes are going to get a bit more complicated.  I tried my hand at a cut-out cake this year.  I had a great assistance making this boot cake.  My friend, Karen, who is an expert making cakes for all occasions offered to teach me a few techniques to make a cake for Stone.  She did a great job helping me decorate this cake and I just hope she will be willing to help again next year!  

Happy 4th Birthday, Little Man!

Present time... when asked, Stone said his favotire part of the party was opening presents!  He got some pretty fun toys!    

But he said his favorite present was the suitcase... We have a world traveler on our hands! 

4 Years!

I can't believe Stone is 4... time flies and stands still in the same moment when you are a parent.  This has been such a joyful journey with our far share of bumps in the road.  Being Mommy to Stone is the most rewarding job I have ever had the privilege to hold; he is the sweetest boy and he brings me so much joy everyday.  Each day is a new adventure to him and he loves to be on the go!  Life is definitely not boring with Stone around; he keeps us laughing and has been know to make us cry as well.  Every stage has been a new, fun and exciting change for us... I look forward to what year 4 will hold! 

Sweet new baby born at 2:30 am May 25th in Mito, Japan

Crazy and full of fun at 1! 

Ready to have 2 much fun!

3 and the superhero of all good! 

4 (Japan time) and ready for another year of adventures!

Day 81- 34 Candles!

We celebrated Lj's 34th birthday with a potluck.  We had a bunch of friends over and it was so much fun... each person at some point had some impact on our life and Japan together... from Johnny O. offering us a position and Angi telling Lj he was stupid not to go to Yu Kun who is an OC student and dating one of the young girls (who is now an OSU grad student) that came to church with her mom.    It was such a fun evening and a great way to reconnect with people who had such an influence in our lives for so long. God definitely blessed us richly thorough our time in Japan!

Stone loved playing with Elijah and "my brothers" (aka Heath and Briar).  The boys were all born in May beginning with Elijah in 2003 and ending with Briar in 2006.  

Lj and his cake... Mariannes favorite kind... Carrot Cake!

Reiko got Lj a pedi egg... FYI: it works great!

Lj rockin' out to a musical card from Greg and Arianne! 

We had so much fun and it was such a blessing to fellowship with our friends again! 

Day 12- Our Super Hero

Reiko got Stone this ANPAN MAN jacket for his birthday!  He loves it and wears it everywhere... even though it is a little too small (only size they had).  I just hope he does not grow too much before next halloween because I am sure he will want to be... 

ANPAN MAN!  

Day 11- 3 Years old

I can't believe Stone is three... I look forward to this age... each stage brings joys, tears and triumph!  I love being Stone's Mommy! 

Happy Birth Day! May 25th, 2005... Mito, Japan

Happy 1st Birthday! May 25th, 2006... Mito, Japan

 

Happy 2nd Birthday! May 25th, 2007... Edmond, OK

Happy 3rd Birthday! May 24th, 2008... Edmond, OK

Day 10- A New Hobby for Mommy!

Today I tried my hand at cake decorating.... I was a bit nervous but since I decided to do anANPAN MAN themed party for Stone I needed to make a cake to fit the theme.  I baked my first cake yesterday but it did not come out of the pan so well so today I baked a new cake and this one came out of the pan perfectly!  During nap time I decided to try to make the frosting brown using some suggestions a friend of mine shared with me.  It kind of just took off from there... and the whole cake got decorated.  I am quite happy with how it turned out! 

 

Day 4- Happy Birthday, Yamato!

Stones bestest friend, Yamato turned three on May 12th.  

Yamato celebrated his birthday at the Anpan-man Museum. After seeing the photos Stone said he wanted to go there with Yamato for his birthday... he really still can't grasp that Yamato lives so far away.  Stone will just have to settle for a Anpan-man party at home.