Drew's 8th Birthday!

Drew chose to have a dog party to celebrate his 8th Birthday and I'll tell you what... P. D. Eastman was definately on to something when he wrote "Go, Dog. Go!"... a dog party is a GREAT idea!
Drew and I sat down together and planned his party together and it was so fun to hear all his great ideas! He's very creative and when we put our heads together... fun, fun, fun was the result! We started the party with a hot dog dinner and all the boys decorated their own dog bowl. Then we played games centered around things dogs are good at... we had a smelling contest with all sorts of different smells, held a barking contest similar to charades, played a Go fetch! relay, and instead of a pinata, we filled a baby pool with shredded paper and candy, taped the boys thumbs (because dogs don't have thumbs) and let them dig for their treats.

It was total chaos and so much fun! We winded down to some doggy yoga and then watched "Space Buddies"...
The party could have/should have ended there, but call me crazy, the boys all slept (if that's what you can honestly call it?) over... I won't go into detail, but let's just say, we won't be having sleep-overs again anytime soon:) But what we'll ALWAYS remember is that Drew had an AWESOME 8th Birthday! I love him so much and am scared to death about him growing up too fast, but I am so proud of the young man he is becoming!

Family Values Nights...

We have been doing what we call "Family Values Nights" together since Drew and Will were very little. We made a family flag that we hang when it's time to begin, and we center our activities around values that are important to our family (honesty, integrity, responsibility, kindness, money management and more). Well, when Drew started scouts a few years ago, we found out there was a scouting badge and award that we could earn for doing these things, so we decided to work on it together as the focus of our family nights for 2008. It's called the Boy Scouts of America Family Award and there is a book with activity topics such as strengthening family relationships, developing personal strengths, teaching responsibility, handling difficult situations and more. We completed the book and were recognized for our work at Drew's cub scout pack meeting in January. It was a cool feeling to be standing there together as a family knowing how we'd been working together for this award for a year.

And now that we've completed that, this year I've decided to set another goal for our family values nights. We'll still focus on values that we feel are important to our family, but we're going to be learning about them as we celebrate the sacredness of the wheel of life and our connection to the earth. Our first celebration of the year was Brigit Eve which we celebrated while the rest of the world was watching the Super Bowl. We made snake candle holders, did a search for signs of spring in our yard and collected branches, berries and leaves to make Brigit dolls (an ancient Irish ritual), had a poetry dinner where we each shared our favorite poems, followed by bananas foster for dessert. (Brigit is the holiday from which Groundhog day stems.) It was a fun celebration and we look forward to more as the earth rotates around the sun:)

My Sundance Experience

I've decided that since this blog is the closest thing I keep to a journal, I should write a little about my experience working at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. This was my second year working up there, last year I was a freelance production assistant for Entertainment Tonight, this year I was a freelance producer for the Associated Press. A lot changed for me between last year and this year, and I could tell in my attitude toward the entire process. Last year I was completely star-struck! The feeling of being in the presence of such celebs as Sarah Jessica Parker, Jack Black, Alan Alda, (just to name a few), was enough to keep me running around like a chicken with my head cut off in order to please everyone who needed anything at all. I was just SOOO happy to be there, that I pretty much put my entire "real" life on hold for a week, and was at the complete disposal of the crew. And I know a week isn't THAT long, but it was so tiring, that it took me a while to snap out of the feeling of "Go! Go! Go!"

This year, not so much... I've pretty much gotten over the thrill of meeting celebs... they're just regular people with big entourages. Plus, this year, I was actually ON the red carpet interviewing the likes of Susan Serandon, Pierce Brosnan, Jim Carey, Ewan McGreggor, Robin Williams (to name a few); so I couldn't very well act like a freakish fan and be taken seriously. But the major change in me this year, was that I realized what a fantastic opportunity was in front of me, yet I still knew what was "real" and important for me, and that's my two little boys at home who were missing me while I was gone. They didn't care who mommy was interviewing, they just knew I was gone for several days, and they're not used to that. So when the AP called me and asked me to work an extra day, it didn't take long to decide that I needed to say no and stay home with my kids instead. "But how can you turn down a gala with Robert Redford?" my mom asked... and my only reply was, "I'm tired, and I want to be home with my boys today." Something that I never would have dreamed of doing last year.

I love that I have been given this great privilege to try out the fast life of a reporter once a year, because I really feel it helps me to see that I made the right decision in choosing to stay home with my boys while they're young. I had a great time working and learning and expanding my resume, but I'm a mom, and it's the greatest job I'll ever do! Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't like to work in the field in the future... but I want to be home with my kids while they still like me and want me around! They won't be little for long! But the media will always be there... in some capacity!

A walk in the woods...

Today we went up to the Solitude Nordic Center to go snowshoeing around Silver Lake. It was 12 degrees, sunny and BEAUTIFUL!! What a perfect way to spend a Sunday!

Fort Dragon!

Living in a cul-de-sac is both a blessing and a curse... on Christmas Day when I was stuck in my driveway because the city hadn't plowed our circle, it was a curse (and trust me, I was cursing it!!!). But we were pleasantly surprised when the city finally DID plow our circle because they left a HUGE mountain of snow in front of our house that has been perfect for sledding and other creative adventures for the boys and their neighborhood friends... so now, living in a circle is a blessing again:)

Witness "Fort Dragon", which is what Drew affectionately named the now igloo of ice in front of our house.

It started with a pile of snow, then day after day the boys went out there with their shovels and dug numerous tunnels through the mound creating a fun fort that everyone has been loving playing on! What a cool memory for the boys!

And now, once again, I'm so happy to live in a circle!

Happy 2009!

This year we opted for a no-kid New Year's Eve party at our house with a few friends... To which Drew replied "Isn't New Year's Eve one of those holiday's you spend with your family" So true! But this year we decided to try something different than we have for the past 7 years! It was fun... we ate, drank and played games (just like we always did with the boys)...

So we've decided to stick with the kids on New Year's Eve because they really are fun to hang out with! They hung out with Grandma Peterson and played games and we all figured we could have been hanging out all together....

So here's to next New Year's Eve which we'll spend with the kids!!

Will truned 5!

Just as I feared would happen, I forgot to blog about Will's 5th Birthday! I knew that would happen with a December birthday even though I vowed not to ever let Winter Holiday's take over our focus on Will's birthday... alas, I failed... so here I am, trying to make up for it.

We celebrated Will"s birthday with a HUGE party at Bouncin' off the Walls (a gym filled with inflatable slides and bounce houses) and invited all Will friends from school and the neighborhood, as well as both sides of his family.

He chose the theme of a Super Hero training camp, so all the kids came dressed as their favorite Super Hero and bounced and played and had a great time! Will made a total haul and brought home so many presents that he said "with a birthday in December, who needs Christmas!"

Turning 5 is a big rite of passage in our family because it means that Will is no longer our little baby boy... Although he'll always be my baby, he has grown up and matured into a little person with a big mind and great personality who everyone loves to have around... especially me! I love you Will you great big 5 year old!!!