Lilah's birthday

Lilah designed a theme for her 9th birthday kid party- Harry Potter/Amazing Race.  

Of course there was a Harry Potter cake (Target creation):

With a little help from mom and dad, Lilah planned out a race with clues and challenges to complete in order to move on, to eventually search for the Sorcerer's Stone. 

Challenges included: 

Carrying a dragon egg on the spoon and passing it to your partner

Harry Potter Word Search

Toss the Snitch (water balloon toss)

Find the secret message in Hermione's Book Bag

Avoid the Troll Monster through the playground bridge

Search for the Sorcerer's Stone to win!

All ended well- Lilah and her partner found the Stone (metallic gold painted rock).  A few tears were shed by a couple of participants who really wanted to win, Gavin being one of the tear shedders.

Party favors- Harry Potter iron-on t-shirts

The Face of Innocence

NOT!!!!!!!

Mike had a new shirt that he said was too big.  Emma told him that he should "wait a year.  You can grow into it."

Toothless Perma-Grin

Emma wore a smile on her face 24/7 during our recent trip to Florida (highlights coming soon)- I find it ironic that her baby nickname was Fussy McFuss-a-lot.

Oh, and yes, along with being happy and always smiling, she is also crazy and sometimes out-of-control wild and silly.

Mr. Sensitive

Emma lost one of her lil'kinz (small webkinz). I think it's a lion. She brought it to school a couple of weeks ago and misplaced it. Anyway, Gavin is very upset about the missing lion and needs consoling at night before going to sleep. I find this strange, not only because the stuffed animal belongs to Emma, but also because we have about 150 stuffed animals in this house. He is so worried that we'll never find it again. I suggested that we get a new one, but this doesn't make him happy. The thought of replacing it makes him more upset. Last night I told him that I'm sure it'll turn up. He kept asking me how I can be sure... What if... etc. I told him to place his hand on his heart and have faith that it will one day turn up. I sure hope we find it.

Last weekend, we went to Nickelodeon Theme Park at the Mall of America. It was totally crazy with way too many people, but the kids had a blast. At one point, Mike and the twins were together and I was with Lilah. I realized that I didn't have my cell phone, and couldn't find Mike anywhere. I mentioned to Lilah that maybe we should find a pay phone. To this she responded, "What's a pay phone?"

Musical Interests

The kids listen to music at night while they're falling asleep. Gavin used to always listen to The Jayhawks. The girls used to like High School Musical soundtracks, but we stopped allowing it, since it just revved the girls up instead of winding them down.
They have to take turns listening to the music they like. For a while, they argued over who got to listen to Vivaldi (four seasons). Recently, arguments have started up over who gets to listen to Neil Young- Harvest Moon.