Mad Scientist Party

We came up with an amazing birthday party for Jack this year. We had a Mad Scientist Party!

The invitations were simple but awesome (I sure wish I had taken a picture of them)! I printed a page with some of the info on them, like "Date:" and "Time:" and a little paragraph explaining that in order to view the invitation, the kids had to use science. They were instructed to hold the piece of paper over a light bulb, stove, or match and that the missing information would appear. I had used and invisible ink (mixture of baking soda and water) and written the information in. And it seemed to have worked... all of the kids showed up at at the right place and at the right time :)

The kids came dressed in their lab coats (or dad's white dress shirt). They looked great! We started off with a home made Lava Lamp, using just water, oil, food coloring, and Alka Seltzer tablets.

Did you know that you can make metal scream if you press it on dry ice? Neither did we, until we did this experiment! The kids experimented with all sorts of things. I think that quarters and spoons were the favorites.

Next we experimented with sound waves. By simply flattening one end of a drinking straw and then trimming it to a point, you can make a duck call. This was certainly the noisiest thing we did all day!

Next up: Sucking and egg into a bottle. You need a hard-boiled egg, a glass bottle, a piece of paper, and a lighter for this experiment. After lighting the paper on fire with the lighter, you drop it into the bottle. Immediately set the egg on top of the bottle. It would not normally fit inside, but it gets sucked right into it! This was certainly the stinkiest of the experiments :)

How do you make slime? It's actually quite simple. White glue, water, Borax, and food coloring. Wah-La!

The Fantastic Foamy Fountain was next. A yeasty mixture is added to a peroxide mixture to create this crazy foam. The boys loved it!

Mmmm... Dessert. Reeses Cupcakes to be exact!

Next Jack opened his presents. His friends were so generous! He was a happy boy, that's for sure!

We finished off with my very favorite of the experiments, the Flying Orb. How did I not take any pictures of that one? I'm going to make my kids do it again ASAP so that I can show you how cool it is.

Like I said, amazing party. The boys had a blast and most importantly, Jack really enjoyed himself. It was another great day :)

Jack's 8!

Wow! I am having such a hard time believing it, but Jack is 8!

We celebrated his birthday in St. George this year with Grandma Roxy and Grandpa Will. Aside from the snowy weather and a sick Cohen, the trip was great! Jack chose to eat at Pirate Island for dinner and Roxy made him a birthday cake. He is in love with Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, so he got a couple of those for his birthday, along with the Karate Kid II movie, Lincoln Logs, Knex, and a cute outfit. He was well taken care of.

At 8 years old, Jack:

Loves to play basketball, and plays every chance he gets.
Has a best friend named Jake.
Enjoys reading (especially those Diary of a Wimpy Kid books!).
Is doing wonderful in school, it seems to come so easy to him.
Loves LEGOS.
Is a great big brother and help with Cohen.
Takes Break Dance classes every week and is learning awesome moves!
Loves to eat Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwiches, Raisin Bran cereal, apples, chicken nuggets, yogurt and hot dogs.
Enjoys eating at Taco Time above all other restaurants- He orders a Bean and Cheese Burrito.
Is kind, loving, helpful, trustworthy, and an over all great kid.

I sure love Jack and feel so lucky to have spent the past 8 years as his mother! Happy birthday Buddy!

Pictures

I said that I was going to blog, so I'd better do it, right?

The weather was beautiful on Monday, so I took the boys to Daybreak. We walked around, the boys threw rocks into the iced lake, Cohen loved pointing out the birds, and I played with my camera. I thought I'd share my darling boys with you. Seriously, could they be any cuter? (Aside from Jack's goofy teeth!)

Today

I woke early to a screaming baby
I missed the garbage man
I had to shovel snow
I blew out 2 (yes, 2!) blow dryers
I got a call from the school saying that Jack wasn't feeling good
I picked Jack up from school and he threw up on my shoes in the parking lot
I didn't get to run the errands that I so desperately desired to do
I am stuck home, for the 6th day in a row, with sick kids
I wish that Chad was not in Tennessee
I feel grumpy and may have shed a tear or two

I guess that all days can't be picture perfect. Here's to hoping that tomorrow is a happier one!

Christmas Highlights

Since I am home today from church with a sick baby (Cohen has been throwing up all morning), I thought that I would share some of our Christmas highlights with you.

First off, the winner of the Hawes family's Ugly Sweater award. I titled my creation "Beary Christmas":


Nixin borrowed Chad's ugly sweater to wear to school on Elf Day:


A new family member joined us this year, Terry the Elf. It was a true joy to have him in our home this holiday. We are so excited about this new tradition!



