Angry Birds.

The morning of J. How's real birthday was fabulous!

There were balloons ... streamers ... a Happy Birthday banner ...

and presents ... that were opened right after breakfast! Fun that I bought this book Tuesday months ago ... a book with no words but crazy pictures (just perfect for How's wild imagination) and had no idea his birthday happened to fall on ... Tuesday.

We even had a bit of cake too ...

And what does every five year old need ... a new red bike ... and he LOVES it!

Now I just need to find his helmet!

And for How's birthday party. Well. How hasn't had a "real" party since he was one and I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember that one. So this year ... for the BIG FIVE ... I promised a party. And How knew what kind of party he wanted for MONTHS. And he never once changed his mind ... he wanted an Angry Birds party.

And since I searched and searched for any other child in all of creation who had an Angry Birds birthday party and had a mom who blogged about it ... and found NOTHING ... I decided to just be brave and create something on my own.

For those of you who don't know about Angry Birds ... here's the jist: The birds had eggs. The green pigs stole the eggs. Thus ... the birds are now angry. The pigs hide/place themselves in various structures and the birds sling shot themselves into the structures to take revenge on the pigs. And ... try to get the eggs back.

So ... we made pigs. We made structures. We ordered sling shots (at the last minute from the BEST company in Illinois who called me and promised they'd be here in time) ...

How waited and waited for his "customers" to arrive ... wearing his Angry Birds shirt.

My grandparents got here first and How explained the Angry Birds concept to them ... I think my grandpa looks a bit concerned ... or confused?

The party started off by giving everyone a chance to let out some steam. Or aggression.

By crushing Oreos for the dirt pudding.

Some of the kids liked it. Others were ... less than thrilled.

Then it was sling shot time.

Number one rule. Put on your hat. Number two rule. Don't poke anyone's eyeballs out. That pretty much covered it.

The dads gladly .. er ... were persuaded to assist in the marshmallow sling shot festivities ..

It was serious business.

And as a back up ... we had rockets to shoot.

And as another back up ... we had a marshmallow throwing free for all ...

I think that option went over the best.

Then it was present opening time. Think How loves these jammies just a tad?

And cake eating time. And yes. This was after the dirt pudding consumption. But in my defense ... I read an article the other day that stated sugar highs are not accurate. Children who are crazy at parties are way more likely to be wild due to the other crazies they are chasing than the sugar. So ... that made me feel better :)

Ben's mom made the cake ... complete with a birds, a slingshot, green pigs, a pig stealing an egg ... a nest ... it was AMAZING!

And delicious!

And in How's own words, "This was the bestest party I ever had!" I'll wait a little while to tell him it was the only one he's ever had. But why burst his bubble.

Happy Birthday, Joshua Howard. FIVE? Seriously? Oh. And this year. I told How the story of the day he was born. And he found it HILARIOUS that he broke a bone of mine on his way into the world. Couldn't stop laughing for ten minutes. Glad somebody thought it was funny :) My tailbone remembers it a bit differently.

Hawaii.

Last week ... (or the week before) ... Ben and I were in Hawaii. For EIGHT days with NO KIDS! In a few words ... it was FABULOUS!
It was a tad rainy ... (the view from our room)
and a bit gusty at times (um ... CRAZY amounts of rain and a canceled first day of the Sony Open to be exact) ... but when you have no where to be ... it didn't ruin a thing! I just read inside that day! A whole 1/2 a book. A Jerry Bridges book about sin. Could have picked something a tad more uplifting ... but nonetheless ... it was FABULOUS! It was perfect weather for the GAMEDAY event at the Sony Open. And super fun to be at an event where so many kiddos heard PGA tour players talk about Jesus ...
After Ben "worked" for three days ... we had the next 4 off ... we went up to the North Shore ...
Toured the island ... ate the most delicious pineapple ... and almost bought the cutest purse made from a burlap coffee bag (still regretting not making that purchase!) ...
Wrote our names in the sand ... (or initials ... because the waves kept destroying my work of art ... I went with something short and sweet!)
Took in the magnificent views ...
Went to Pearl Harbor and explored the new museums and theater (just opened last month) ...
And spent much of the rest of the day talking about world history (again ... with NO interruptions!!)
And had the best dinner at Roy's to end the week ... (notice at bit more color on my skin in this last shot!)

