Captain Daniel's 6th Birthday

The night before Daniel's actual birthday:

Daniel: Since I made you food in bed for your day (Mother's Day), does that mean you are going to surprise me with train pancakes in my bed for my birthday tomorrow? So Nathan got up early to make train pancakes for Daniel. He is usually the last one awake but when Nathan went in to recruit Liam and Caleb to help, Daniel was already awake. He was so excited, he pulled the covers over his head, pretended to be asleep, while he waited for the "surprise". He loved eating in bed, but Liam was upset that we hadn't done the same on his birthday. I told him we could for his next birthday. I guess he wasn't going to wait that long. He took his plate off the table and went into his bed to eat it. (It was pretty funny because he'd been up playing for at least 45 minutes or so before he climbed back in.)

That day Daniel was thrilled to hand out cupcakes that he'd helped me make to his kindergarten class. That night he chose to have McDonalds for dinner (he got an R2D2 toy-which is the real reason for the choice).

On Saturday we celebrated Daniel's birthday with a pirate party. Each of the kids received a bottle with a message in it as the invitation. As the kids arrived they each got a pirate hat (my sewing machine broke, but even with hot glue, I think they turned out really cute), an eye patch, and an inflatable pirate sword. We made pirate ships from big refridgerator boxes. All of the crew went crazy sailing, battling crocs, and each other. We also had a bubble maker so the pirates could practice their skills and not let anything escape their swords.

Next we handed out prosthetic hooks (candycanes stuck through cups) and let them attempt to hook a few pretzels to munch on (and ultimately munch on the candycanes). Nathan drew a huge ship on the driveway and filled lots of cannon ball water balloons. Then Captain Daniel gave the order and the cannon balls were fired. Before long the enemy ship was obliterated.

It wouldn't be a pirate party without a treasure hunt. (Thanks to my mom for coming up with some fun clues). The last clue brought them to the sandbox. It was funny to see so many kids crowded around the 'x' trying to dig up the treasure box. There were so many kids that they knocked down the sand as fast as they dug it out. (They got absolutely no where for 15 minutes or so!) Then we got a little help from a big shovel (Nathan's). Finally the treasure was out! They definitely earned it.

We took them all back to the ships and had pizza and watermellon. Then it was time for the cake. I found the pirate ship cake idea on line and made it the night before. It looked really cute until Iwoke up the morning of and found it had broken into thirds. Arrrggggg! (That was me--not a pirate!) Nathan helped me skewer the cake sides back up and I had to fill the cracks with frosting. (I think it was a third frosting when I was done--gross.) It still looked reasonably good (thanks to Nathan's ship repairs, and a frosting cover up job.)

Of course Daniel was totally spoiled by his grandparents, and friends. He got so many fun presents. Lots of playdough, some Star Wars legos, pirate books, camping stuff, art supplies....he hasn't even had enough time to remove it all from the packages. Nathan found him a GI Joe jet that shoots missles too. Overall, I went crazy again. But I figure it's so much fun and in a few years he won't want to be all creative--so we will live it up now. I hope his friends have fun at our house too and that they will always like coming to our house.

Father-Son Campout

Nathan, Liam and Daniel had fun at the father-son campout in Rancho Seco. They roasted lots of marshmellows,got really dirty, and caught lots of tree frogs. They even brought some home to show me and Caleb. (We let them go at the park with lots of other little frogs in the pond.) Caleb really missed his brothers and Daddy, and can hardly wait until he's big enough to camp too. ( I look forward to that day too.)

Helping Hands Service Saturday

Our family had the opportunity to take part in the Helping Hands Service Saturday. LDS groups all over California cleaned up parks and other areas. Our stake was assigned cleanup at a local cemetary. We didn't really know what to expect and came unprepared, so Nathan had to make a quick run to a hardware store to pick up some rakes, brooms, and clippers. He saw many others there from our stake as he left. (Not only cleaning the state, but also boosting the local economy, Right?!) It was so fun to see Daniel and Liam totally get into the work. They really took it seriously. They also had fun with some friends from our old Cordova Ward. Poor Caleb was feeling sick and we had to trade off working and holding him for 2/3rds of the time. It felt really good to be part of this great work. The gospel is more than just a Sunday meeting! I am so glad that our stake was inspired to do a service in which our whole family could take part.

Funny Boys

Doesn't Liam look like a character out of Star Wars?

Apparently chairs make better space ships when they're upside down.

Caleb seems to enjoy relaxing in the fridge lately--not really sure if he's hungry or just in there to cool off!

Liam found a rolly polly bug in the garden: "Why is he hiding in the dirt? Isn't he hiding from mean old creditors? I guess no one is safe from their creditors! (Predators)
Yesterday Daniel's leg fell asleep: "My leg is dizzy, feel it Daddy." The feeling is so strong when you're leg falls asleep, you'd think someone else could feel it.
Dinner Conversation
Daniel: Is this meat I'm eating?
Me: Yes, that's salmon.
Daniel: Tigers eat meat. Can I have a pet tiger.
Me: No, then he would eat us. We're meat too.
Daniel: No, I would feed him my meat (salmon).
After soccer practice Daniel said to me: "Mom, my tummy has a head ache!"

I was reading about Moroni in the Book of Mormon reader and asked the boys where they had seen Moroni. They answered, "on the temple!" Then Liam asked, "Why did he turn into a statue?" His train of thought is hilarious!

While I made dinner, Liam poked a hole in the bag of shredded cheese and kept snitching. Once it was ready (taco soup) I asked the boys who would like me to put cheese on their dinner. (Of course Daniel didn't want it-and Caleb really wanted it.) Liam told me he didn't want any. I was perplexed because of his previous snitching and asked him why he didn't want any on his dinner. His answer was golden, "I only want cheese when you don't want me to have it, Mom!" --At least he's honest!

Caleb totally rocks these shades. He looks so darn cute on that scooter. One night Daniel's PJs got some water spilled on them while he was brushing, so he came out of the bathroom with towels stuffed into his PJs. He insisted on sleeping in this lumpy state all night!

Kindergarten-Zoo Field Trip

Daniel has been talking about the kindergarten's field trip to the zoo for more than 2 months now. Finally, it came. I got a babysitter for Liam and Caleb so I could spend some one-on-one time with him. The kids were so excited as we waited for the bus. Actually, I don't know which was more fun for the kindergartners, the bus ride or the zoo itself. They sang songs the whole way there. Lots of the kids chose to sit away from their parents, but I was glad that Daniel wanted me to sit with him. (I guess I'm still cool enough--at least for today!) Daniel loved the bus driver's mirror and his radio. He liked finding the cool emergency exits (especially the door in the ceiling). It was funny to me to remember how much I hated riding the bus as a kid. Daniel asked for the window side (as if the bus gave him a whole new view--you'd think he was requesting the window seat on a plane). Daniel waved at cars and trucks--very proud to be the one on the bus. The kids sang most of the way to the zoo.

Daniel had fun at the zoo. His favorites were the orangutans, giraffes, kangaroos, ostriches, hyenas, and (of course) the chimps that looked liked they had a serious case of hemorrhoids. The group also had fun in the reptile house. They especially liked watching a snake with half of a mouse still hanging out of its mouth. Imagine all our excitement when a little while later we got to watch a bird eating and playing with a mouse of its own!

All of the wild things (our kindergartners--not the animals) had worked up an appetite of their own so we finished the trip with a picnic lunch. Daniel got a special chocolate treat all the way from Germany (Thanks Grandma). Then more fun on the bus ride home.

I have totally loved being with Daniel this year in his class. I am so proud of him. I love him so much. I hope he will let me sit next to him for many years to come.