Deacon's 6th Birthday Party

Deacon turned 6 this year!! He was very patient and waited for us to have a free weekend to do his party, Feb.12. He decided he wanted a swimming party at the Wingate again, and we were happy with his choice because we had a great experience there the last time (I think it was Deacon's 4th bday party). It was a little hard to decide who to invite because I don't know anyone in his Kindergarten class except Spencer. We invited him, and then his other friends Reed, Briggs, Kai and Jade Locking, and Bryce, Emri and Brek. It was a good number - not too hard to keep track of them in the pool. It was a Minecraft theme, since Deacon is so obsessed with that lately. I put up some streamers at the door so it looked like you were entering another portal, with a sign saying "Nether Portal." I made a cake out of cupcakes that looked liked the diamond sword. It was actually so fun to make! I found a square cupcake pan, made some buttercream icing using coloring gel (a game changer in my mind to get the right color), and then piped it on one dab at a time. It turned out great and delicious! 

We started with all the stuff in the room this time. They provided pizza and a fruit platter, so the kids ate that and then we sang to Deacon and the kids ate the cake. Then he opened up his presents and was happy with everything he got! Then the kids swam for a long time. It was about 3 hours we had the pool for, and luckily the kids lasted. Some of them probably could've been done earlier, but they still all had a great time. I went in the water with Boston for a while and then when he was tired, Jeff took him for a little drive to give him a nap. He loves sleeping in the car lately! When the time was up, the kids got changed and then played with some of Deacon's new toys while they waited for their parents to come. They got a little treat bag filled with Minecraft things. It was a successful party!

Deacon is the sweetest boy I know. I feel like the luckiest mom to have him as a son! He loves giving me hugs and saying things like "I love you with all my heart" before bed. He just loves to make people happy, which is why you will often see him playing barbies with Bentley or sharing his candy. He may not want to, but he loves to do things for others. He has the best sense of humor and still makes the whole family laugh lots of times. When he was little, we were worried he'd never talk, but now we can't get him to stop talking! There is never a silent moment with this little chatterbox. He is doing great in school, and has really started to pick up reading and writing. He loves minecraft, bakugan, nerf guns, and dinosaurs. He loves swimming and catching any type of animal or bug. We can't believe he's already 6 years old!

Bentley's 8th Birthday Party

Bentley turned 8 in January and it was crazy to me that I had a kid old enough to get baptized! She decided to go to the Flying Squirrel (trampoline park) for her party. She has so many friends because we have different groups of people we hang out with and then all of her school friends, so it was really hard to narrow it down. We ended up going big and inviting 14 kids! I couldn't believe that not a single person said no, so it was a big group. Luckily, they were all such good kids and made it easy on us. Since Flying Squirrel has lots of neon colors, we decided to do an 80's theme and we told the kids to dress up 80's style...side ponies, neon, etc. They looked so good, and jumped for hours! Pizza was served, and we also brought an ice cream cake with neon sunglasses on it. Bentley opened all her presents as well and then for the party favors we handed out bright fanny packs with some goodies in it. Jeff and I also dressed up in matching 80's jump suits which made it even more fun!! Bentley was in her glory, having the best time with so many friends, and I'm so glad we could celebrate her. She has such a good group of friends at school and I'm so happy for her. The last pic shows how much fun Leo had as well! He was either zonked out from all the jumping, or the crying when he realized the gifts weren't for him! I also find it hilarious how he falls asleep in such weird positions and places, he is known for that and it always cracks me up. 

Bentley is my gem. I really enjoy being around her (except when she's tired!), and chatting with her. Lately she always asks if we can "just talk." She is fun to be around and loves to laugh. She is great at finding fun and joy in the little things. She loves checklists and playing with people. She also enjoys time to herself watching tv. She is very clever with the things she says, and understands things that are above her age of understanding. I love teaching her and hanging out with her these days, although the time with her is so hard to find. We love our Bentley Boo and can't believe she is already 8! 

January

January came and the omicron variant was going crazy. Almost everyone I knew was sick or had gotten covid at some point. In Calgary, the school break was extended by another week! This wasn't good news to me, because I like routine and with it being so cold out, there wasn't much to do. My kids did get sick that week with something, so I guess it gave us a little extra time to make sure we were healthy when school started! Not the most fun week though. 

When school started, the weather got nicer and we got out of the house for walks and went to the park sometimes. The hottub was always an activity for us to do as well. Every Wednesday we have Abigail and Millie come over to our house for a play date after school (we carpool with them), and one time I let them hottub, which was a lot of fun. Bentley started gymnastics at Altadore with her friend Jade Locking, and also jazz dance at Revolution Dance Studios with Emri. Since she is 8 years old this year, she also gets to go to Activity day girls now. She went to a skating and tobogganing activity and just loved it! Along with piano, she is a very busy girl these days. Leo started swimming lessons in Okotoks and absolutely loves it! He is such a little fish, just sticking his head under the water like it's nothing. Whenever it's time to go to his lesson I ask him if he wants to go to a swimming lesson and he screams, "YES!" and runs to get his swimsuit on. He is the easiest kid to get to go somewhere because he is always up for whatever we're doing that's different than staying home. I put him in with Lena's son Gus and Laura's daughter Isla, so it was fun to chat with them twice a week while the kids swam. Deacon got a little break from activities, but I signed him up for swimming lessons in March. He also wants to do Karate at some point, maybe in April. Boston is just getting better at roaming around the house, pulling things out of cupboards, and finding entertainment for himself. He's still such a handful though!