Father Son Campout

Our ward holds a father and son campout every year. Xavier has been looking forward to this weekend all week long. After about two weeks of pure rain I was beginning to wonder if they would be able to go. Well, the day they left it was raining, then it cleared up, and then it began to rain again. When they got to the campsite it was STILL raining. What could be better than camping for a bunch of boys? A muddy campground, that's what. The better to.....

slip and slide around while playing baseball! The rain didn't put a damper on this fun weekend. Xavier had a blast playing with all the older boys, getting muddy, setting up his tent, roasting marshmallows, and hanging by the campfire.

I asked Xavier if he liked sitting by the fire and he said, "No, it was too hot." So he kept his distance. Thankfully it's the one dangerous thing he is not totally into. But put him next to a shark or a rattlesnake or even a brown recluse and he'd think it was the coolest thing ever. Go figure.

Living in PA there is a perk to this father son campout. It's held near the place where the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods were restored near the Susquehanna river. So, it was especially cool to talk about that with Xavier. This month in Primary I've been teaching the kids about the restoration of Christ's church and the restoration of the priesthood through Joseph Smith. So it was pretty neat to cement those lessons in his mind with a real hands-on experience.

Hanging out by the river

They were super close to this deer.

Xavier loved sleeping in his sleeping bag. He said he was a little caterpillar in a cocoon. Then when I asked Tim about how X slept he said he lasted about ten minutes in his own sleeping bag and ended up in Tim's. Ha ha!

The funny thing about having boys is that there will be many years of scouting and camping ahead and I am not a camping expert at all! The last time I went camping was for girl's camp more than twelve years ago and one camping adventure to see the dedication of the Nauvoo temple eight years ago. I'm definitely not much of a camper. I love the outdoors, don't get me wrong. I just like having a shower every day and sleeping in a comfortable bed when I sleep at night. Okay, I'm a girly girl. Let's just hope most of the boys campouts require dad only. :) Or maybe God sent me boys to help me appreciate getting my hands dirty now and then....

What's more delicious than chocolate?

I'll give you a hint:

He's 10 months old and wearing orange.

Isn't he delicious? I just want to eat him up!

Muffins with Moms

Xavier's school hosted a Muffins with Moms breakfast. I was so excited for this day after I had seen the awesome program they did for the dads. I envisioned a memorable day where Xavier would treat me like a super mom. I expected to feel that I was his favorite person in the whole world. I could picture us walking through the door and getting our breakfast, sitting down together, chatting, laughing, and having fun. Then I could picture Xavier belting out the songs they had been practicing and giving me a big old bear hug.



When the day arrived Xavier and I were super excited. I even had Xavier wear this shirt in celebration for this day! Tim was able to work from home so that I could let Gavin nap while Xavier and I had this special time together.

Off we went to school. From the moment we walked through his school doors the events of the breakfast didn't quite unfold the same way as I had envisioned. As soon as we walked in the door Xavier was high as a kite. He didn't want to wait in line for pictures. I insisted we wait in line so he decided to yank on my arm, head butt me in the hip and bite my arm. When we sat down for our picture Xavier wouldn't look at the camera. After we found our seat in the gathering hall he kept kneeling on his chair asking for his breakfast. Finally we were able to get our food and Xavier was happy. ( My first thought was that maybe he was acting funny because he was hungry and just needed a little food)

All I could think was just keep smiling, have fun, and pretend Xavier is being himself. Maybe if I could show him that I was having a good time it would help lift his spirits.

Xavier had made me an oven mitt, a muffin card, a lollipop flower, a flower pot with his picture in it, and place mats for our food. They were wonderful!

Here I'm sporting the Xavier original visor.

Here is my place mat.

After breakfast the teachers passed out some noodles and string so we could make a craft together. We made a bracelet. Xavier didn't want to thread the pasta, so I made my own bracelet and then he decided to start eating the pasta.

(At this point I'm trying really hard to keep smiling)

Then the teachers led the children in singing their songs. I recorded it, but Xavier didn't want to sing.

After the program was over Xavier pretty much ran to the car before I could even say muffin. It's as if he couldn't wait until it was over.

Wow! I felt so loved.

We came home and I told Tim that I was a little disappointed and feeling sorry for myself. I kind of felt like I was the only mom whose kid didn't really care to be at that event.

I had to make this day right. Gavin was still awake when I got home so I put him down for a nap and took Xavier to the park. It was a new park and it had a bunch of climbing equipment, swings, the usual park stuff. The cool thing about this park though, was it was surrounded by trees and it had a river running alongside it. There was also a bridge to walk across.

This is the part of this day I want to remember forever. It was perfect. One of those days you say to yourself this is what life is all about. It was a day I want more of with Xavier. I feel like I'm constantly thinking about all the tasks I have to complete, constantly running from here to there, constantly fulfilling one responsibility or another, and today it was a day where Xavier and I could be free.