While we were gone ... Ben's parents stayed with Audrey (who got a tooth the day we returned) and the boys went to my mom's house. Eli got pneumonia ... Joshua got a killer cold and my mom ... got a crazy bronchial thing that is still with her 10 days later!

But ... we had a blast. Loved every second of it ... and are SUPER thankful to our parents for taking the kids! What do you say we do it again next year?

LegoLand ...

Someone (maybe me??) might have promised the boys we could go to LegoLand as soon as we got to California. That someone (again, me??) might have had a momentary lapse of judgment in thinking it was a good idea to take 2 non-napped children to an amusement park after an eight hour drive. There were CRAZY amounts of people there! CRAZY! So we didn't stay long but promised the boys we'd go back ...
And we did. The day after Christmas. All the other crazies had left the park ... which left plenty of room for us ...
You'll be happy to know that this time ... we didn't even have to cheat to get him on the ride. Phew. I had been feeling a titch guilty about the shoe stuffing incident. He's 42 inches. Finally.
I had to practically drag the boys to see the Clutch Powers movie. Drag them. Promising all sorts of things ... and as soon as the show was over ... they were BEGGING to go back.
The E-man and I spent a lot of time just wandering. Someday, dude. Someday your body will match the size of your ginormous feet and you'll get to go on ANY ride you want.
The real hit of the day ... making their very own Lego heroes .. meet Clutch ...
And ... I now I can't remember if he was asking to go home or come back? Hmm. Hopefully it was go home because that's what we did ... but we'll be back soon. Love the year long passes!

And yes. We do have a third child. She was with her Cake and Pap Pap. Enjoying all sorts of undivided attention.

And Then ... Onward to CA.

We tried to leave at the crack of dawn. That sort of happened ... but with each child ... we seem to add an additional hour of travel time when we road trip it to CA. And how we always manage to spend at least an hour at the Costco in Palm Springs ... never ceases to amaze me.

The boys were looking forward to seeing Auntie Jenn and Uncle Bob's dog, Bodhi.

And even helped him out with a few tricks. (Or ... just fed him.)

Um ... so ... guess it's hard to deny those two are brothers!!

Cake and J How made a cake ... with jello. Who would have guessed it is Ben's favorite cake. How long have I known him? And he loves a cake with jello in it? I'll have to ponder that one for awhile.

The crew headed off to Christmas Eve service and I happened to run into one of my college roommates and her family ...

And of course ... the obligatory Christmas "in front of the tree" shot ... in all plaid. Sigh.

And the family fireplace shot. Anyone else loving the middle child's faces??

Ben's parents and the kids ... (the glory of the red plaid has worn off on Eli at this point and he is DYING to put something on that has blue. SOLID BLUE. And no buttons.)

Sweet ... teething ... drooling AEB. And my first attempt at a fabric flower thing.

The boys sang Happy Birthday to Jesus ... after How wowed us with a fabulous rendition of "Oh Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, How Lovely Are Thy Branches."

And then ... onto my favorite tradition with this side of the crew. The wrapping contest. I won last year. I had my brother in law and created a "Green North Pole" ... complete with a bamboo Christmas tree forest and a red-nosed free range chicken. This year ... Ben had his sister and gave her money to see Les Miserables. He took a pillow case and stuffed it with silverware (the good stuff ... that had to be polished later that night) and candelabras. And single dollar bills. Very creative ... but ...

It's hard to beat look alike dolls. I created Bob and Jenn. And I retained my seat as WRAPPING CHAMPION! I was also super impressed with my father-in-law ... who had me. He created a kissing ball (carved out the inside and hide a sweet Anthropologie necklace)!

Ahhh. And that was only Christmas Eve.