Double Digits

Yesterday Chase turned 10!  He was up wayyyy before the sun in anticipation of the day.  Funny how a few streamers in the doorway could make a kid so happy.  He and Sadi had fun running in and out of that room all morning.

Breakfast in bed was served.  His request this year was banana chocolate chip pancakes.  Not sure where this idea came from since he has never had them before.  He SAID they were really good, but he decided next year to put a hold on the banana part :)

Because it was a school day, it made the morning feel rushed.  There were a few warnings about the evening to come, some even written on the mirror (The Chamber of secrets has been opened).

We headed off to school with a class treat to share.

We combined a few of Chase's favorites to make this 10th birthday treat (twix and mini glazed donut).  "Donut you think 10 is terrific?"

After school this kid could not get home fast enough to open presents, although I made him wait for Matt to get home before tearing into them.

He enjoyed reading all his cards sent from family in the mail.

He especially loved this card sent from Kelsey showing her artistic abilities in drawing "the coolest" Minecraft character.

His Birthday wish list was constantly changing because he wasn't really sure what he wanted.  So, shopping for him this year was a bit challenging.  I think we did okay.  He got some new Star Wars action figures, Minecraft Lego's, and some new books including a new Goosebumps book sure to give him nightmares.

After he opened his presents it was time to get dinner started.  The theme this year for his birthday was Harry Potter so we had to have a Potter themed dinner.  Chase was VERY impressed with all of my Harry Potter knowledge(thank you Google).  Everyone got to order what they wanted from the menu which included:  

Malfoy(burger with Swiss)

 Weasley (burger with cheddar)

Herwieney (Hot Link)

Quidditch Rings(Onion Rings)

Wizard Wands(Fruit Kabob)

Dinner was served in the Great Hall, which even included the floating candles(again all the details gathered from Harry Potter).

Each place setting also had a golden snitch.  This "Malfoy" burger was a hit!

Of course we had to have Hogsmead's finest Butterbeer (I just re-labeled some bottled creme soda).  Chase really thought it was butter beer and said it tasted just like they described it in the book.

Of course there was some wicked spells happening during dinner.  Pretty sure he was trying to make Sadi disappear.

After dinner I had to take Sadi to cheer practice so, I guess in a way the spell worked.  We left Chase and Dad home who got right to work building a Lego Minecraft world.

Once we were all home again it was time for cake...or not.  This year Chase wanted to have Banana splits.  Not sure where all the banana ideas came from this year, maybe his inner monkey?

It was tricky trying to get some candles on ice cream, but we managed. 

Once the candles were out, it was time to load it up with toppings.

It was a birthday ending, with a cherry on top! 

Celebrating 10

This year Chase decided he didn't want a party but rather just to spend the day with one of his best friends.  He decided he wanted to go see the Movie Hotel Transylvania and out to dinner.  I picked the kids and Chase's friend up from school on Friday and we headed out for a night of fun.  Since school is out earlier on Friday we had a little time before the movie started so I told them we were going shopping.  Chase was appalled, until I told him they were on a shopping challenge.  They were given 10 challenges to complete.

I have never seen 2 kids laugh and have so much fun in a store before.  All of the challenges they had to complete had to do with the number 10 (since we were celebrating 10 of course).

Some of the challenges they had to complete: Find something with the number 10 on, find something to wear in a size 10, find something rated ages 10 and up, find something costing exactly 10 dollars, put on 10 items, find something in a 10 pack, strike a pose in front of a mirror for 10 seconds, and find a card for a 10 year old.  They never did find something with the word ten on, so we changed it to find something every 10 year old would love to have  They both chose a stuffed Chewbacca.  This was the perfect amount of time to run off some energy before the movie. 

I made them each some Monster Munch to enjoy during the movie including some glow in the dark fangs to enjoy with the show.  It was a cute movie, we all enjoyed.

After the movie we had planned to go to dinner, but no one was very hungry.  So, we headed home and Chase opened his present from his friend Dani.  She bought him a new Skylanders Wii game with some action figures that interact with the game. 