Christmas morning:


The boys were SO excited to see what Santa brought. They decided to let him surprise them this year... and boy were they surprised! Here they are just before we let them go check it out:


Cohen got a new car! He loves it and plays in it every day:


Here's Jack taking his new bike out for it's first ride:


Nixin couldn't wait to take his new electric scooter for a ride!


P.S. Where's the snow? It was certainly not a white Christmas.


Ahh, perfectly sweet.


There should be many more pictures included in this post. Some of which could be Chirstmas Eve in Bountiful with Ken and Becky, Christmas breakfast with Rob, Debbie, Luke, and his new girlfriend, Gilda, or Christmas dinner with Roxy, Will, Chris, and Laura... But, I was having too much fun and forgot to grab the camera. Oh well, they are all memories that we'll just have to hold dear in our hearts. Like I said before, it was a wonderful holiday and I wouldn't have changed a thing! Merry late Christmas!

I'm Back!

I can't believe that another holiday season has swept past us and that a new year has already arrived! Happy 2011!

Our family enjoyed a wonderful holiday, probably the best yet. We are truly blessed people. We have the greatest family and friends in the whole wide world and it was a joy to spend time with them during the past few weeks.

At a New Year's Eve party that our family attended, we played a little game called "What If". Many questions were asked, all beginning with "What if...". The group would throw out answers and some discussion was had. One question really got me thinking. "What if you could go back to any age during your lifetime? What age would you choose?" I didn't answer that night, but I'm ready to answer the question now. I would choose 31. The very age that I am now. I am happy. I have an absolutely amazing family. I am in love, now more than ever, with my husband. We have 3 happy, healthy little boys. We have a nice home. We drive nice cars. We have great friends. We are financially stable. We have fun. We live a fabulous life. I choose the present. I don't look back and desire to be anywhere else. I love where I am now. 2010 treated our family perfectly. If 2011 chooses to treat us the same, I will be a very happy girl.

This year I hope to:

Blog more
Work less
Get a piano and start Jack in lessons
Read more (both by myself and with my children)
Learn more about photography
Get at least 1 step closer to finishing our basement

Those are my goals. Happy New Year!

34!

It's my honey's big day! Happy birthday Chad! We love you so much and are so happy to have you in our lives. You are a wonderful husband, father, and friend. We could never ask for anyone better to share our lives with. Hope your day is wonderful! Xoxo!

Baby Steps

Since I reported on boating last, we have been to Rockport and back up to Hyrum. Rockport was filled with great company, Luke, the Platts, Hodlmairs, and Butlers. The water, however, was not great. The waves were ridiculous. We did have a wonderful time. Here is my friend Carrie wakeboarding like a champ:


And here's uncle Luke on the tube with the kids:


Hyrum was a blast, again. We were one of maybe 2 boats on the lake all morning. The water was like glass, perfect. We had Luke, my dad, and Debbie with us. It was such a great day!






As you can see, my kids LOVE the water. They have no trouble jumping right in and enjoying themselves...




...Something that you may not know about me is that I have a great fear of the water. Weird, I know. I am a boat owner and I am terrified of the water. I don't know how to swim. I am very comfortable wearing my life jacket and sitting in the middle of the boat. I thoroughly enjoy watching everyone else playing in the water. I would like to overcome this fear of mine though. And even though Luke and Chad think that I am stupid/annoying for being so afraid, I think that I made huge progress this trip. The purpose of this post is to give myself a little pat on the back. Baby steps! I got in the water eventually, and only for a minute, but I did it and I am proud of myself. Way to go me!

Proof

Here is proof that my baby is trouble. It starts off with this cute little face:


Then he reaches for the plug, the same one that he unplugs 37 times a day:


I let out a stern "NO!" and I break his little heart:


I can only stand that sad little face for a second before I just must give him a little love. Then he puts on his cute little face and the cycle begins all over again.

Chicken and Fruit Salad

I came up with THE BEST salad! We ate it one night and then a couple of days later we just had to have it again, and as I am preparing my grocery list for the week, I am making sure that I buy the ingredients to make it yet again. It really is that good! I hope that you love it too.


Candy 1/2 c. slivered almonds by browning them in a pan with butter and brown sugar. Be careful not to burn them. They may seem soft, but will harden as the sugar cools.

1 pound chicken breast, cooked, shredded, and cooled
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 can Mandarin oranges, drained
1 bag "7 Lettuce Blend" or salad mix of your choice

Combine the following in a blender to make the dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar or raspberry vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 onion, minced
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Toss the candied almonds, chicken, salad, and fruit together with desired amount of dressing.