Stars Wars Day

So I am relatively new to the Star Wars (SW) movement (and like 20 years behind schedule!). With Jase constantly reading books or talking about SW, my knowledge is increasing as well. :-)

Well, today I had 2 people text me and tell me to tell Jase, Happy Star Wars Day! I had no idea! I asked my brother-in-law what it was all about and he explained it. Today is May 4th, so "May the forth be with you"! Hahaha!! I thought it was cute!

When Jase got out of school I told him about it and he laughed. Then he asked "can we go to a Happy Star Wars Day party?" I told my friend he said that and she said "tell him he went to a SW party last weekend!" So true!!

Thought it was a cute and catchy slogan for the day and right up Jase's alley! I hope to get around to posting his birthday party pics soon. This week has been busy with t-ball and now we are in the midst of a garage sale. Maybe one day this week!

Birthday Surprise

After Jase's birthday party, we sat the kids down for a little announcement.  Watch the video and find out what it is.

Shawn and I have been waiting and waiting to tell the kids.  This is our family vacation for the year and a little (HUGE) surprise for Jase's 5th birthday!  As you can tell from the video, the kids are super excited, even Allyson . . . she knows what is going on!  And to add some topping onto the cake, we will be there during one of the Star Wars Weekends!!!  I can't wait to share this special time with my family!

And of course, we've started a countdown calendar.  For the past two days Jase has crossed the days off by himself, without me even knowing!

Kindergarten Bash

This afternoon Jase had a "Kindergarten Bash" at his school. All of the kids in the 4 year old preschool classes were invited to come. They played games, ate pizza, played on the playground and did other activities. When I pulled up to pick up Jase, all of the kids looked so cute!! They were all in matching T-shirts: "Class of 2012 MWS". It was almost too much for me to handle! First thing Jase said when he got in the car is "I'm in kindergarten now!" He is way too big!!


I'm glad he had a fun time with all his friends at the "bash". Allyson was upset that she was not going. I reassured her that she was going in the morning. :-)

After the party we had to get ready for our game tonight. We were playing a team that has already beat us twice this season, so we were expecting a tough game. We play an hour or 4 innings and at the end of the 3rd inning it was 15-15; we were neck and neck with them.

In the top of the 4th, the other team got their first runner on base. Then the next batter hit a pop-up to our pitcher and he caught it. We are all going nuts in the stands and yelling to throw it to first. Well Jase covers first base like a normal play and our pitcher throws it to first like it was a routine play and what do you know. . . double play!!! It was awesome.

I thought for sure, we have 2 outs and they haven't scored any runs, we're bound to stop them, but we couldn't come up with another out. They ended up getting 5 runs and were up by 5. It was out turn to bat and we did the same by scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th. 20-20 tie ball game. The boys played an awesome game and I am so proud of them. While a win would have been sweet, a tie to this team was just as nice.

Picture is not so great, but here is Jase on 1st base with 2 outs on the scoreboard!

First Fruits

This morning when I went out to the garden to water, I noticed that we have our first fruits!! Between the two large red tomato plants, we have 9 tomatoes growing!! Although I am not a tomato eater, I was very excited to see this.  I have to admit, I almost immediately started thinking of making homemade salsa! :-)  Yummy!

We also have a Satsuma Mandarin tree (I'm pretty sure that's what it is) that producing fruit about a week ago.  All 4 of us love oranges, so I'm hoping this tree will be a big hit at the French house.

My baby boy turns 5

Today (4/28) was Jase's 5th birthday.  I still remember being pregnant with him and he is the reason I started blogging in the first place: to record memories.  I started my first blog in March 2007 while I was pregnant with Jase.  My oh my how time flies.  I wouldn't trade one moment with my kids for anything; they are a blessing from the Lord for sure.  Here are some pictures of our little man.

Jase as a newborn - April 28, 2007

1 year old pictures of Jase - 2008

Last night Shawn and I stayed up pretty late trying to get a head start on prepping for the party today.  Shawn put together a life size cut-out of Darth Vader . . . Jase had no idea I had bought it.  Yoda was my first choice, but he was sold out on-line, so I went with the villain!  Kind of as a joke, Shawn put Vader at the bottom of the stairs so Jase would see him first thing when he came out of his room.  Well, this morning I hear Jase get out of his bed (I'm a light sleeper) and hear Jase say in a scared voice "why is Darth Vader at the bottom of the stairs?" I immediately responded with "he is paper baby, it's ok."  In hindsight, probably not the best way to wake up on your birthday! Haha!!

