Kai's Hobbit Party

Tablecloth map of Middle Earth

Shooting Smaug

 This weekend we hosted Kai's birthday party.  His birthday was last month, but we are just now getting around to doing his shin-dig because school start-up etc takes a lot out of you!   Kai had chosen a hobbit theme ages ago because he really wanted to show the movie during the party.  We have read and re-read the Tolkien book, and watched and loved the movie, so this was Kai's chance to share and enjoy the story with his friends. 

 Because the movie is LONG, and because his buddy did it this year, Kai really wanted his party to be a sleepover.  I agreed that we would, but only on the condition that we would not invite too many kids.  Kai chose three boys, and they all came bearing gifts.  Usually we do donations instead of gifts, so this was a first for him. 

Got 'im!

First the boys shot arrows at Smaug with Kai's archery set.  Kai and one of his friends have had lots of practice at this, but the other two boys had never shot a bow before and thought this was super cool.  They all managed to wound the dragon somewhere! 

Next we had Second Breakfast at the big table (I had covered the table in paper and drew a map of Middle Earth with runes on it).  The boys (and sisters) wolfed pancakes, sausages, fruit, gummy "Gollum" fish, and gummy "rings".

After the meal the hobbits went outside to blow bubbles with their pipes.  This was hilarious, and while they were enjoying that, I called them to the computer one at a time to use www.thebarrowdowns.com to find their Middle Earth name.  It's a name generator that will spit out your elf, hobbit, dwarf, and orc name, which I wrote on nametags for the boys so we'd all remember who we are.  

What's In the Pocketses?

 Next we played a guessing game with the pockets.  Each guest had to feel the items in the pockets without looking or putting their hand inside the fabric.  They wrote down what they thought each thing was, and then we revealed what was inside. 

Then it was time for cake!  I tried for  a hobbit hole, and Kai was pleased with the results.

                                                      Fireworks over Bag End

Now that it's dark, we gave the kiddos a sparkler to wave around outside.  We'd never done this before, and it was a hit!  Already the time was getting away from us and we'd had so much fun but we still had the movie to watch.  So we set them up in the viewing area with popcorn but most of the boys were so stoked to play with Kai's toys that they didn't pay much attention to the movie.  Never mind, they played nicely and killed some time while the movie was on in the background. 

Hobbit-style goodie packages

Time for bed!  We settled them into the trailer for a long night of giggling and noise-making... only to be up and ready to play bright and early the next morning!  I made them a big First Breakfast, and they played with all the toys and games they didn't get around to the night before.  Parents came and peeled them away from the Wii, and each boy went home with  a paperback copy for The Hobbit, a bubble pipe set, and a ring-pop. 

A success! 

Perspective

Artist Party

Caylie turned 7 last month, but we just got around to having her birthday party yesterday.  This year's theme is artist party!  We had several artistic activities to keep the little ones engaged.  First they used sharpies and rubbing alcohol to make tie dye t-shirts. 

Creating a new fashion trend

 Next they got messy with some fingerpainting.

Getting their hands dirty!

We also tried sidewalk chalk paint, but the pics of that didn't turn out great, and I probably wouldn't do that one again.  But making a mess is always fun on principle. 

t-shirts and fingerpaintings hung to dry

Then it was time for a pizza and junk food feast!  Yes, there were some veggies offered as well, but some of the little guys declined.  

After the main course, they got messy again by decorating cupcakes with an array of coloured icings and candy toppings.  Fun!

Caylie's creation

 When parents arrived we packed their artwork into these goodiebags along with a paint palette, paint-by-number sheet and a blank colour wheel to fill in.  The kiddos had a good time and Caylie raised almost $25 for the SPCA!

Young chef

My eldest daughter (who is well over 11 now) is beginning to cook by herself.  We decided she would be responsible for making the family dinner one night a week.  Her first meal plan was:  homemade pizza, veggie sticks, and dip with yellow jello for dessert.  It was delicious!  She was so proud to have made a whole meal by herself, and she was impressed at how tasty it turned out.  Next week:  Butter chicken and rice. 

Camping fun

This summer we went on a family camping trip through Washington and Oregon.  We visited Soap Lake, Cle Ellum, Rockaway Beach, Manzanita, Canon Beach, Tillamook, and then home to Vancouver to visit the fam.  Here are some highlights from our trip.En Route to Mt Baker State Park we stopped at a "viewpoint".  It surely was a great view!

Checked out Tillamook Cheese Factory and got to watch how cheese is made.  And Ice Cream!
Crab catching (and eating) at Kelly's.  This was so much fun and such an experience!
Soap Lake healing mud.  Next time I'm going to bring a bucket to carry it home!

Madison's 11th Birthday

Cake.

Bhindi

Madison celebrated her 11th birthday a week after the actual day.  She chose bellydance party this year. 
We sent out invitations that I made using a silhouette of a bellydancer that I found online.  I didn't want any actual bellies on the card. Once again Madison chose to collect donations to a charity for her birthday; this year the SPCA benefited from her friends' generosity. 

The girls arrived at Get Bent Arts and Recreation Centre and were given bhindis to adorn their fresh little faces.  I was told these would not fall off when the girls got sweaty, but we did have to replace a few. 

Next our party hostess, Nicole, led the guests in over an hour of activities.  First they were allowed to adorn themselves in finery and jinglery from the costume box.  They learned some basic moves and practiced a routine until it was performance-ready, intermingled with fun and silly games and exercises.  They had a blast!  There was much wiggling, "popping", and sashaying around the studio.  When they were ready, they proudly performed the final production for the camera.

Everyone had worked up an appetite, so they adjourned to the cake area.  Madison had requested a chocolate cake, and I had also prepared fruit with dip, coloured popcorn, and turkish delight (which was devoured in record time).  Hunger slaked and thirst quenched, the guests chatted and giggled over the remains of the food until the parents began arriving to collect their little dancers.  Moms eagerly joined the last of the festivities, while more than one Dad decided to wait outside. 

As we bid farewell to the guests, we passed out goodie bags.  Each one included a simply made coin scarf, a pack of "dessert" gum, and chocolate coins tied with a gold twist.  Get Bent also had pamphlets to hand out to the girls in case any of them are inspired with an idea for one of their own birthdays in the future. 

Madison had a lovely time, and her friends were all smiles.  A success!

Our newest family member!

Meet our newest little addition:  his name is Bilbo Baggins and he is a 6 week old orange tabby tom.  He is very friendly, playful, loving, and sweet.  I can't pry the children off of him for even a minute to brush their teeth!  Truthfully, I want to hold him and snuggle him all day too.