We swung on the swings, we buried each others feet in the sand box, we hung upside down on the monkey bars, we chased each other in the grass, we skipped rocks in the river, we hunted for the best sticks to hold, we wrote our names in the sand, we collected as many different wildflowers as we could find, we stuck our feet in the river, and we just SOAKED it all in! It was the best! This one on one time was just what Xavier and I needed to re-connect and bond. I am so grateful for this day. It was at this moment I felt on top of the world and that I loved being Xavier's mom.

Thanks bud for an awesome day!

Visit to the Big Apple!

There are lots and lots of pictures and two posts from our New York visit. What can I say, New York is Queen of eye candy. Sooooo much to see and so much to do. We just touched the surface! I'm proud to say that we survived lugging 3 kids around this big old city.

We parked our cars in New Jersey and took the train into the city. Our first stop was the Twin Towers sight. Right now the 9/11 Memorial is under construction, so there wasn't much to see beyond orange nets, big cranes, and loud noisy machines.

There is a wall memorial recognizing those who died that is really neat. This section has an image of the Twin Towers with smoke at the top of the buildings. I couldn't even imagine what it was like for those that experienced this firsthand. What a sad day in our country's history.

Our next stop was Battery Park. As we walked along the park I couldn't help but notice how amazingly quiet and peaceful it was. If I was blindfolded and someone brought me here, I never would have guessed it was in the middle of New York City!

We decided to opt out of taking the free ferry to get closer to the Statue of Liberty (waiting in line for an hour or two or however long it would have taken, with kids, didn't seem appealing to us), but if you look REALLY close you'll see the Statue of Liberty in the background.

You can see it better in Ally and Eric's picture.

Then onto the subway to get to Central Park.

Funny story, as we were riding the sub, Tim said he was feeling a little wet. Sure enough, Gavin had filled his diaper and peed all over Tim. :) Oops! Good thing I brought extra clothes. So Gavin has been butt naked in Central Park. He! He! Probably the only person that could get away with it.

This is in front of the park. Really cool!

As we were eating lunch in Central Park it just so happened that a camera crew and some guys sat on the bench next to us. What do you think it was filming?

Well, I'll tell you. VH1's top 20 countdown.

A boy and his stick. Never leave the park without one.

I love this picture. Xavier was pretending to be Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon and he was acting out the part where Hiccup is drawing in the dirt with a stick.

After lunch we headed over to Rockefeller Center. Yet another really cool hot spot.

We had to check out the Lego store. Now can I just say, "I want that job!" How cool would it be to build stuff like this all day long?

M&M World is also near Rockefeller Center so we went to check it out. We have to support our peeps.

The Elvis M&M.

They were playing disco, so of course we had to start dancing next to M&M Elvis.

They even had a computer that would scan your M&M mood color. I was light blue.

M&M and mini M&M

Talk about a hunk of chocolate. If we didn't ask Xavier to share he definitely would have eaten this entire thing himself. Can we say choco-holic?

Can Can!

New York

Just a few more stops to go and our whirlwind day trip to New York will be complete.

TIMES SQUARE

Talk about stimulation overload. It's amazing and so bright and so colorful and so noisy! People were everywhere. We did spot the Naked Cowboy and the Naked Cowgirl. Sorry, no pictures.

Gavin was great! He even took two naps amongst the hustle and bustle of the city.

Last stop, Empire State Building.

I won't ever sing and dance on Broadway, but I've walked along Broadway. Aaahh! Maybe one day I'll even be able to see a Broadway play in the Big Apple.

We hit all the popular spots in one day. Our feet were tired. Our faces sun-kissed. Our spirits energized with the feeling that we were on top of the hill in the city that never sleeps. And our minds will forever remember the memories of this day. I can see why people feel like anything is possible here. It's magical.

Now, I can check this off of my places to travel before I die.

The Twins are back together

My sister and her family came to visit us! I have been counting down the days for months. I haven't seen Ally and her family since August of 2009. Yeah, WAY TOO LONG! They spent an entire week with us. Xavier loved playing with Myla and I loved having lots of girl time. Eric and Tim were awesome during our week of vacation. They cooked and cleaned and helped out with the kids. It was great. The first day they got here it was a little rainy so we took them to the Crayola Factory. Then we spent a day in Philadelphia. You know you've visited Philly too many times when Xavier says "I don't want to see the Liberty Bell again!" The first time it's cool, the fifth time not as exciting. But for Ally and Eric it was their first time and exciting for us to share that with them.

The twins do history. :)

We try to mix it up a little and see at least one new thing each time we go to Philly. This time we walked through China town.

The twins do Philly cheese steaks! Mm mm!

The dads and the kiddos.

Xavier loved having Myla to chum around with the entire time.

Xavier loved having Myla to chum around with. It was so cute how they were holding hands as we walked the streets of Philadelphia.

This is always a favorite stop for the kids. They can run and jump and climb all over life-size game pieces.