Before we lost them to the video game we gave Chase a game he has been bugging me to buy him all summer...Bean Boozled.  It is a box of jelly beans with some flavors you would not believe.  I think it is based off of the Harry Potter jelly beans (Bertie Bott's every flavor beans).  They both LOVE Harry Potter and so Chase was dying to get this challenge to do with his friend.

Inside the game is a spinner that tells you what bean you "might" get.  Their are two flavors that look exactly the same, one tasting good, and one that is VERY bad.  Some of the choices were:  peach OR barf, berry blue OR toothpaste, butter popcorn OR Rotten egg, chocolate pudding OR canned dog food.  You get the idea.  So we started the game with the spinner of luck....

Not sure how many "good" beans there are in the box.  Chase was up first with the chance of getting Carmel corn OR moldy cheese.  The odds were not in his favor...

 These kids were brave, I'll give them that.  Sometimes it took a second or two to really get the taste.

 Once it hit, there was no denying you did not get tutti-frutti, but STINKY SOCKS!

Even Sadi was excited to play this game which surprised me.  She was hoping for lime...but it was lawn clippings instead!

I think the fun of the game was laughing at everyone else.  They even convinced Matt to get in on the "fun".  He chose to gamble at getting licorice....instead he got SKUNK SPRAY!  Side note:  The smell does not leave your breath for a very long time.

Occasionally someone dodged a bullet and got a good flavored bean.  I love the look on their face when it wasn't bad, it was almost disbelief.

After having enough bean boozling the kids retreated to the living room where they were lost in another world for the rest of the night.

Labor Day with Family

Labor Day weekend we had planned to go camping.  But I forgot that we would be in the middle of cheer season..and they don't quit for ANY holiday.  So we cancelled our reservation and decided to make the most of our weekend.  On Friday Grandpa and Grandma Llama had invited us to dinner with them.  Matt's Aunt and Uncle were in town and joined us. They invited us to spend the day with them on Sunday out at their property nestled in the mountains.  We headed out early afternoon to spend the day with them at their house.  They have a beautiful home, and it really felt like getting away(especially since there was no cell service there).  We relaxed all afternoon and enjoyed visiting with them and Grandpa an Grandma.

Uncle Rick fired up the grill and made us a delicious dinner.  Chase could not help himself and became the hot dog eating champ for the day...3 dogs!

It was so nice to spend time with family, and Aunt Linda and Uncle Rick really made us all feel right at home. 

Job Perks

 Recently Matt has been enjoying quite a few job perks with his new position.  He has had several "business dinners", spent a night at the rib cook off in the V.I.P. area, and also been to a few Aces games.  The last game he was invited to was a family event, so we were able to tag along.  Right through the gates we were able to say hi to Archie.  Poor Sadi is still afraid of this guy.

We were chatting with some friends when one of the stadium employee's came over to ask if our kids would like to run out on the field with the players for the National Anthem.  Who would say no to that?  They gave the kids these jersey's to wear for their run on the field.

It was hard to get any really good pictures with our phones.  Chase thought it was so cool that he got to run out with the first baseman since that is his favorite position to play.  Sadi was picked to run with the pitcher.  Not sure what the conversation was here, but it was so cute to watch how the pitcher took the time to engage with her.

Our seats were set behind third base in a picnic area.  There was a buffet dinner set up for us with all kinds of delicious food.  The kids enjoyed taking frequent visits to get soda and cookies throughout the game, which gave Matt and I some free time to just enjoy the game and each others company without complaints of boredom or hunger from anyone.

Chase turned out to be the lucky kid of the night catching a foul ball hit by "his" player first baseman, Nick Evans.

 

It was a beautiful night out with the sunset lighting up the sky like a painting it was hard to leave.  However, it was a school night and we had a long drive home so sadly we missed the final pitch of the game.

Chase is determined to get back this season and get his ball signed by his new favorite player.