After we all woke up and got around, we gave Jase our present.  On a trip to Walmart with Shawn, Jase had spotted a specific Lego set that he wanted (Luke's Landspeeder), so we made sure he got that one! His bible (a small one with only the New Testament in it) has been missing lately, so last week I was talking to him about getting a new one and asked if he wanted a big one like Mommy and Daddy's or another small one and he said big one.  Big Bible it is! And of course we find his bible in a chair in our bedroom while cleaning up.  Maybe we should do that more often, than just before a party!! ;-/  While purchasing his bible, I also found this cool National Geographic animal book on sale and knew he would like it.  His gift from Allyson was a Yoda stuffed animal and he loved it! Actually I think she loves it just as much.  After he opened it, she took Yoda over and served him tea, gave him a bottle and she laid him down for a nap and told me "shhh, Yoda is sleeping!" Not sure if we'll have to buy her one or not!!

Later this afternoon, we had all of Jase's friends over for his Lego Star Wars party and I think it went great.  All of the kids seemed to have fun and that was the goal! Here is a preview of the pictures.  I'll have to do a full party post in a few days.

After baths Shawn and Jase sat on the couch and put together one of the Lego SW sets he received today.  I love seeing them work together and had to take a picture.  And just as they were about to walk up the stairs, a lightsaber duel broke out.  I love these moments! Happy birthday, Boo-Boo! Mommy and Daddy love you dearly.

What was I thinking?

So I already knew that I would be sending Jase to school today with cookies to share with his class since tomorrow is his 5th birthday (sniff, sniff). Then I decided that I would make cookies for his baseball team for last night's game as well.

I loaded the kids up in the car yesterday and we headed to Hobby Lobby. Jase picked out multi-colored star sprinkles for the cookies . . . not sure if he had Star Wars on the brain, but I connected the two right away! Haha!!

After we got home and ate lunch, I started baking the cookies, all 4 dozen of them. I did cut a corner and bought the Pillsbury precut sugar cookies. Then I made a glaze for the cookies, so the stars would stick. Milk and powdered sugar . . . so easy and tasty as well. Start off with 1 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and then add 3 tablespoons of milk and mix with a spoon/fork. I ended up having to add another T of milk.

I start looking at the clock and realize that it is well past 4:00 pm and we have a game at 7:15 and we like to leave around 6:10 to get up there in plenty of time. Jase is not ready for the game yet, Ally is still napping, I'm not ready, cookies haven't even been iced or "starred" yet, and cookies are still baking. At this point I started asking myself "what was I thinking?"

I iced the first dozen and thought they were cute, but also thought a dozen of those super soft and oh so yummy cookies from Walmart would have been just fine. The kids would probably not even have known the difference.




As if time was not a factor, I got out my crinkle paper, clear goodie bags and curling ribbon and prepped 11 bags for his team. Again, the thought "what are you thinking?" crossed my mind. The finished product came together nicely and I hope the boys enjoyed them! They ended up getting a triple snack because it was another boy's birthday, so they brought cupcakes plus the normal snack. But they deserved it after last night's game because they played great!!! Jase hit a home run and caught his first ball at first base for an out . . . it was awesome!!! I know it's not all about winning, but you could just tell the boys were so happy. And honestly, after 2 losses this week, if felt good to win!!

Back to the cookies.

After I finished packaging all the cookies and while I was cleaning up, I thought again about biting off more than I could chew, but then realized that I would do it all over again, because I was doing it for my baby boy. I'm really getting emotional as I'm typing this and just thinking about him. That is your sappy warning! Ha!




As I was taking a picture of the cookies he came by and wanted his picture taken too . . . FOR SURE!! I love this little boy to bits! He is so full of life and can always put a smile on my face. He always has a song or a dance up his sleeve. He has a heart for Jesus and can remember details like you would not believe. He loves his little sister (he will not stop picking her up lately) and I can't wait until his little brother arrives, I know he will teach him everything. Anything Lego or Star Wars and he is all over it, hence the Lego Star Wars theme for this birthday party! I cannot believe that he will be 5 tomorrow, where did the time go? I just love my little Boo, Boo-Boo, Jase, Jasey, Ja-Ja, Bubby. Thank you, God for giving us this precious gift 5 years ago.

Now if I can just pull it together! I'm blaming it on the pregnancy! ;-)

First popsicles of the season

While I was at Walmart earlier, I bought a little treat for the kids (and me)! Ally hasn't quite figured out the popsicles in the plastic wrapper where you have to push up the flavored ice, so I thought I'd give Blue Bell's sugar free bullets a try.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed them this afternoon and Jase's didn't last very long at all. Allyson's dripped ALL down her hands. Did you know that purple stains skin? Geez! She will be getting a good scrub down in the bath tonight. And yes, that is one of Jase's old bibs on her! Lol!


And do you remember these? Push-ups! I remember they used to be Flintstone Push-ups. I couldn't find those though. To be completely honest I picked these up first and then decided to get the kids the bullets. ;)