Myla's such a cutie pie and is like a little mini Allison.

Even though this is our fifth visit to Philadelphia and we've visited the same sights each time, there is one difference that sets each visit apart from the other, the people we got to share it with. We are definitely experienced tour guides now. So if anyone else wants to visit we've got all the hot spots covered.

Gavin- 10 months old

My baby is not so little anymore! I can't believe how fast he's growing and that in just 2 short months he will be a year old. He is cruising around furniture now and loves to climb our stairs. If I forget to put the gate up he lets out this squeal and giggle as he makes a b-line for the stairs. He thinks it's hilarious that I chase him to make sure he doesn't fall down the stairs.

Gavin loves to try and get in the bathrooms. Why? I do not know, but he is fascinated. I did catch him playing in toilet water one day (I must not have shut the door all the way). Since then I always have to make sure the bathroom doors are shut.

Gavin has been cutting his four top teeth all month and one of them has finally cut through. He hasn't been the happiest camper because of it.

Gavin loves going outside and swinging at the park.

Gavin knows the signs for more, all done, fan, airplane and drink. He also loves to wave hello or bye bye to everyone. And just recently started to blow kisses.

Gavin is pretty much done with baby food. I have to trick him in numerous ways to get him to eat it for me. He is all about table food and is a great eater. Did I mention he loves chicken. He likes it so much that if he runs out and wants more he screams until I get more on his plate.

When Gavin is excited about something he flaps his hands and arms up and down as fast as he can.

Everywhere we go, people comment on how happy and smiley Gavin is. I'm so glad this hasn't changed. He is such a happy little fella. He truly is my sunshine and makes me happy when skies are gray!

One thing Gavin is not, is cuddly. I can try all I want to cuddle with him and he just pushes on me to get down. He is a busy little guy and is into everything- pulling books off the shelf, pulling the toilet paper off the roll, trying to open cupboards, and exploring every nook and cranny of our house.

Another thing Gavin loves to do is to roll, chase, throw, and bounce balls. I can't even tell you how many balls we have in this house. It's a ridiculous amount. Just recently he started picking up a mini bat that we have and attempts to swing it. He's been watching his brother.

Gavin also bounces on his bum. It is the funniest thing to watch. He'll be sitting and when he gets excited he'll start jumping around on his bum. Then he'll giggle and do it again, giggle and do it again. It cracks me up.

Spring has brought more fun time outside in the sun!

Look at his two teeth smile! What's not to love about this precious face?

Xavier's 4th Birthday Party- Decorations

I have a lot of catching up to do! This month has been busy with a trip to Michigan, Xavier's birthday party, my twin sister and her family visiting, and planning a quarterly Primary Activity. So here goes......

Once Xavier told me he wanted a shark party I was super excited to plan it because there were so many fun ideas to choose from. It was hard for me to narrow down my choices of what I was going to do. Xavier was so excited to finally get his shark party. He's been helping me and watching me make stuff all month.

The invitation: I just kept the front simple with a number 4.

Then when the kids open the card- C-H-O-M-P! A shark pops out! This was fun to make for the first few, but it became very time consuming. I had to trace each part of the shark separately, cut each piece out, and then glue each piece together to get the pop out effect. (Yeah, about halfway through making them I was wishing I had chosen a simpler card. I tend to do this every time I make a large batch of cards) Then when Xavier saw the card and was beyond happy it made all those hours worth it.

I added a black eye for some more dimension.

The back of the card had all the party details: Join us for some fun and a bite!
The plan of attack.....date, time, address, RSVP. Then I cut a shark bite out of the corner of the paper.

I made a simple door hanger for the front door.

It wouldn't be a Richardson birthday without one of my handmade birthday banners. I put this on our wall in our kitchen. Since we don't have anything hanging there, it was nice to add some spice and color to our wall. (After the party I didn't want to take it down)

Pin the Fin on the Shark. I just drew this on posterboard and then cut it out.

Shark toss! The kids had 3 balls to try to throw in the sharks mouth.

Fingerprint ocean scenes. The kids could use their fingerprints to make fish or any other type of ocean scene they wanted. These bags were going to be used for the.......

SHARK pinata! Be careful it might attack! Not really, but it's pretty mean looking.

Since it was great weather I put all of Xavier's ocean toys in his water table along with a bunch of shark squirter toys.

I placed a bunch of Xavier's shark and ocean books in our living room along with some ocean puzzles.

I made these clothespin sharks to give to the children as prizes for winning each game.

Utensils

Utensil bucket

Party favors: the tags said "Thank you for making Xavier's birthday fin-tastic!"

Inside the party favor bag was a 3-D foam shark craft, a shark squirter, shark fruit snacks, and shark bubbles.

I made another shark cake along with some cupcakes that I arranged in the shape of a fish.
The sprinkles were blue and green fish.

Voila! The decor and games......Stay tuned for pictures from the party.

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